LinkedIn Begins Startup Expedition In India, Opens Swanky New Office At Bangalore

The US-based professional networking site LinkedIn is looking for expansion in India, its second biggest market after US, having a user base of 35 Mn. It is planning to acquire entrepreneurial talent and placing its bet on technology startups in the country.

As claimed by LinkedIn India head Akshay Kothari, a lot of product innovation and optimisation for the company takes place at its Bangalore office. The company recently moved to a new, 2,22,000-sq. ft office, spread over two floors (7th & 8th), taken on lease early this year, to seat about 800 employees.

“All of the work we do around e-mail notifications, push notifications, spam and search verticals are done here,” said Kothari. He further added,”Our vision is to create economic opportunities across the world, and that vision couldn’t be truer in India. One of the biggest issues here is the skill gap.”

The new office offers a decidedly quirky take on the office interior and the environment. With the conventional LinkedIn logo at the entrance, the whole of office space is divided into colour zones and themes like Yellow, Red, Purple and Green. Not only it is wide spaced, and open-aired, but also offers a cozy ‘feel-like-home’ environment for the employees. Cool reception, custom built work stations, serene collaboration rooms and five-star equivalent kitchen are some of the key attractions. The innovative furniture designs in each zone, especially in the collaboration space are the most unique features.

Work Stations

Each zone has multiple meeting rooms and custom built work stations which can be modified as per employee’s comfort zone. The desks have three buttons by which they can be extended to become a partial cubicle, or can be adjusted for height, in case someone decided to stand and work.

The work space offers an interactive environment to avoid monotony. For instance, the wall in the background here is made of pins that can be changed at anytime to create any design one wants to.

Each zone resonates with the company’s ethos and work culture. For example, meeting rooms are aptly named as ‘Relationships Matter’. Each work zone also has multiple enclosed phone booths that can be used as single-seating rooms to have private or confidential phone calls.

Collaborate True Ideas Here!

The most unique feature of the entire space are eight massive, widespread collaboration rooms, with unique furniture in each of them. One’s been built like a garage, while another one gives the feeling as if  you’re sitting in your private patio! The whole idea is to provide a calm environment to ensure people come up with best options.

These chairs have been custom built to ensure privacy and a sense of complete concentration even in an open space.

This collaboration space is against a wall covered with the LinkedIn work ethos

Employee Paradise

The kitchen, is competent enough to give a close fight to 5-start hotel buffets. Adjoining the cafeteria, it is divided into zones- global, Indian and live-food counters which prepare and serve hot food free of cost. Hot waffles, pizzas, pastas, fresh idlis, Mexican, Continental, the list is endless.

These are the large screens at cafeteria that keep throwing some very interesting trivia about how employees world around think, work and play.

It’s the workout time. Yoga and Gym,, choose what suits you.

Head To Play! Following the motto of “ Work Hard, Play Harder”, all sorts of games are available for LinkedIn’s employees.Foozeball, snooker, table tennis, you name it and play it!

Even after all this you feel tired or drowsy, don’t worry. You can sleep it off in the Sleeping Room, equipped with 3-tier bunker beds, separated by curtains, complete with comfortable pillows and blankets. Or maybe relax your frayed nerves in these massage chairs to do away with fatigue! Not a bad way to end a work day, right?

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