Photo courtesy of Ernst & Young
By moving its firm into Grandview Yard, Ernst & Young has turned the stereotype of the boring accounting office squarely on its head.
The company’s new space at 800 Yard St., into which it moved May 9-10, can count among its amenities a foosball table, a treadmill, couches and a bar. The 20,000-square-foot office features wide windows to let in ample sunlight for the firm’s 265 employees.
“We were looking for a place to bring the workplace of the future,” says Craig Marshall, managing partner.
The firm moved to Grandview Yard from Huntington Center in downtown Columbus, where it was located for 14 years, to be responsive to employees’ needs, Marshall says. In the process of deciding where to move, Ernst & Young had an advisory board that contained members of all ranks in the company.
“We listened very closely to our people,” Marshall says. “It’s an answer to what they said is important to them.”
Employees wanted easy access to transportation and a workspace that fostered cooperation, Marshall says. Grandview Yard is close to home for many employees, and new space provides a variety of work settings such as standing desks, a café area, couches, bar-style seating and wave desks that bring an element of creative design into the office.
Ernst & Young has also moved to a clean desk policy, emphasizing the use of electronics as opposed to paper. Employees are offered mugs and discouraged from using Styrofoam cups.
“We focused on a green space, whether it’s the types of light bulbs we’re using, the types of light switches,” Marshall says. “The space itself is beautiful.”
Ernst & Young is a worldwide firm headquartered in London, and its Columbus office was established in 1920. According to Forbes, it is the ninth-largest privately owned company in America.
Francis Pellicciaro is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
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