A  Company Under One Roof Means a Rockstar Customer Experience

Account Advocate Erika Myrick helps out with setting up the first day

It’s official: 605 Union Square will never be the same. Today marked what CEO John Holt described as a “grand reunion,” the first time since 2007 that all of Cobalt’s office-based associates are together in one building.  Today the Lynnwood office has officially relocated to Seattle. Welcome Lynnwood!

As about 300 Lynnwood associates made their first snowflake-flecked trek to the International District this past Monday, the transition from Northenders to newly minted Seattle commuters was in full effect.  From the elevator exclamations of “food in walking distance!” to traffic-swapping stories and technical challenges, one only had to look at the buzzing lunchroom to know the new building vision was now officially in place.

For those who don’t know, the Lynnwood office was opened in 2007 to meet the need of Cobalt’s new business with GM. Customer advocates and services were moved from the SoDo headquarters to Lynnwood for the simplest of reasons – Cobalt needed more space!

That era ends today, as the offices are combined once again into the new building, where the Seattle-based associates moved at the end of December.

Welcome to My Cube: Cobaltians  Everywhere Settle In With Funky Flare

 

Cobaltians of all stripes settling in with a little help from Buzz Lightyear, SpongeBob SquarePants, festive string lights and that breathtaking view of Puget Sound. Pictured: Aimee Soileau (Top Left) Sheri Jackson (Upper Right) Lyndsey Hartje (Lower Right)

In Their Own Words: Lynwooders Sound Off on Their New Digs

Open Communication

Advocate Team Manager Stacey Overturf is really excited about the move, and how much easier communication has become for her and those she works with.  “Last week, when I wanted to talk to someone in Seattle, I usually had to call or email,” she recalled.  “Now I can just walk upstairs and talk to them face to face!”

New Organization

With the new building comes new opportunities to organize people, physically and strategically. In one notable case, the IFS order fulfillment teams are now intermingled with the content services team, a natural merge which gives both teams the chance to play a part as customer orders are built out and handed off to advocates.  Web builders Jeremy Helstrom and Kevin Haller are now literally surrounded by members of the content team, fresh out of Lynnwood.  “It’s a little intimidating!” Jeremy joked.

“The Way It Should Be”

In an email today,  Holt expressed his excitement at having all his employees under one roof.   “I can’t wait to feel the energy,” he said. “I can’t wait to begin on the work we have in front of us to take our customer service, product creation and operations management to the highest levels we’ve ever achieved.  We’re going to do things that this vertical can’t even imagine.”

Many, like Holt, see the move as a natural development in Cobalt’s evolution.  “I know we had to have separate offices for a while,” said Account Advocate Aimee Soileau.  “But this is how we started, with everyone in the same space.  This is the way it should be.”

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