Aegis Living is known for many things, including the Hollywood-approved story of its founder. Now, Aegis is also hoping to be known for its state-of-the-art working environment.
The senior housing provider recently moved its headquarters from Redmond, Washington, to a larger, more thoughtfully designed space in Bellevue, Washington. There were many reasons behind the change of address, but one in particular may ring a bell to most senior housing providers: boosting employee retention.
The move seems to be working. In fact, the new home office is so impressive that prospective employees who visit almost always end up accepting a position with the company, according to Aegis founder and CEO Dwayne Clark.
“We have a 98% closing rate when people come here to get a job,” Clark tells Senior Housing News. “It’s like—game over.”
Tree houses and weightless meditation
Aegis’ new, 25,600-square-foot headquarters currently houses 62 employees, though it has space for as many as 82. In some ways, the relocation to Bellevue was simply a practical move for the growing senior housing provider.
“Obviously, there’s a functional reason why we have a new headquarters—we were blasting out of the old one,” Clark says.
Clark intends for Aegis to “essentially double in size” over the next few years, which means the company will have to successfully attract and retain a number of new employees. That’s where the innovative, over-the-top design elements of the new Bellevue space are expected to play a critical role.
The new headquarters is anything but traditional: there’s a 196-square-foot tree house that doubles as a conference room, as well as a massage room and an exercise room with equipment that has virtual-reality capabilities. The headquarters also has a BodPod float tank, which employees can use for weightless meditation, and an outdoor courtyard area with BBQs and a croquet set.
The new building also features at least 17 works of art that demonstrate Aegis’ chosen values: courage, intellect, authenticity, humor, disruption, service and purpose.
The Bellevue home office was certainly designed with the wellbeing of Aegis’ employees in mind.
“The labor market is so intense right now, it’s so difficult to get good people,” Clark says. “You have to do everything you possibly can to get good employees.”
It’s possible that the new digs will help Aegis stand out as a worthwhile employer in the Seattle area.
“I think this will be one of the most progressive office architectures in the city of Seattle,” Clark says.
Creating proud employees
Aegis originally moved into its new headquarters in April, though the building’s grand opening was held on August 10. The home office is about “99% done,” Clark says, noting that there’s still some work going on at the site.
So far, Aegis’ new headquarters appears to be succeeding in fostering a sense of pride in its employees.
“I pop into the office on Saturdays and Sundays periodically—almost every weekend since the office has been open—and without fail, there’s been an employee touring their friends and family,” Clark says. “That just doesn’t happen. That’s kind of crazy, people are so proud of their office.”
Written by Mary Kate Nelson
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