Actively encouraging employees to get out and explore their surrounding environment would a fruitless proposition for companies located on a relatively featureless industrial parkway.
But when your business relocates to Downtown Cleveland, the idea opens up an entire city of interesting possibilities. It’s an opportunity that the Cleveland office of Acrisure is definitely embracing.
After spending its first 70 years in Solon, insurance broker Britton Gallagher moved into a beautifully designed space occupying the entire 30th floor of One Cleveland Center at East 9th Street and St. Clair Avenue six years ago. In May 2017, the firm partnered with insurance giant Acrisure, operating under its new partner’s umbrella and retaining all 50 members of its staff.
When the company moved to its new digs in 2012, old habits and the foreign surroundings initially revealed a hesitancy among the staff to go out and explore. But, shortly thereafter, the company started a wellness program with a steps incentive. It was designed to capitalize on its new location and inspire people to log some steps and explore their newly adopted urban landscape.
“When we first moved down here, some people were probably hesitant because they were new to being downtown. They didn’t know what to think,” says Clifton Haworth, marketing coordinator in Acrisure’s Cleveland office.
Ideas such as boat activities on the river and organized after-work volleyball tournament at the sand courts in Voinovich Park developed. From there, groups would migrate to a bar or restaurant. Eventually, people splintered off to do their
own things, too.
“Through those activities and after being down here for a few years, most — if not all — of our people love being down here and take advantage of it,” says Haworth.
Some initial misgivings with wandering around came from beliefs about street crime — a perception that has changed dramatically during Acrisure’s five years downtown. These days, employees feel free to venture out pretty far, with some walking to the East Bank of the Flats for lunch. “Even if you’re not going there to eat, taking in the views along the East Bank is incredible,” says Colleen Weston, Acrisure’s marketing director.
Weston observed an unexpected spin-off from the wellness program. “People are coming back downtown after work hours with their families to show off ‘Hey, this is what I found today,’ whether it’s a new exhibit, event or opportunity — something they discovered with their coworkers and now want to share it with their families.”
Weston and Haworth agree that neither they nor their teammates would ever want to go back to working in a different setting. The move to Downtown Cleveland and its residual effect on the office was an unequivocal upgrade.
