Bob Shipman, founder and owner of Tech Friends Inc. of Jonesboro.
When people hear that treadmill desks, bubble walls, video games and action figure statutes are being used to bolster employee happiness and creativity in the workplace, they’re likely to think about Google or Silicon Valley, not northeast Arkansas. But one Jonesboro company is using the placemaking phenomenon to encourage collaboration and productivity.
Tech Friends Inc., a technology co-op that creates software and hardware services for correctional facilities, offers employees those amenities plus flexible workspaces, a fitness center and the ability to work remotely.
The company, now taking up 70,000 SF in the former Hays Clothing/Coca Cola Plant building at the intersection of Caraway Road and Highland Drive, has grown by 38 percent since launching in owner Bob Shipman’s spare bedroom in 2004.
“Life is bigger than what we sell,” Shipman said during a facilities tour. “We spend most of our time as adults at the office so we want it to be enjoyable for our work family. It’s paid off when it comes to attracting new employees and turnover, but it’s a space we also like spending time in.”
Despite the unconventional work environment, it’s not all fun and games for Tech Friend’s 70 employees. A labyrinth of movable office spaces separate the IT support staff from developers, who are busy creating products and systems to make correctional facilities more efficient. The company’s automated accounting system, which reduces officer-required paperwork by tracking and protecting inmate funds, can be found in more than 600 correctional facilities in more than 30 states.
The back of the building is dedicated to hardware development. Many of the accessories designed at Tech Friends are prototyped and assembled in-house using a bank of 3-D printers and molding equipment. Larger, more complex products, like the company’s patented Jail ATM, which functions like a reverse bank teller to transmit money to inmate accounts to pay for commissary items and phone credits, are fabricated at a local metal manufacturing company.
The company has also placed more than 2,500 shatterproof touchscreen Titan Kiosk computer systems around the country that can be used for email, video visitations, grievance reports, medical scheduling and orientation videos. According to Shipman, the product’s monitoring system has actually been used to solve crimes by recording inmate confessions.
Tech Friend’s newest line of products provides inmates personal access to tablets, which are paid for through phone credits. The company designs and makes protective, shatterproof cases that eliminate the need for cords and cannot be removed. With the capability to producing 50 units per day, Tech Friends have already distributed about 15,000 tablets to inmate facilities around the country. The company has also created a patent-pending wireless, locking charging port and a wall dock that allows inmates to insert their tablet to make phone calls.
As product demand continues to grow, Shipman expects the company to employ 200 people. Though the top floor of the new headquarters has already been renovated to accommodate new employees, the building was designed to easily convert to retail in case the company outgrows its current space. Shipman hopes Tech Friends can continue creating jobs for the local economy.
“I graduated from the University of Arkansas with an electric engineering degree and there were no jobs in software development, so my family was forced to move away,” Shipman said. “Northeast Arkansas produces developers just as smart and talented as anyone in Silicon Valley. We want those people to know they don’t have to leave to get a great work-life balance.”
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