The Art of Office Comfort: Inspiring Spaces for Ed Tech Teams

To better understand the full scope of what office and administrative management looks like at EA, we talked with Anna about her work on the Administrative Services team and her experiences at EA.  

As the office manager at EA, you wear a lot of hats, which is a very simplified way of saying that you do a lot. Could you highlight some of your day-to-day responsibilities in this role? 

I’m really lucky to have many different responsibilities and a lot of variety in my day-to-day job. Most days involve taking next steps in the long-term projects I’m working on, such as coordinating upcoming office events in collaboration with the Administrative Services team or making an area of the office more functional, while also allowing time for any immediate needs that may come up such as addressing facility needs and managing requests through our internal help desk. I like to get things done and check boxes, so I feel very lucky to have the variety.

Since joining EA, you've made significant improvements to the look and feel of the office space. What inspired you to make changes to the office environment? 

EA occupies two floors in a beautiful, historic building on the Capitol square in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. On my first day in the office, I walked into this wonderful space with beautiful views of the Capitol building and so much natural light, but it felt a little empty and underused. For some background, EA acquired the space in 2018 and after a period of renovation, moved into the office in late 2019. This meant that staff worked in the office for about six months before the pandemic sent everybody home to work remotely. So, the office was pretty empty for a while. There were a few people that came in, but not many on a regular basis. So, I understood the emptiness. I decided to do what I could to make the office a place where staff wanted to be.  

When I started in late 2022, EA staff were just starting to regularly work in the office again. I saw opportunities for improvement in the office space and I found that when I presented ideas, I received a lot of encouragement, which empowered me to continue suggesting new things!  

One of the first projects I worked on was an Education Analytics sign behind the front desk. Initially, when you stepped off the elevator into our 10th floor lobby, there wasn’t anything indicating that you had entered the EA office space. So that was one of the first things I decided to take care of. In my mind I saw a really big sign and I believed it would suit the space. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of and I’m happy that it has been so well-received by staff. 

Plants are another thing I immediately asked for permission to purchase. Plants make spaces feel alive and appreciated. You can really change the feel of a space when you incorporate them. My plant project began in December 2022. I have a pretty green thumb, but during this time, I learned a lot about what it takes to care of plants within an office. It is much drier, so I had to think about where I was placing them in relation to the HVAC vents while also taking into consideration that our office gets a lot of direct sunlight that may be too much for certain varieties. Some of those first plants didn’t make it, but the ones that are still around are flourishing! When I started adding plants around the office, people would send encouraging and enthusiastic messages on Slack asking where the plants came from or commenting on how they were growing. Since then, they’ve become an essential part of our office and knowing that staff appreciate having the plants around is really fulfilling!

In October 2023 you coordinated an office reorganization. Could you talk about the process and what motivated you to make these changes?  

As more people started to work in the office, we found that it was useful to have teams working near each other within office areas rather than intermingled throughout the two floors. I worked closely with Jessie Gallagher, our Manager of Administrative Services, and Sean McLaughlin, our Chief Operation Officer, to really consider our space and the needs of our staff.  The goals of the reorganization included not only consolidating teams but also creating more collaborative spaces. Figuring out what kind of spaces worked best for each team dynamic was one of the most interesting parts of the reorganization process for me. 

In addition to meeting the daily needs of those who work in the office, we also had to consider how our office space is used throughout the year. Currently, about 120 people work for EA, roughly 50% remote, and 50% in Madison. While some teams are primarily remote, others are in the office almost full-time, and we also have staff who work a hybrid schedule. When we were planning our reorganization, it was important to keep those working dynamics in mind. It was also really important to consider how to flex the space when needed. Annually, we host two major in-person staff events where we need to accommodate more than 100 staff for 3 days and each summer we usually have between eight and ten interns working on-site, so providing space for everyone is important. 

In the end, this project gave me the opportunity to collaborate with staff across the organization, helped me learn a lot about how other teams work, and also made me feel great because it was the first major project I had taken on at EA and I was able to show that I could ensure that a project of this size was accomplished smoothly and efficiently. I'm really happy to say that it was a success! 

After all the moving was done, to welcome everyone back to the office, we got donuts and gave out little plant cuttings in jars. As everyone’s cuttings began to grow roots, we hosted a planting party.  Staff could bring in a pot and EA would provide the soil and supplies for them to plant their cuttings that they had picked out at the Welcome Back party in the fall. Now when you walk around the office, you’ll see that most offices have a plant or two. To me, this means that staff enjoy being here and I’ve really enjoyed seeing everyone personalize their space after working remotely for so long. 

One of the biggest changes was an update to the kitchen spaces on both floors. What prompted you to update the kitchen spaces?  

When I first started with EA, neither kitchen offered any seating. The tables were full of snacks and people would come in, warm up their food, stand around, chat a little bit, and then go eat elsewhere. So, my goal was to allow the kitchens to be a place where staff could sit for a bit if they’d like.  

We started with the 9th floor kitchen. The snack baskets were hung on the wall, and we picked out some new furniture. I love the bench that was chosen and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to select the design and upholstery for it.  It has also been fun to bring in accent items such as a colorful wall clock and new planters as things grow.

Once we made improvements to the 9th floor, we began to update the 10th floor. The goal for the 10th floor was different. We use the 10th floor kitchen to serve meals during our in-office events, so I thought a lot about modular tables and how things could be moved around to meet different needs within the space. We ended up ordering tables that can be set up in a variety of ways to accommodate whatever our needs may be. Similar to the 9th floor kitchen, the snacks on the 10th floor are also now displayed on the wall, which keeps them out of the way during events and easy to grab anytime.

What does cross-team collaboration look like in your work? When you’re planning and executing improvements to the office, who do you involve and what does that process look like?  

To me, it’s important that teams involved in the projects I’m coordinating have all the information they need. Having a centralized communication system keeps everyone on the same page and sets us all up for success. During the office reorganization, I worked very closely with our IT team. We met to discuss workflows and what would work best for their team. I was able to adapt my processes to meet their needs, which also increased my own efficiency! Between our two teams, the reorganization process went very smoothly. 

What are some of your favorite aspects of the office that you were involved in implementing? 

I’ve really enjoyed curating this space. While my background doesn’t include experience within office spaces, I’ve learned to trust my design instincts, collect feedback to see if I’m missing anything, and then get started! One of the things that comes to mind that I’m really proud of are the booths that we repurposed from Paisan’s, a restaurant on the ground level of EA’s former office. The restaurant has now closed, and EA had moved, but it had been a popular spot for EA staff at happy hour or to grab a bite. 

About a year ago, a staff member was at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and there were large, wooden, circular booths from Paisan’s! They posted about them and Sean drove over and purchased two of them for the office! They barely fit in the elevator, but we got them up to our floors. Since I have a background in sewing, I told him that I felt confident that I could upholster them, and he trusted me enough to give me the go ahead! Sean has been great to work with; he’s been supportive of my ideas and brings an artistic eye to things. Jessie helped pick out the tables to complete them and now we have two beautiful booths in our 10th floor lobby and intern area.

A more recent project is the collaborative weaving project. I had been looking for a way to add wall decor within the office since there are a lot of blank walls. I wanted to be able to do this in an affordable manner while staying true to the space and to our branding. While I was brainstorming ideas, I came across a project which involved weaving fabric into plastic fencing. This seemed like a great way to involve staff in making this art. Emily Arneson, our Office Administrative Assistant, and I went to a St. Vincent de Paul Dig & Save Outlet Store, where things are purchased by the pound, to pick up inexpensive fabrics that matched our EA color palette to use for the weaving project. We got the weaving started and then hung the projects on the wall during Winter Week to encourage staff to take a break and add to the project.

For the frosted vinyl, we collaborated with Cricket Design Works to create a cutout logo design. I was introduced to CDW during my first few months of working at EA and have enjoyed working with them, along with our Brand and Communications Team, to add thoughtful signs, colors and innovative elements to our conference rooms and common areas.  

I think that the frosted vinyl is one of the coolest design elements in the office. It adds texture and pattern both to the meeting room and to the surrounding spaces without being overwhelming or in your face. I just love it. The Penguin room used to be a big fishbowl in the center of the 9th floor, and you could see right into the room. Now, with the frosted vinyl, there is still some visibility into the room through the cutouts, so you can see what’s going on or who is in the room if you peek in, but staff are also provided with better privacy during meetings. 

Another project we worked on with CDW was our organizational values. On the 10th floor, we have the large sign behind the front desk that identifies our space, but there was nothing like on the 9th floor. So we worked with CDW to create a set of designs that captured our five organizational values. Once the designs were finished, they helped us to order metal displays of the value designs, which I then had hung on the wall across from the 9th floor elevators. These are now the first things you see when you step off the elevators on that floor.

Where do you draw inspiration from when you’re making improvements to the office space?  

Many of the changes have to do with feedback from staff. People let me know about things we could use in the office, or what isn’t working in the space, or sometimes, I’ll just add something within a space and observe how staff interact with and use it. Are they using it in the way it’s intended? Are they using it in a different way? Or are they not using it at all? I really try to pay attention to what people are doing in the office.  

I am very inspired by our color palette and always take it into consideration when I’m looking to add new elements to our space, and I also really appreciate it when things are both functional and visually pleasing. I think that those are the primary things that guide me. I also want the office space to look put together, but not intimidating. I want it to feel comfortable and inviting.  

I think that my approach to adding to or arranging the office has a lot to do with the fact that before working at EA, I had never worked in an office before. My previous position was in retail management at a grocery cooperative, so I think that I bring a unique, less than traditional perspective to how an office space should look or feel. I was talking to my daughter about this, and she said, “Because you haven’t worked in an office, you make it feel like a home. You make it feel comfortable, but also nice... and a professional environment.”  

I also think about what the office space is conveying about EA and our mission. We are innovative and creative, and we’re doing cool things, so I often ask myself, “How can I help us to present ourselves in that manner using the office space?”   

What impact do you think the look and the feel of the office has on the staff? 

I hope that staff enjoy coming into the office and that they feel comfortable when they’re here. As I said earlier, I love seeing people personalize their space and make it their own, because that means they want to be here. I want staff to enjoy coming into the office. Nobody wants to go to work in a space where they’re uncomfortable or where the space is drab, dull, sterile, or has no personality. That’s not what our office feels like and I get the impression that staff like coming in, which feels really good.  

What do you hope people will experience when they visit our office?  

When external partners and our board members come into the office, I want to make sure the space feels welcoming and relaxed, but still professional. When someone steps into our space, I want them to see that our office is well taken care of and that we take pride in this space and in our work. When our remote staff come into the office, I want them to feel like this is their space too. That’s what makes elements like the collaborative weaving project so meaningful. All staff participated in creating the weavings and when our remote staff visit, they can see that they are also an important part of our space. 

Can you share your long-term vision for the office space? 

My long-term vision is for the office to continue to be a comfortable place that staff want to be in, work in, and that they can continue to do their best work in. I like it when people have the option to work remote or hybrid, but they still come into the office on a regular basis, or they come in to attend events hosted by the Admin Team throughout the year. These smaller events, like having a launch party for our Book Exchange shelf or hosting a planting party, bring people more staff into the office. We have quite a few people who work remotely but live in the Madison area. It’s nice to see people coming into the office, enjoy the space, enjoy the event and the social time with one another.