Maxwell Health expands office with open design layout

Maxwell Health - 101 Tremont Street, Floor 10 & 11, Boston, MA

Tucked around the corner from the Massachusetts State House and Boston Common sits Maxwell Health's office.  As one of the most successful online benefits and HR marketplaces, Maxwell Health is used by a growing number of small businesses.

It is also one of Boston's fastest growing companies.With a focus on efficiency and productivity, Maxwell Health made their office space and design the focal point for culture and innovation.Just as we did with Dyn, we look at the details that make Maxwell's office culture flourish with Creative Director Julia Bourque Muse.

Why did you pick Boston to base your company? What are the advantages of having an office in this city?

‍The office is centrally located, just a few blocks away from the Park Street T station in downtown Boston. The space does wonders in attracting top talent from both the tech and healthcare industries because of its convenience and nearby amenities.We believe that Boston has the greatest healthcare ecosystem in the world. It is world-class in technology development as well, and the startup community is incredibly innovative and supportive. Boston also boasts some truly brilliant minds, with some of the best colleges and universities located within five miles of our office.Since Maxwell Health was founded in 2012, we've had to move multiple times as the size of the company expanded. After starting in Central Square in Cambridge, we moved to a more centrally-located office a few blocks away. We outgrew that space within a year, at which point we were able to design a new, more flexible space in the top two floors of 101 Tremont Street, which we moved into in 2015.

‍What's the favorite conference room of Maxwell Health employees?

‍The State Room, which, like its namesake, boasts unbelievable views of Boston. In the State Room you can see from the corner of the Boston Commons to the Public Garden, the Hancock and Prudential buildings, as well as the Citgo sign.We can’t wait for a Boston sports team to win another championship. We have a perfect view of the parade route from our office, which we took advantage of last February after the Patriot's Super Bowl victory!

What are some interesting facts about your office space? ‍

We have common areas on both floors featuring couches, stools, and a fully-stocked kitchen. There are a lot of casual work and hangout spaces on our top floor to enjoy lunch, have a drink during our happy hour each Friday, host casual meetings, or work in a relaxed environment.Both our kitchen and common area have restaurant-style booths, and the open space features full A/V and a projector screen that drops down from the ceiling for presentations. We've used the area for coding classes, music during our happy hour, movie screenings, and to play video game.

Everyone in the office works at a standing desk, and tall chairs are available so people can switch from sitting or standing if they please.

‍What is a surprising area or product that people use in the office?

‍While we're headquartered in Boston, we also have a significant remote team, and we do everything we can to make sure they are integrated into our culture. We usually have live video streams of remote workers playing throughout the space so that can interact with our various  team members throughout the day. Oh, and we have an in-office robot that our employees can control from anywhere in the world to communicate with the office as well.

‍What things, in terms of space and design, have you tried in your current space that haven't worked at other offices?

‍When moved to our new office, we were concerned about continuing with an open floor plan. At our last office, that design allowed caused a bit too much distracting noise. With the new space, we wanted to be cognizant of people who may need quiet and privacy, but we also wanted to keep the collaborative environment that comes with an open floor plan.

Every surface is a workspace.[/caption]We came up with a few solutions to help combat this. First, we included some specialty design features specifically to muffle sounds: durable carpet, professional acoustic dry boards that absorb sound, and many soft surfaces. But most importantly, we decided to create smaller breakout spaces available for one to two people to minimize desk meetings; we were able to do this by using Robin tablet displays to allow for these impromptu meetings to take place.

‍What’s the best product/object that you've purchased for the office?

‍I know this may come off as trying to curry favor, but it is definitely Robin.

We went from 20 employees in only one open area with four breakout rooms, to a space with more than 150 employees spread across 20 rooms on two floors. We can't afford to waste time walking between floors to find a room or to search for co-workers who’ve left their desks. Having Robin makes our large space seem a whole lot smaller.Join Dyn, Maxwell Health and many others and use Robin in your office today!

Get started with a free trial here.