Office Space News
Amata Office Centers Competes with Employee Benefits
Published August 19th, 2009 by Jennifer LeClaire
Amata Office Centers is making a name for itself in Chicagoland. The executive office suites company is offering shared offices at lower costs than traditional office space. Of course, so are many other serviced office providers.
That said, Amata’s message is refreshingly different from the standard marketing trumpet shared office providers tend to blow. The Chicago-based company is promoting access to better, more productive support personnel and lower turnover of key staff members as one of its value propositions – and it’s putting the juice in its employee benefits packages to ensure it delivers.
“Our employees work directly for our clients. They are their office manager, personal assistant and receptionist,” says Ron Bockstahler CEO of Amata Office Centers. “With the resources of Amata Office Centers, we can provide better trained personnel than our clients can hire on their own. A big part of this is maintaining low turnover during good and bad economic times.”
With five centers in Chicago and Naperville, Ill., Amata has over 500 clients using its services. With this scale, Amata says its health and dental insurance and 401(k) and profit sharing programs can rival Fortune 500 companies.
That’s a pretty bold statement and I can’t validate it. But what is certain is this: While most companies are looking at ways to reduce the cost of employee benefits in a tight economy, Amata is taking the opposite approach by expanding its 401(k) and profit-sharing benefits programs.
Amata is offering all full-time and part-time employees an opportunity to participate in both programs by reducing the employment requirement from one year to just 90 days. What’s more, Amata has changed the open enrollment period to quarterly instead of annually. If that’s not enough, Amata even added a provision that allows employees to take out loans against their plan assets. With so many benefits, working for Amata is an attractive proposition, especially at a time when jobs are scarce.
“What most companies don’t account for is the institutional knowledge that is lost whenever key staff members quit,” says Frank Chalupa, co-founder and president of Amata Office Centers. “Many of our clients have been with us for several years and we feel a responsibility to make sure they do not lose institutional knowledge because our employees leave for a better compensation package.”
This reminds me of when FreedomVoice sent its employees to Hawaii as an incentive, but the types of benefits Amata offers last much longer than a free vacation.
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Melanie Jones August 19th, 2009 at 9:28 am
This is pretty amazing. I haven’t seen any other serviced office provider offering these types of benefits. Then again, most companies in the executive office suites industry aren’t disclosing what they offer employees. Other large players may indeed match this. The difference is, Amata is shouting it from the rooftops as a competitive advantage.
Bill Brookshire August 19th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I can imagine the prospects of getting a loan against your benefits plan would be attractive to anybody, especially in this economy. Of course, you have to have enough benefits accrued to get a loan against it. This is a very aggressive benefits plan. I don’t know if it rivals Fortune 500s either, but it’s very attractive for employees working at executive office suites, I’m sure.
Rob Zeus August 19th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
These benefits are definitely impressive. The fact that Amata is offering its employees more opportunities to enroll in the benefits package more often and after less time with the company should really speak to new employees more than current ones that have been there for a while. With this type of program, I can see how Amata could brag about its employee loyalty.
Elizabeth Sanchez August 19th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Where do I sign up? Amata seems like it should be on one of those “best places to work” lists. I bet this is one of the best companies to work for in the executive office suites industry. Benefits mean a lot, especially in a down economy. This is a progressive company from that standpoint. Certainly gets your attention.
Maggie Correta August 19th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Here’s the nitty gritty of the whole story: “With the resources of Amata Office Centers, we can provide better trained personnel than our clients can hire on their own.” If that’s true, then Amata becomes a valuable business process outsourcer from that perspective. It’s good to see somebody in the serviced office industry competing with talent and not just technology.