RALEIGH – If you’ve been working from home during the pandemic, what would it take to get you to come back into the office?

Raleigh’s homegrown technology unicorn, Pendo, is investing in its facilities to cultivate a place where employees want to work.  Those investments include some unique features, such as a speakeasy.

WRAL’s Matt Talhelm takes us inside Pendo’s new world headquarters, the top five floors of a new downtown skyscraper at 301 Hillsborough Street.

Sneak peek

About half of Pendo’s 400 Raleigh-based employees are back working in the new headquarters office. They have the option to work from home, but the company is creating space in a tower where these workers will actually want to come to the office.

Open desks create a space for collaboration.  Employees can come together in conference rooms themed by regions of North Carolina.

There’s a penthouse terrace and a one-story stadium-style meeting space.

“Even though it’s this massive space where you feel like we’ve got this whole place to fill up, the energy is really exciting,” said Christine Itwaru, a Pendozer who works in product operations.

That energy is fueled by a coffee bar fully-staffed with baristas. There’s also a wine bar, a wooden-fired pizza oven with fresh slices and local craft beer on-tap.

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Attracting talent

Pendo CEO and co-founder Todd Olson told WRAL that “modern offices need to create reasons for people to want to be in the office.”

Pendo outgrew its first office in the Warehouse District, which it now overlooks from the top five floors of a building emblazoned with the company’s logo.

“Part of having this building is to attract talent, to make sure people know who we are and kind of get a sense for what we’re about and wanting to be here,” said Olson.

Olson believes this place provides the perks employees want, especially as his hometown start-up competes with some big-name newcomers to the Triangle.

“You have companies like Google and Apple coming into the region,” he said. “You need to find ways to attract humans to your company, and it can’t all just be on compensation.”

Olson admits that working in technology often requires a lot days with long hours.  That’s why he wants his workers to leave the office happy… so they also feel happy when they come back to the building the next day.