Back To Reality for Indiana's SMARI

US research firm SMARI has moved into a new location in the First Internet Bank Building in Downtown Fishers, Indiana. The company is returning to office-based work after a few years 'completely virtual'.

SMARI celebrates its 40th birthday this year - it was founded in 1983 by Jim Ittenbach as Strategic Marketing And Research Inc., and rebranded as SMARI in 2014. The firm provides full service research in sectors including consumer & retail, education, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and not-for-profit, and works with ad and branding agencies. In June this year it announced it had made 'a pivotal decision to expand operations and reach beyond its existing referral-only based work environment', appointing former Research Now and Precision Sample Vice President Pat Goodnight as VP of Business Development.

Company President Katie Ittenbach (pictured) says of the return to an office: 'As a company that was in-office for 35 years and then completely virtual starting with the pandemic, we did not take the decision to return to an office lightly. Our team was functioning efficiently and benefiting from the in-home work environment. But something was missing. We won Best Places to Work in Indiana because we had a good culture. A culture that was worth showing up for. A culture that exchanged ideas, created learning experiences, and fostered an environment of shared accountability. We needed a place to call home'.

The firm says the new office, due for a grand opening on Thursday 16th November, is 'conducive to a virtual environment' and 'designed around points of interaction, not individual spaces'. Its size is about half that of the pre-Covid office, but SMARI says it 'does not anticipate needing extra space since there is zero requirement to come into the office'. Workers 'will remain on a very flexible hybrid schedule'.

Web site: www.smari.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.