Exploring CoSchedule’s New Office

Written by: Kara Lidberg

Photography by Hillary Ehlen

Now in the heart of Downtown Fargo, CoSchedule recently moved into a 14,000-square-foot office on the corner of First Avenue North and Roberts Street. Fargo INC! took a tour to get a closer look at what the workspace consists of and the purpose behind the design elements.

ENTRANCE

With large windows surrounding the office, it was important to have a nice curb appeal within their entrance space. While it isn’t a retail store with customers going in and out all day, people do come by for interviews, deliveries and if CoSchedule hosts an event. The entrance is the first impression of the company, and they want to wear their brand loud and proud.

Coschedule Office
While a sign is permanent, the television allows the visuals in the space to change. It flips through a variety of screens, including photos from different events and the hashtag #OverheardAtCoSchedule, which is a collection of intra-office conversations posted on Twitter.

 

As a perk, CoSchedule supplies team members with items such as soft drinks, sparkling water, coffee and Clif bars. They want to give people the energy they need to continue to work hard. This is all located in their kitchenette.

Coschedule Office

The fireplace is a signature piece in both the Bismarck and Fargo offices. It gives the space an inviting feel, perfect for visitors to sit and relax while they wait for a meeting or interview to start. Team members will also gather around this space. In the afternoons, it isn’t uncommon for employees to come work in the natural light.

Coschedule Office

CoSchedule is hiring a generation of people who are embracing and living downtown, and they want to accommodate those team members who choose to bike to work. A goal is to eventually have bikes that employees are able to use.

CAFÉ

The CoSchedule café is designed to feel like a coffee shop. People go to coffee shops nowadays to work—to be more productive and get a change of atmosphere—and the company is harnessing that to give team members a change of pace. In the mornings, people will be at their workspaces, but in the afternoon, it’s common to see relocation to this space. It has also already been used to host different events.

The long table was made by Grain Designs. It’s used as both a work and entertaining space. For example, everyone gets together to have brats on Wednesdays, and the food gets set up here.

Coschedule Office

These shelves provide both function and fashion. They highlight books that are foundational to the company such as “Linchpin” by Seth Godin, which every employee reads, and shirts they give away. Different decorations are also on display, as well as basketballs to shoot in the nearby hoop and cubbies that are there for employees to have places to store their things. Can you spot the Fargo INC! article on display?

Coschedule Office

The booths are also made by Grain Designs and add to the coffee house aesthetic.

OFFICE LAYOUT

Coschedule Office

An open concept promotes collaboration. Everyone is podded up, or in clusters, of teams. It doesn’t matter what their role is—even the heads of department don’t have an office. When you’re downtown, space is a commodity, and an open concept maximizes square footage, allowing more people to fit in the space while also looking great. Everyone also has desks that can do both standing and sitting positions.

Coschedule Office

CoSchedule wants employees to be confident and productive no matter what their style of working is. Open concept is becoming a major trend, but it only works when there are places to escape to, which is why CoSchedule also has the café, entrance area and other small meeting rooms for teams to work in.

Coschedule Office

This is one of their larger conference rooms, which has been helpful to their team and company as it continues to grow. The glass walls are important to keep the open concept feel going. Everything is transparent, which is also how the company works.

Teams that are larger have their own space. It’s open, but they have their own video conferencing right there instead of having to escape to a conference room.

Coschedule Office

Because CoSchedule has two offices, entire teams may be split up across both locations. The company has high-end video conferencing platforms that may be used to communicate between the two. They believe it needs to be just as easy to hold a video-conferencing call as it is to send an email or to pick up the phone and call someone. These rooms comfortably fit four to six people and include the television and white boards to brainstorm. It’s a great place to connect while not interrupting or distracting others. The office also has call rooms, which are for one person.

WALL ART

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“Do what you love where you love” is CoSchedule’s internal mantra and hits two things: the what and the where. They want to create a place where team members are doing what they love while also staying in the great state of North Dakota. It’s a motivational reminder built into their culture to celebrate how lucky the company is to do what they love and to do it here in North Dakota, a state known for loyalty and productivity.

Coschedule Office

“Organizing the world one marketing calendar at a time” is CoSchedule’s battle cry. When they think about what they’re trying to do, this is the purpose that ultimately drives every decision. This wall is also another area for curb appeal, as it sits right behind the window facing First Avenue.

Coschedule Office

This quote from Apple’s “Think Different” ad campaign fits in well with CoSchedule’s culture. The company is a place for people who aren’t afraid of challenges, take risks, to fail fast and to create change. It’s for free spirits who look at things differently. The chairs add a unique touch and are more comfortable than they look!

Coschedule Office

This is Cal, the mascot of CoSchedule, showing off the company’s mantra.

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Originally from Garrison, North Dakota, Lidberg has lived mostly in Fargo since the fall of 2013. She graduated from North Dakota State University in May of 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in theatre arts. Lidberg has a history as a reporter for her hometown newspaper as well as an editor for Fargo Monthly magazine. Currently, she is a freelance writer and editor, working with clients from industries like publishing, wedding, and human resources and on a wide range of topics, including agriculture, business, entertainment, marketing, and technology.