Keeping talent in-house: modern office design in IT

The trend of competing over whose office is cooler was born in

Svetlana, HR specialist: 'The office is part of the image.'

But surveys show that the office environment matters to programmers just as much as pay.

Take a look at the results of the My Circle survey on what matters in job postings for IT specialists.

At Airbnb, offices are designed as apartments that can be rented through the service.

The result is unusual, warm, and distinctive.

The work area in Google’s Airbnb office encourages creativity in any form, even unusual ones.

Do employees feel inspired to water cucumbers or keep bees?

To do this, a garden club and beehive will be created.

The garden club at Google. Apple installed huge solar panels and is introducing energy-saving technologies.

It looks futuristic and unusual, and it also helps protect the environment!

Solar panels on the roof of Apple Park

Visitors to our Tolyatti office are often surprised by its size: it is a 1,300-square-meter open space.

Everyone can find a cozy spot here.

You can move freely between zones and work in a group or remotely, at a desk or sitting in a beanbag. Space and freedom!

The hangar-style office reminds us of Valve's office, the creators of the famous game Half-Life.

We watch movies here, run workshops for employees, and host meetups for up to a hundred people.

Fresh flowers, walls with artificial grass, and bright accent chairs pair well with the calm white walls.

We often play foosball, board games, and ping-pong to relax at lunch or chat with guests in an informal setting after large events such as meetups, conferences, and training sessions.

We also put together a library, and kt.team orders all the books needed for work.

For the regions, this is still unusual, but who knows what will happen in a couple of years :) As for open spaces, people are already used to them.

Teams can change from project to project, and offices of many different sizes are needed, which is not always possible.

That is why open space is the most common type of office in IT.

These height-adjustable tables were designed for Agile teams.

During a stand-up, team members stand rather than sit, and the high table can hold a laptop.

An interesting global practice is the hot desking system of flexible workstations.

You can change locations every day: wherever there is an empty chair, that is where you work.

Utility rooms should make life easier and save employees time. For example, here is a laundry room in Google's office: no more washing clothes after work.

It's better to rest and spend time with family. In fact, you may not need to buy a washing machine at all: pure savings!

Many of our developers are learning English, so they need quieter areas with better sound insulation to speak with their teacher on Skype.

Programmers often want to use two large monitors or a desktop and laptop at the same time.

We take these needs into account and can provide all the required equipment.

Some people prefer a laptop with a detachable keyboard.

We use MacBook, Dell Latitude, 2K, and 4K monitors. In our view, an office should be flexible.

Not only workstations matter, but also open space for business and informal meetings, as well as relaxation.

High sofa backs act as a sound barrier.

Recently, we tested the purchase of ergonomic chairs for people with any back issues (osteochondrosis, post-injury complications).

We will collect feedback and see whether we need more chairs like these.

If desired, there is an option to work standing up, though we usually use these tables for stand-up meetings.

We also aim to save people’s time after work, just like large IT corporations.

We have not yet reached the point of building a campus the size of a whole city :) Our office has a washing machine that all employees can use.

It is most often used to wash sportswear by people who work out in the gym. And a long lunch break (1 hour) with a flexible start time (between 12:00 and 16:00) is convenient because it gives you time to handle personal matters: go to the doctor, the hairdresser, or the store.