DNA’s new head office is now complete – but will the employees show up?

DNA is known for its fantastic workplace culture, which revolves around a healthy and prosperous community of people. The key idea in the design of DNA’s new head office was to further improve the employee experience. The goal was to create a communal meeting place that fosters wellbeing.

“The new premises were designed on the personnel’s terms. Already last year, we engaged with DNA employees to draw up an office strategy that is inspired by the home and promotes both wellbeing and communality. After all, DNA has applied a highly flexible working culture for some time now, enabling everyone to choose how and where they want to work. For this reason, it will be exciting to see how the new premises are received and how the utilisation rate will turn out,” says DNA’s VP, Treasury and Administration, Jaakko Happo.

DNA has applied the Flexible work method of working for more than a decade, but the COVID-19 pandemic further increased remote working. Consequently, DNA’s employee surveys have highlighted the need for communality in recent years. DNA wanted to see this need satisfied, which was one of the reasons behind the decision to build a new head office.

“As it’s a whole new building, we had the opportunity to create spaces just for our needs. I’m confident that Ilmalanlinna will become an important place to work and meet. It will not only provide added value to our personnel, but it will also be easy for our partners to access. The office is located by excellent public transport connections, right next to Ilmala train station and the terminus of tram line 9,” Happo explains.

DNA’s head office sat in Käpylä from 2012 until this summer. The new Ilmalanlinna premises serve approximately 1,000 DNA employees.

Facilities to fit the actual needs

In July, DNA had no operational head office due to the relocation. Therefore, the local personnel of 1,000 worked flexibly from, for example, home, summer cabins, on-demand workspaces and offices in other localities, if not on summer leave.

“Remote work in July was hassle-free, which is another exemplary indication of the benefits of DNA’s Flexible method of working. Then why do we need a physical office? This is a question we strove to answer from various viewpoints during the design process. We facilitated decision-making by involving a large part of the personnel in the design process, giving room to their opinions. The need to convene and collaborate was clearly highlighted,” says Happo.

During the planning process, it became clear that there is need for both remote and on-site work. Each team and individual can decide which mode of work is best for a given situation. Like now, obligations regarding remote or on-site work will not be required in the future. This insight was concretely reflected in scaling the new premises.

“If all of the head office employees came to the office at the same time, there wouldn’t be desks for everyone. This is an accepted fact that is not likely to cause any problems. In more close-knit premises, it is easier to run into colleagues. We retain the flexibility to work anywhere and allow our employees to freely work from home or utilise the on-demand workspaces paid by DNA,” Happo says.

Ilmalanlinna’s material choices aim to reflect DNA’s flexible work culture of trust also in the physical environment. The personnel’s numerous wishes were processed and put into practice by a number of third-party facility design professionals. The chosen solutions aimed for a homelike atmosphere.

Happo, who participated in the design process from the start, is very satisfied with the outcome. For example, the office’s spacious break facilities are centrally located and open to all employees. This enables more frequent, and much-needed, encounters with colleagues at the coffee machine.

“And by the way, the quality of the coffee has been given special attention - in line with the opinions of the employee councils,” Happo adds.

 

DNA’s new street address:

DNA Plc

Ilmalantori 4

FI-00240 Helsinki

 

DNA’s postal address remains unchanged:

DNA Plc

P.O. Box 10

FI-01044 DNA

Media enquiries:

Jaakko Happo, VP, Treasury and Administration, DNA plc, tel. +358 44 044 8018, jaakko.happo@dna.fi
DNA Communications, tel. +358 44 044 8000, viestinta@dna.fi

For more information on facility design, visit https://corporate.dna.fi/toimitilat