Mutual Admiration Society

Forget a Styrofoam cup of coffee from the pot that has sat for hours.

At the Northwestern Mutual office in Clearwater, run by longtime financial adviser Hollee Kier, the goal is to raise the Cup o Jo a notch. Employees and financial planners there don't only want to know the client's favorite Starbucks beverage, they will go get it and have it waiting when the client shows up for an appointment. “We want to create an experience that allows clients to feel great about coming here,” Kier tells Coffee Talk. “We want to set ourselves apart from other firms.”

Kier's office, which specializes in working with business owners, female professionals and Tampa area physicians, is on its way toward fulfilling that mission. A big step is a recent move to a new office on U.S. 19 in the Colonial Center Bayside Building II. The new digs, from 6,000 square feet to 7,500 square feet, serve dual purposes. For one, it's a central Pinellas County location that's easier for most clients to get to. And it's also a chance for Kier and her team of 35 employees to create a workspace that — what else? — is more open and inviting for younger employees.

The new office design and layout, says Kier, was partly inspired by the 2015 movie “The Intern,” starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. The company central to the movie is based out of a hipster-cool, loft office in Brooklyn with exposed brick, high ceilings and lots of glass for offices. Kier's new Northwestern Mutual office has some of the same elements as the movie.

An eight-time million-dollar round table member at Northwestern Mutual, Kier seeks to hire up to 18 more financial representatives to help fill the new space. That's both to meet the needs of current clients and what she expects to be a growth surge of new clients. And with the office, just like she seeks to do for clients, Kier says “the idea is to create a fun environment where employees want to be, where they want to stay.”