Grey Advertising Has A Separate 'Base Camp' Office Just For Millennial Staffers
Grey explained that almost half (46%) of its 1,000-strong workforce are millennials - young people born between 1980 and 2000 - and over the years management has noted that these employees behave and work differently to their older colleagues.
So Grey created "Base Camp," a more "collaborative" but separate working space within its already-open plan office, dedicated to its younger members of staff. It offers shared desk space and break-out areas for its assistant account executives.
Those employees still work with the grown-ups on client accounts, but rather than sitting with their account teams, they are all seated in one central area. This space has its own dedicated meeting room and a lounge space with couches, chairs, and a TV.
Grey tells Business Insider that Base Camp also extends beyond just the structural working space. It includes an online personal assessment tool designed to help "address the potential issues around bonding and communication;" "AAE Spotlight" where different staffers are profiled each week; a weekly team meeting called "Wisdom of the Week" where employees can discuss what they've learned; and social outings.
A Grey spokesperson told PFSK: "The philosophy behind the Base Camp community was to create an environment that gives structure, but creates self-sufficiency [and] encourages relationship building, with key learnings more readily shared."
Grey North America CEO Michael Houston added: "The key to me about the Base Camp movement is that we're learning from this group rather than showing them how we've previously worked. We're working to understand their organic tendencies."