KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the financial firm, Waddell & Reed opens its new corporate headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2022, the office building will have acoustics designed to support employees who are on-site as well as those joining through virtual means.
The company envisions a future where employees work both from home and at the office.
Conference rooms and other parts of the office building will be designed with acoustics in mind so the sound of people talking in person is as clear as possible, allowing people who are working from home to hear it as if they were in the building. And vice versa, the people in the office will be able to clearly hear the person on the phone or ZOOM call.
It said a lot of the concepts it had in mind for the new office building fit with changes the novel coronavirus has forced other office buildings to make.
“We are working with our interior design consultants to ensure we are creating diverse spaces across the building that allow flexibility and enable different work approaches and experiences. We’re focused on leading technology capabilities to enable on-site and virtual participants during any meeting/discussion, as we believe that will be the norm in the future,” the company said in a statement.
The new building will be LEED-certified. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
There will also be a focus on creating a welcoming environment for employees and clients.
Waddell & Reed is currently headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.
