Genetec is a Montréal-based company specializing in unified IP physical security technology for corporate and public safety applications in areas such as airports, stadiums, and cities.
With businesses in six continents, the company’s rapid expansion dates back to 2015 when the number of employees in Québec passed 600.
The time had come to rethink the management, use and organization of the company’s spaces.
Already working with the KANBAN production-chain optimization method and equipped with a corporate culture focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, Genetec took an alternative approach to the project by teaming up with interior design firm, FOR.
Together, Genetec and FOR. integrated the concept of Innovation Circles – ultra-functional 12-person groups with rotating membership depending on the project – into the design of the new spaces.
As a result, these work processes directly influenced the planning of the space and its new furniture.
To facilitate discussion and scrum meetings, each Innovation Circle includes a Microsoft Surface Hub where employees are able to write on the glass and whiteboard walls.
Reception areas with a café space, lounge and video games are found at the entrance to each floor to encourage cross-pollination, informal collaboration and fast problem-solving. FOR. additionally increased the number of meeting rooms with different configurations, and transformed the bistro into an everyday social-event space.
Interior design and the preparatory approach led directly to improvements in productivity and, according to the president, the company’s product.
Photo credit: Stéphane Brugger
Based on the interior design concept formulated for the company’s Montréal headquarters, FOR. adapted the artistic approach to the different cities where the company has a presence.
To date, more than 130,000 sq. ft. of office space has been designed with this concept in Paris, Singapore, Secaucus, London, Bruges, Québec City and Sherbrooke.
