Return to the Studio!
Earlier this spring, leadership presented a plan to get Eastlake Studio’s full staff back to the office. See our initial preparations here. The document was followed by an in-person retreat at Guild Row, which included an in-depth discussion on the past year, goals for the future, and how we can work together to take steps towards reaching them.
Eastlake Studio Retreat at Guild Row
We also took time during our retreat day to rethink and redesign our BAR (Big Ass Room), the core multipurpose space in our studio. Teams included new A/V for presentations and parties, plant shelving to keep our Gardening Club working year-round, and flexible furniture to use for all-staff lunches and lounge seating for days we don’t need to be at our desks.
Back to the Studio
In response to wellness, and our success working remotely the majority of the time in the past year, we want to give individuals the privilege of continuing to spend some time working away from the office. This is new, and as with any trial, it could be reversed or altered at any point.
We are keeping track of who has scheduled and received vaccines, and feel fairly confident that we will be 96% vaccinated by July. We strongly encourage everyone to get vaccinated, but it is not a requirement for employment.
Recently, we’ve asked for staff members to step up as Captains of various initiatives, and seek out opportunities that are in line with our values and culture. Architect Brian Fleming is our Volunteer Captain. He will keep an eye out for opportunities that fit our skills, and can support maximum staff participation. Designer Kelsey Kaplan will be our Wellness Captain. She’ll be surveying everyone to find out what kind of activities they’d like to be involved with, ranging from low to high commitment, allowing everyone to engage at their own pace.
Read more about our full plan, including tools that have helped us work remotely and new perks to support our hybrid schedules, below.
TECH
Regarding our studio set-ups, staff has the option for a docking solution at the office, or bringing their iMac back into the studio permanently.
Everyone will receive their own Disto (laser tape measure) and it will be included in the welcome package when onboarding new staff.
TOOLS
Below are some of the new tools we’ve integrated over the past year and a half, as well as some we were using before the pandemic.
Dropbox - we migrated our server to cloud based system to allow for faster access from any location
Officely, a Slack add-on for remote tracking and desk assignments
Zoom video conferencing and Zoom phone calls
Gather, a project management system and materials database
Slack messaging app for project teams, all-staff meetings, and individual check-ins
CMap, an integrated accounting, time tracking, and project management system
Rippling, an automated HR and payroll system
iPads & iMacs
TIMELINE
May – 4 local remote days allowed per week
June – 3 local remote days allowed per week
July-October – 2 local remote days allowed per week
October and beyond – TBD, possibly 1 remote day moving forward
Working from Puerto Rico
GUIDELINES
Remote days are to be scheduled two weeks in advance via Officely, the app we use on Slack.
Remote days will not roll over.
Everyone will be in the office on Thursdays, and will be treated to a social lunch by a local BIOPIC-owned business.
Everyone will be allowed one “work from anywhere” week annually, approved a month in advance.
If requesting PTO in addition to a remote week, the combination must not exceed three weeks.The week between Christmas and New Year’s will likely be fully remote (local).
Special requests can be asked through weekly check-ins with revolving Directors.
Studio Floorplan
Studio ready for the return!
In the Studio
APRIL-JUNE
For the early months of this transition, we continued to use our A/B/C desk rotation, which provided a less dense layout for the open office. There was a card on each desk stating to sit elsewhere if it was not their designated week.
Common spaces were fair game, and using Officely to set our open seating neighborhoods , noting who will be at the high top table or in the lounge areas.
We asked that staff only occupy phone rooms for calls. If the studio had more than five people on any given day, it was asked not to plan on using a phone room as an all day workstation.
We invested in two phone booths to our phone rooms and conference rooms as another place to participate in virtual meetings and calls.
BEGINNING IN JULY
Desk locations have been assigned based on people's comfort level & preferred days in the office. We may eventually employ a free address system.
Our mask policy is that everyone wears a mask upon entering the space. Those vaccinated may remove their mask AFTER all attendees confirm comfortability with them doing so.
Lunch will be provided on Thursdays, and the hour will be tech free and agenda free to encourage socializing and connecting with colleagues.
July 2021 studio lunch
Salon Friday is a monthly event and an Eastlake Studio tradition for many years. At Salon Friday, one staff member shares a skill or special knowledge with the others, which typically includes a presentation and a hands-on activity everyone can take part in. For instance, Director Nicole Tabata once taught the staff the beginning of the zombie dance from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
Salons will revert back to in-person events, and will be planned for optimal engagement.
November 2019 Salon
MEETINGS
Other than specific meetings mentioned, the assumption will be that meetings are virtual. This will need to be an ongoing question amongst ourselves and clients to be sure everyone is clear as to whether the meeting is virtual or in person.
Monday staff meetings will continue to be virtual as they have been throughout the pandemic.
Tool times, the monthly meetings where we discuss technology and code, will continue to be all-virtual.
Weekly check-ins, where junior staff and Directors speak one-on-one, will continue to be virtual.
All in-person meeting scheduling should be done through the studio calendar system, booking rooms on the respective calendars for our three main meeting spaces, and the library.
Everyone should wipe down surfaces before turning over the room to the next person. Cleaning materials will continue to be available in each space
For in person meetings, billable expenses will be capped for project transportation costs.
We are implementing Gather, Interior Design Project Management Software, as our primary virtual design tool. Everyone is expected to manage specifications using this tool as an Eastlake process standard.
We are investigating CMAP and Rippling updates that will help us manage this whole strategy better. The hope is to be able to integrate remote days into CMAP so we can anticipate project scheduling conflicts.
REP UPDATES
We are changing how we managed product rep updates in the past. Each week a pair of designers will be expected to attend a rep update session.
Rep session options include:
1 hour virtual update: 2-3 reps minimum
In person updates / personal rep lunches with product to show: 2 reps minimum per week
1 hour virtual or in-person CEU
Lunch-n-Learn or Wine & Cheese: 2 different reps and a minimum of 5 people to RSVP in advance
Participating in updates outside of your week is encouraged, but will not count as a substitute for your week, otherwise we’d be missing out on a lot of other opportunities to see products!
The pair should add each highlighted item to the studio Gather library and make a short presentation at the following staff meeting.
2019 Eastlake Halloween Party
CULTURE & EVENTS
Our much-loved Halloween party will happen in 2022. Start planning your costumes now!
Moving forward, catering for internal and external events will be provided by BIPOC, women, veterans, and LGBTQ-owned businesses. This amounts to more than $18,000 annually on internal lunches alone. We ask that our reps and vendors who bring in food also support these community assets.
Full day retreats will happen once a quarter.
Studio Team Dinners and/or happy hours will be planned once a quarter with groups rotating each time.
An additional PTO day will be allowed for cultural holidays of staff member’s choosing, such as Women’s Day, Canada Day, Puerto Rican Independence, Pride, Pulaski Day, and Chinese New Year. Please submit the requested day one month in advance.
Eastlake Studio will make a donation on behalf of each staff member who volunteers more than 24 hours to any local non-profit organization.
New for this year, we will plan a Thanksgiving potluck on the Thursday prior to the holiday. We will pass around a sign-up sheet, and hope to have most of the staff bring a family recipe to share.
Martin Luther King Day will be an extra PTO day for those who submit at least 8-hours of hands-on volunteer time for a nonprofit organization annually.
Tom grilling on the deck!
WELLNESS
Eastlake will continue to provide monthly neck and shoulder massages in the studio, scheduled in advance. Need a great massage? Call Vachetta!
Mental health is important, and we want staff to have time dedicated to staying in a good head space. Mental health days are generally allowed, and are especially encouraged if staff puts in more than 45 hours in one week. For example if a person has already put in 45 hours by Thursday, and has no deadlines on Friday that will be impacted, requesting a mental health day is welcomed.
In addition to the new PTO mentioned in the Culture section, staff will have a free day of PTO to be used on the two weeks surrounding their birthday. No rollover.
