Mattersight Taps NASA Science to Design Innovative and Inviting New Chicago Office Space

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Oct 27, 2015) - Mattersight Corporation (NASDAQ: MATR), the pioneer in personality-based software applications, announced today that it has leveraged the Process Communication Model® (PCM), the behavioral model that powers its flagship products, to design a new office space for its downtown Chicago headquarters that actively supports the productivity and environmental needs of all employee personality styles.

"Our technology revolves around the importance of understanding personality and communication styles, so it's only natural that our company prioritizes this model as well," said Kelly Conway, Mattersight's President and CEO. "The science of personality has been the backbone of our company for nearly a decade, and our new office space puts it front and center, making it tangible and easy to incorporate into our employees' daily lives." 

PCM was utilized by NASA during the 1970s and '80s in its astronaut evaluation process. Today, the model is being leveraged to develop more dynamic school curriculums, by politicians and business leaders looking to improve their communication skills, in Mattersight's suite of software products and now in the design of its headquarters as well.

According to PCM, there are four prominent personality styles in the United States:

• Organizers: Analytical, logical and goal-driven, these people excel at planning. A clearly-defined and structured work environment enables them to function efficiently and effectively. 
• Connectors: These people are relationship-driven, empathetic and compassionate. They are often the friendliest people in the room, and an open workspace that invites interaction and collaboration is their ideal. 
• Advisors: Opinionated, observant and conscientious; commitment is their superpower. It is important that their workplace demonstrates the organization's respect for the employees and belief in corporate identity. 
• Originals: Creativity runs through these people. Often spontaneous and playful, they're the ones with the fun and cool ideas. They thrive in a work environment with lots of visual stimulation. 

"There is a lot of discussion today about what the ideal and most productive workspace looks like," said Melissa Moore, Chief People Officer at Mattersight. "The reality is that the ideal workspace is different for every employee, based on his or her unique personality style. The solution is to create an environment that takes into account the needs of each and every employee."

For its new 22,000-square-foot space at 200 West Madison Street, Mattersight worked closely with Chicago architectural firm Baumann Studios to do exactly that.

For example, for Advisors, Mattersight openly committed to being as green as possible, both in its choice of a LEED silver-certified building as well as in specific design choices, such as the abundant use of reclaimed wood across the office, most visibly in the one-of-a-kind breakroom island constructed entirely of wood recovered from an old roller skating rink. This recycling effort resonates with Originals as well, who admire the creativity of the design and who also gravitate to the bright colors in the furniture and décor. 

The desks and workspaces are laid out in an open concept to foster discussion and team building, an important feature for Connectors. However, each desk is separated by a low bookcase, which fills Organizers' need for defined spaces.

The new space also features a variety of alternative seating arrangements to appeal to all styles, including a workstation treadmill for multi-tasking Organizers, comfortable chairs in the sunlight with stunning city views for Connectors, a huge bean bag chair for Originals and standing desks throughout the office for those who are committed to a standing/sitting regimen. 

The hub of Mattersight's new office is the expansive breakroom. Used as a multi-purpose room, the space functions as the main dining area during lunch hours, an alternative workspace, a company meeting area and a post-work gathering space where teams can take advantage of the two beer taps and a stocked wine cooler, as well as ping pong and foosball. The goal was to create a space that all teams, departments and personality styles could find useful and conducive to a productive workday.

Moore said that PCM played a role in the new design from its earliest stages. "Knowing that change is difficult for all styles, we appealed to personality during the planning phase by sharing timelines for our Organizers, asking for employee opinions regularly to engage our Advisors, holding a pre-build-out open house in a cool, totally open space that our Originals would love and, of course, sharing lots of pictures and communications so it felt like a team initiative to our Connectors." 

As a result, employee response to the new space was overwhelmingly positive from day one, and Moore said the positive feedback continues to come her way. "Every day, we hear from employees who say that the new office has created a more productive, collaborative, friendly and transparent company culture. Looking around and seeing the ways people are engaged with the space and each other, it's easy to see just how true it is. The impact of this design has been incredible."

Mattersight's new office is located at 200 West Madison Street, Suite 3100 in Chicago, IL. The company is hiring across several levels and departments, and was recently honored as one of "Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For®."

About Mattersight

Mattersight's mission is to help brands have more effective and effortless conversations with their customers. Using a suite of innovative personality-based software applications, Mattersight can analyze and predict customer behavior based on the language exchanged during service and sales interactions. This insight can then facilitate real-time connections between customers and the agents best capable of handling their needs. Mattersight's patented stack of SaaS applications has influenced hundreds of millions of shorter, more satisfying customer interactions. Organizations across the Financial Services, Healthcare, Technology and Telco industries rely on Mattersight to drive customer retention, employee engagement and operating efficiency. An independent research study documents the average return on investment for these organizations is 344%. To learn more about how Mattersight can help your company, please visit www.mattersight.com.

PCM and Process Communication Model are registered trademarks of Kahler Communications, Inc., used under license.