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Omaha Magazine

LinkedIn’s New Office

Mar 24, 2014 09:25AM ● By Rain Sissel
Founded in 2002, the Omaha LinkedIn office is an eclectic mix of corporate consistency and quirky colloquialism. After years of steady success at their 90th and Western location, LinkedIn expanded last November into an almost-identical building across the parking lot in order to house its 170-plus employees.

Walking into the brand new facility, one thing is instantly obvious: the abundance of natural light. “It’s one of those things you take for granted and don’t really realize how meaningful it is,” Kelli Pilgrim, Director of Global Operations, says about the new space.

With a life-size cut-out of Kid Rock at one end of the office and a Star Wars-themed tech area complete with a Chewbacca light at the other, the new LinkedIn office reflects its employees.

“Every site puts their own little flare and personality on things, but pretty much the color scheme and the feel of the office is always the same,” Pilgrim says. “I have been to Chicago, I have been to Dublin, and I have been to corporate, and they really have found the right mix to make it feel like LinkedIn.”

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Although corporate has achieved the perfect shade of LinkedIn blue for its new office, employees were given a lot of freedom in terms of the creative elements of the new Omaha  space. Per employee request, individual rooms and meeting spaces in the new office are organized not by numbers and letters but by Clue characters—instead of room 202, employees convene in Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlet.

The candy bowl is always full, and the cooler is stocked to the brim with juice drinks, soda, and bottled tea. Employees have access to an expansive break room/dining space that offers fresh fruit, a wide variety of lunch options, an espresso machine, and a Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machine. Most lunches at the LinkedIn offices are free and catered, but don’t let that fool you—LinkedIn prioritizes health and ergonomics.

Mark Davis is the facilities manager at LinkedIn and was an essential part of the expansion project. He says he’s grateful for the emphasis on ergonomics and employee comfort so that he can focus on meaningful maintenance issues.

“If somebody requests something, there are no questions asked. If that’s what you think you need, we’ll make it happen,” Davis says. “We are really accommodating in terms of ergonomics.”

All desks in the LinkedIn office are adjustable via a small crank and equipped with a personal filing cabinet and rolling pod that can be used as a seat for quick meetings. The new office also offers private, spacious restrooms for women who are pregnant or nursing, as well as employee showers, a fitness center, and free Zumba classes.

“We have a really strong health and wellness program at LinkedIn in general. We have a small gym here that the landlord provides, and we have discounts to local gyms nearby. That way, if people just want to run over by Westroads and come back, they have a place to freshen up,” Pilgrim says.

LinkedIn also offers a Bring Your Parents to Work Day along with the traditional Bring Your Kids to Work Day so employees can better integrate their families into their work routine. For employees who have children, the snow day policy is especially helpful—all work can be done remotely, so there’s no shuffling the kids off to the neighbors while trying to navigate a Nebraska winter.

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