No office for the CEO. Just a locker

ROCKLEIGH, N.J. -- When CEO Lex Kerssemakers walks into Volvo Car USA's headquarters, he has to find an open table or workspace to do business.

Kerssemakers doesn't have an office, or a landline telephone, or a big computer with a monitor, or even desk drawers to store papers or files. There's no secretary to screen his calls.

Welcome to the new austere, democratic world of Volvo, which doesn't have the walls, offices or permanent workspaces of most offices. Executives say the new layout has opened communication with departments and employees who were separated from one another talking and working together.

Volvo's new office space is an extension of its vehicle design philosophy: Designed Around You. The layout is dub-bed [email protected]

Like all the other 185 workers at Volvo's U.S. hub, Kerssemakers has a tall, gray locker for his personal belongings. His outerwear goes in the nearby communal coatroom, and he has to carry a company-issued mobile phone and laptop from a workspace to a meeting room or wherever the day takes him.

"I don't have an office. I decide where I want to sit," Kerssemakers said. "In the beginning, people were a little nervous, "Where is he going to sit?' It is fantastic; I love it."

Volvo USA employees have been working in this environment since March. Global headquarters in Sweden has some similar open areas, but nothing like in the United States, said Kerssemakers, who spearheaded the transformation last fall, just months after his arrival as CEO.

"We needed to do something in the building; it needed refreshing. We are going through a huge change where we literally need everybody's brain capacity to make it happen."

So the walls were ripped out and painted white, and a big, open space was created.

Chris Palmer, vice president of human resources, said the redesign mirrors Volvo's goal in all areas: "To be nimble and fast."

"This is the first place where we took multidisciplinary departments in a business and said we would put everyone together."

In the new setup, "people talk about how easy it is to get access to other people and information," he said.

Yes, it took getting used to. But months later, "what they talk about is not the workplace but the change in how we work. People across departments not only get to know other people, but what they are working on."

"You find people easily; you find access to people, including our executives," Palmer said.

Scott Doering, vice president of customer service, noted a key change: "It has brought a new energy to the company. It's easy for me. I go wherever I want to sit."

Volvo USA's single-story headquarters on Volvo Drive are in the middle of a nondescript cluster of modest office buildings, just minutes from the New Jersey-New York border. The only hint that there's a car company operating here are the big blue VOLVO letters on the front of the building and the sea of Volvo vehicles in the cramped parking lot.

Kerssemakers decided early on as part of the transformation of the U.S. headquarters that he wanted transparency -- and that meant even the office space.

"I didn't want to have silos," he said. "So now, people sit near each other, and they talk together. The planning person is talking to the lawyer, so you get even more involved."

In the early weeks, the cellphones didn't work well. "The signal was too low, so I was walking outside in the rain talking to Sweden," Kerssemakers said.

The communications problems were solved quickly. And company executives said internal news travels fast -- without the usual emails, videos or endless meetings because people are talking to others outside their departments and specialties.

Palmer said the entire work force knows "within minutes" about product news and financial results: "Everybody just knows at the end of the month if we had a good month."

The downside to the open concept is that workers can be interrupted more frequently. But there's always a quiet place somewhere in the building, Palmer said.

"People are quite comfortable to walk up to any of the executives and say, "Can I tell you something?' or ask ... a question," he said. "They have gotten to know what we do within the organization."

During a recent visit by Automotive News, there were few personal photos, toys or the typical clutter of a cubicle or office. Many people had knapsacks or other small bags -- the kind that would fit under an airline seat.

Palmer said one employee pasted a collage of family photos on the back of his laptop.

Kerssemakers said the need for personal items hasn't gone away. "You see people have a little plastic bag with them, and they take it to the desk."

Also gone are the typical piles of paper, sticky notes, announcements and reminders pinned on bulletin boards or mail strewn around a computer. A library area where Volvo historical and other documents will be kept is under construction.

"It very much encourages a paperless environment, and there are still people who need paper, so it's not everybody," Kerssemakers said.

Rows of meeting rooms with glass windows and doors are first-come, first-served. Phone rooms about the size of two phone booths can be used for sensitive and private calls.

The only workers who have a permanent area are the four customer service phone representatives, and they sit at a table that's also in the open.

Relaxation and eating areas are new. There's a playroom with table tennis, air hockey and a pool table where employees can come during lunch or after work. There also is a small gym.

Most employees cited the addition of a cafeteria that prepares meals to order and an outdoor dining area as real pluses.

There is one rebel -- Rick Bryant, executive vice president, sales operations. He commandeered a round table on a purple carpet where he sits every day and meets with various members of his team.

Bryant proudly calls it "mine."

Apparently, no one has seriously challenged him, although some executives openly laugh about his "purple spot." When he's away, others take the table and email Bryant pictures of them sitting and working at his spot.

"This is my kingdom," said Bryant. "These aren't scheduled meetings; it's all ad hoc," he said, explaining why people assigned to him were at the table.

Some admit that, with Volvo sales on a double-digit increase, no one is going to bother the executive in charge of sales.