Is Your Small Business Ready to Win a Sweet New Office?

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Turnstone, a Steelcase brand, today announced a national contest that will give five small and emerging businesses – companies with less than 100 employees – a chance to win a $25,000 office makeover. Companies have until April 15, 2012 to submit their online applications at http://www.myturnstone.com/contest.

“The winning companies will receive not just $25,000 in renovations; they will have their workplaces transformed into environments that will facilitate growth.”

To enter the “Win a Sweet New Office!” contest, companies must create a video demonstrating why a sweet Turnstone office makeover will make a difference in their work and workplace. A panel of expert judges will select the top 25 videos, and then the public will vote on which five companies get the prize. Entries can be uploaded and viewed at www.myturnstone.com. Public voting will open at the end of April, and winners will be announced in May.

“Great workplace design is not template, but rather a mirror of a company’s individual brand and culture, resulting in better collaboration, creativity and productivity,” said Ken Neil, Turnstone communications manager. “The winning companies will receive not just $25,000 in renovations; they will have their workplaces transformed into environments that will facilitate growth.”

According to recent Steelcase research, 89 percent of workers say it’s important for the workplace to attract and engage employees. With small businesses competing just as hard for today’s global talent pool, it takes their unique environments and work styles seldom found at big companies to attract top employees.

Transforming Culture at Zaarly

Turnstone helped mobile-commerce platform Zaarly renovate its office space earlier this year. Zaarly makes it easy for people to buy and sell goods and services with people nearby. In fact, with more than $25 million in requests posted on Zaarly in its first year, the company was growing rapidly. From almost day one, Turnstone was a partner working to understand their needs, namely creating a workspace that felt more like a home than an office.

“As we were getting set up, we knew it would be important to have a great space to work in,” Zaarly CEO Bo Fishback said. “We needed a place that felt like Zaarly, not just another boring office, and we didn’t have time to waste. Turnstone was able to help us create a space that reflects our values and enables us to create and innovate faster.”

To find out more about the impact of an office makeover to Zaarly’s culture, visit http://www.myturnstone.com/contest for an interview with Fishback.

About Turnstone

Turnstone is a Steelcase Inc. brand inspired by the spirit of small business. The company designs solutions that help create great work environments that are easy to own and exhilarating to use. We provide ideas and attainable solutions that help our customers stay focused on what’s most important to them – their exciting journey through business and life. Running a small business is hard enough— having a great space to work in should be easy. For more information, visit www.myturnstone.com.