Annual Report 2022/Story: Wikimedia Sverige moved to a new office
In this story, we describe Wikimedia Sverige's journey towards finding a new office. We talk about the process of finding a good new place and how it ended.
In 2021, Wikimedia Sverige learned that the Swedish Internet Foundation was going to close down its shared co-working space at Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm and we would have to move somewhere else. We then started the process of searching for a suitable new office.
The first step was identifying the staff's priorities and preferences regarding their general working environment. We held an initial workshop where everyone could brainstorm around various parameters. We had a look at previously assembled wishlist for office features and combined some of its elements with new wishes. In addition, the board of Wikimedia Sverige contributed their thoughts to the process. We imagined three different cases: an office space of our own, a co-working space and sharing an office with a cultural heritage institution.
After looking at the wishlist, it was time to rank how important the various features were to all the staff members. We sent out a survey where all employees had to rate how important each feature was, so that we could get a good idea of what was needed as we started the office hunt. It turned out that a stable internet connection was by far the most valued feature, followed by being able to bring and heat your own food. Another important factor was that the office should be easy to commute to, followed by the availability of meeting rooms with enough space for several people. The survey was followed up by in-depth discussions with all the employees about how the answers should be interpreted.
In parallel with the internal process, we started looking for available office spaces. Soon, we focused on two main alternatives to choose between, both co-working spaces: The Park södra and Norrsken House. Both of these satisfied our basic needs and at the same time offered added value in the form of activities and benefits for the tenants.
In the end, it was a combination of matching our needs, opportunities, context and pricing that weighed in Norrsken's favor. The office in Hammarby Sjöstad was emptied and on April 1, 2022, the office of Wikimedia Sverige moved to Birger Jarlsgatan 57C.
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