Accounting firm moves to mentoring office in Uptown
Weaver, a national tax, audit and advisory firm based in Houston, unveiled its new headquarters at the Five Post Park building in the Uptown area.
Weaver relocated from its longtime home at 24 Greenway Plaza where it was spread out over three disconnected floors with an abundance of walled off offices. The company leased 66,000 square feet in the 28story building at 4400 Post Oak Parkway, just inside Loop 610.
“It was pretty good timing that we had a lease coming up in the middle of the pandemic,” Weaver CEO and Managing Partner John Mackel said on a recent tour. “We had a little bit more leverage to do certain things.”
The move enabled Weaver to be closer to the Galleria, put its company logo at the top of the building where it can be seen by drivers along Loop 610, and, most importantly, have a cohesive space, connected by internal stairwells, on three contiguous floors.
The offices are designed to create an environment that fosters employee training, collaboration and advancement — all key factors for success when the labor market is tight and so-called hybrid schedules are popular. Since Weaver employees returned to the office about six months ago, 80 percent work three days in the office, two days remotely, 10 percent are in the office full-time and 10 percent are fully remote.
“It helps to build and maintain our culture to have people coming in, not just everyone virtual all the time,” said Steve Schwarzbach, partner, Energy Compliance Services and Houston executive partner at Weaver. “People coming in and interacting…helps to build unity, culture, interaction and development of staff.”
Spanning floors 11 through 13, the office features open work areas with unassigned desks in addition to glasswalled private offices, many along the perimeter. On the 12th floor, a break room offers areas for coffee and dining or a game of ping pong. The light filled space has views from downtown to the Galleria.
The firm, which has about
250 employees in Houston and is growing, worked with architecture firm Corgan on the space, which is similar to its new Dallas office. The color palette includes greens, blues and yellows used in furniture fabrics, geometric patterned wallpaper and wall tiles throughout the space. The colors are also incorporated on a wall in the break room with a grid of black and white employee photos sprinkled with inspirational Post-it style notes.
The space, built out by Houston-based Harvey, provides multiple conference rooms, a large training room, focus rooms and five coffee and lounge areas across the three floors. A wellness room can be used by nursing mothers. The floor plan has more than 230 workstations in open areas that are first come, first served each day. Drawers are available for locking up valuables overnight.
The new Houston workspace, one of 14 offices nationwide, will go a long way to help the firm meet its hiring and retention goals. Founded in 1950, the firm employs more than 900 people with Houston and Dallas as its biggest locations. In addition to accounting, the firm’s services include risk advisory, transaction advisory, IT advisory, energy compliance services and public company services.
“What we found during the pandemic, for the offices that were kind of come and go and had really active environments, people more voluntarily wanted to start coming in as things opened up,” Mackel said. “Our main philosophy is to recruit and develop people and provide a good culture that benefits that.”
Most new hires, who come largely from internship programs, prefer to be in the office rather than at home, Mackel said. People who have been with the company two to 10 years with families are inclined to go for a hybrid setup where they work in the office a few days a week, he said.
Weaver has worked with the Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders on an executive coaching program to develop mentors within the company who help others grow their careers.
As part of the decision to relocate, Weaver negotiated to acquire a nearly 10 percent ownership stake in the building and is collaborating with new owners CP Group and Rialto Capital of Florida on upcoming improvements, Mackel said.
The building, which already has a renovated conference facility for tenants, will be updated with a new lobby area and glass-clad space for two restaurants on the ground floor opening to an expansive outside park.