A vote of “confidence in the talent and the economy of the country”. This is how the US giant Microsoft presented the construction of its new campus in Herzliya, Israel. It must be said that this new center of 4600 square meters, supposed to accommodate more than 2000 people, is somewhat impressive. It will have cost 350 million Shekels (a little over 88 million euros) to the multinational to set up this campus supposed to respond to new labor trends.
It will house sales teams, developers, engineers, researchers and employees of M12, a venture capital subsidiary of Microsoft. Ultra modern, this site is supposed to offer perhaps the best working conditions in the world. By integrating, for example, de facto the issue of teleworking. It must be said that opening a new giant work center in the midst of a pandemic, was daring. Zoom in on this haven for geeks and salespeople, whose operation is oriented towards well-being and respect for the environment.
A level of effort for the well-being of employees rarely achieved
The new campus will offer workers a hybrid model between face-to-face and home work. Employees will decide how many days they want to come to the office and when they want to telecommute. For Braverman-Blumenstyk, head of Microsoft in the country, this is the ideal model. “Productivity is not impacted by teleworking,” she explains. “But humans are social animals” and they need to interact for “the joy of life, creativity, support.” It is therefore advisable to let them develop according to their needs.
To relax, they can count on a number of included services that are difficult to count. They will benefit from, among other things: two playrooms, one for children and adults and the other for adults, nursing rooms, balconies for working, a basketball court and volleyball. Also present on the site are a yoga room, a sports room exceeding 1000 square meters, a music room, a park for employees to walk their dogs and finally 315 meeting rooms. Not to mention the postal service or laundry. One way for campus members to feel good. Or as some detractors would say, never to go home. For total osmosis, Microsoft has also thought about sustainable development. By doing things big again.
The greenest offices in Israel
The offices are “the greenest in Israel,” the leader said. In any case, it is the first building in the country to be LEED V4 Gold certified. A prize for its architecture with high environmental quality.
The campus uses a whole bunch of green technologies. Many of them come from elsewhere in the country’s sustainable and innovative technology ecosystem. One thinks in particular of the systems for extracting water from the air, developed by the Israeli start-up WaterGen. The Wint Water company has developed a leak detection technology. GreenWall platform was selected to optimize the growth of the site’s vegetation. Finally, the building uses energy-efficient air filtration technologies developed by enVerid Systems. 800 square meters of photovoltaic panels will supply the site with electricity. This will reduce its ecological footprint to the minimum. The 3,500 square meters of park complete this picture of connection with nature.
With such working conditions, it’s a safe bet that Microsoft, which currently has 2,000 employees in Israel, will attract many more. It is also with this in mind that the center was built. Because it welcomes engineers and developers. A rare commodity in the job market to be pampered.