When much of the world was shuttered in March 2020, millions of employees were sent home to adjust to a new virtual work environment – including 3M corporate employees. When 3M employees start returning to 3M Center, they’ll notice a new and more welcoming office space. 

Over the past year and a half, multiple 3M departments including the Commercial Solutions Division (CSD), the 3M Center facilities team and the interior design team, have been hard at work freshening up the overall aesthetic of 3M’s corporate headquarters, focusing specifically on high-touch and high-traffic points like entryways, restrooms, interior doors, stairwells and elevators.

“We want to make 3M a welcoming environment, and we want our employees to come back and notice positive changes,” said Megan Kennedy, Interior Design Principal at 3M. “We want them to feel confident and comfortable in their workspace.”

New approaches to old problems

Just as CSD does when helping find solutions for their customers, the team took a strategic, total solutions approach to the recent renovation at 3M Center. They looked to incorporate innovative products including 3M™ DI-NOC™ Architectural Finishes and floor cleaning products, like the 3M™ Stone Floor Protection System.  

“In the past, I’ve only used DI-NOC™ for design purposes, not taking into consideration its applications for more basic facility upgrades,” said Megan. “I think this opened everyone’s mind to the opportunities that exist for utilizing these products.” Using 3M products, the team was able to think differently about how they wanted to address problem areas and find opportunities to update and maintain the space more efficiently and effectively.

“Through this project, our team learned that you could make a space look completely different, new and fresh without spending a fortune,” said Ben Ross, Facilities Manager at the 3M Center. “This was a great opportunity to see how far we can push the envelope without stopping people in their tracks with extensive renovation and construction projects.”

A world forever changed

With the added need for increased cleaning and disinfection protocols, the team wanted to ensure high touch surfaces were easy to clean and compatible with 3M cleaning products.

“We are going to be hyperconscious and focused on disinfection and cleanliness for the foreseeable future,” said Ross. “It was very important that we tested the films we installed to see if they’re going to work in this new world, one that is forever changed because of the pandemic.”

Megan said refreshing high-traffic areas at 3M Center was a fun project and that collaborating with people from different departments and seeing the transformation was rewarding, “It makes it even better that we refreshed the 3M facility with our own products.” she said.

At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. This project exemplified that mission in a way that was truly 3M, both creative and collaborative in its execution. The team is excited to welcome back 3Mers, when the time is right, to the newly improved 3M Center.

To learn more about how 3M’s commercial solutions products can help transform your business visit  3M Brand You.

Returning to the office 

3M's new work model Work Your Way includes flexible, hybrid and remote work options. 3M is reviewing the timing of when 3M Center and other U.S. office sites will fully reopen to make working on-site an available option to a broader group of workers.