For 22 years, Christine Butterfield has been part of our Office & Facilities Management team, keeping our offices operating smoothly and our associates comfortable and safe in the workplace.
Among the many activities Christine, now the team's Director, oversees or personally performs are managing office reception services; developing emergency, safety and security preparedness plans and procedures; sorting and delivering mail; planning office spaces; managing budgets, operations and maintenance; providing administrative support; and about 100 other activities, both big and small, that all associates benefit from.
Is there coffee in the break room? That's Christine and her team. Is the air conditioning functioning properly? That's Christine and her team. Is there a comfortable chair in the lobby? Is the lighting just right? That's Christine and her team, too.
“My job title suggests my focus is on facilities, but it's really on people, on how our associates and clients feel, behave and perform in our spaces. It's about the experiences they have, and I do everything in my power to make those experiences positive," she said.
According to Kelli Justesen, Chief Human Resources Officer and Christine's direct supervisor, Christine brings a unique skill to her job. “Yes, Christine has decades of valuable hands-on experience, but she also has an innate ability to create spaces that work for our associates rather than just spaces our associates work in. It's an intuitiveness that transcends traditional facility management."
Though she often works behind the scenes, Christine is never one to sit idly by. She prefers to take a very proactive approach to her job. While many facility managers simply react to the needs and issues of the day, Christine spends much of her time identifying and pursuing how she can provide the most value.
Here's a look at a few of her most recent initiatives.
The guide has broad categories, including building operations, building amenities and emergency safety and security as well numerous sub-categories such as building access and security, fire safety and evacuation routes, medical emergency and severe weather. The intent is for the guide to provide in-depth information about the physical office space along with associate behavior expectations within that physical space.
“The facility guide isn't an employee handbook. It's not a corporate mandate. It's really more of a collection of best practices specific to the Minnetonka office and our associates here. For example, it ensures everyone knows what to do if there's a tornado warning," said Christine, adding, “But, even more, the facility guide is a tool to engage our associates in our company culture of safety, inclusivity, teamwork and accountability."
The development and implementation of the Minnetonka facility guide was so successful, that just two months after introducing it, Christine began traveling to our offices outside of Minnesota, participating in “roadshows," to learn more about their physical spaces, to observe how the associates interact with them and to create location-specific guides. To date, she has visited and created guides for our offices in Chicago, Indianapolis, Phoenix and Kansas City. She hopes to complete guides for Des Moines and Denver by early 2025.
Similarly, we pursue sustainability practices within our offices by recycling paper, cans and glass and providing reusable plates, bowls, cups and utensils or disposables made from plant-based or recycled fibers. Several of our offices have water bottle filling stations to reduce the use of plastic bottles, and our Minnetonka office recycles batteries, lightbulbs and scrap metal from furnishing, fixtures and building systems.
While each office is making solid sustainability gains, Christine believes that more can be done. To that end, she recently obtained her Sustainability Facility Professional certification through the International Facility Management Association to gain additional proficiency and credibility in sustainable facility management.
As to why she pursued the certification, Christine said, “My goal was to both demonstrate my commitment to and increase my knowledge of sustainable facility management strategies. I believe we have an opportunity – and that I have a responsibility – to create a more cohesive and programmatic sustainability initiative across the organization. There's more we can and should be doing, and I'm excited to partner with our offices to create demonstrable sustainability results."
“I'm based in Minnetonka, but my position is not exclusive to Minnetonka. At the end of the day, I want to help create safe, comfortable and high-performing office spaces where our associates can focus on what they do best," said Christine. “There is really no task too big or small, and I'm just a phone call or an email away."
“Christine is collaborative, she values the unique personality that each of our offices has, she respects the autonomy that each office wants," said Kelli. “By bringing those soft skills as well as her knowledge, experience and credentials to her role, she always has tremendous impact."
Among the many activities Christine, now the team's Director, oversees or personally performs are managing office reception services; developing emergency, safety and security preparedness plans and procedures; sorting and delivering mail; planning office spaces; managing budgets, operations and maintenance; providing administrative support; and about 100 other activities, both big and small, that all associates benefit from.
Is there coffee in the break room? That's Christine and her team. Is the air conditioning functioning properly? That's Christine and her team. Is there a comfortable chair in the lobby? Is the lighting just right? That's Christine and her team, too.
“My job title suggests my focus is on facilities, but it's really on people, on how our associates and clients feel, behave and perform in our spaces. It's about the experiences they have, and I do everything in my power to make those experiences positive," she said.
According to Kelli Justesen, Chief Human Resources Officer and Christine's direct supervisor, Christine brings a unique skill to her job. “Yes, Christine has decades of valuable hands-on experience, but she also has an innate ability to create spaces that work for our associates rather than just spaces our associates work in. It's an intuitiveness that transcends traditional facility management."
Though she often works behind the scenes, Christine is never one to sit idly by. She prefers to take a very proactive approach to her job. While many facility managers simply react to the needs and issues of the day, Christine spends much of her time identifying and pursuing how she can provide the most value.
Here's a look at a few of her most recent initiatives.
On Tour in Five States & Counting
In January 2023, Christine introduced our Minnetonka associates to a comprehensive facility guide. The guide, which took much of the previous year to develop, provides associates with easy online access to the current protocols, procedures and guidelines related to promoting safety, optimizing wellbeing and fostering performance within our Minnetonka office.The guide has broad categories, including building operations, building amenities and emergency safety and security as well numerous sub-categories such as building access and security, fire safety and evacuation routes, medical emergency and severe weather. The intent is for the guide to provide in-depth information about the physical office space along with associate behavior expectations within that physical space.
“The facility guide isn't an employee handbook. It's not a corporate mandate. It's really more of a collection of best practices specific to the Minnetonka office and our associates here. For example, it ensures everyone knows what to do if there's a tornado warning," said Christine, adding, “But, even more, the facility guide is a tool to engage our associates in our company culture of safety, inclusivity, teamwork and accountability."
The development and implementation of the Minnetonka facility guide was so successful, that just two months after introducing it, Christine began traveling to our offices outside of Minnesota, participating in “roadshows," to learn more about their physical spaces, to observe how the associates interact with them and to create location-specific guides. To date, she has visited and created guides for our offices in Chicago, Indianapolis, Phoenix and Kansas City. She hopes to complete guides for Des Moines and Denver by early 2025.
Credibly Advancing Sustainability
In our development, design and construction efforts, we strive to be good stewards of the environment by protecting natural resources, reducing potential negative impacts of our work and employing sustainable building practices.Similarly, we pursue sustainability practices within our offices by recycling paper, cans and glass and providing reusable plates, bowls, cups and utensils or disposables made from plant-based or recycled fibers. Several of our offices have water bottle filling stations to reduce the use of plastic bottles, and our Minnetonka office recycles batteries, lightbulbs and scrap metal from furnishing, fixtures and building systems.
While each office is making solid sustainability gains, Christine believes that more can be done. To that end, she recently obtained her Sustainability Facility Professional certification through the International Facility Management Association to gain additional proficiency and credibility in sustainable facility management.
As to why she pursued the certification, Christine said, “My goal was to both demonstrate my commitment to and increase my knowledge of sustainable facility management strategies. I believe we have an opportunity – and that I have a responsibility – to create a more cohesive and programmatic sustainability initiative across the organization. There's more we can and should be doing, and I'm excited to partner with our offices to create demonstrable sustainability results."
Just a Phone Call Away
Much of Christine's time and effort is focused on the Minnetonka office since that's our largest facility, it's where we employ the most associates and it's our corporate headquarters. But Christine is available and eager to support our offices across the country.“I'm based in Minnetonka, but my position is not exclusive to Minnetonka. At the end of the day, I want to help create safe, comfortable and high-performing office spaces where our associates can focus on what they do best," said Christine. “There is really no task too big or small, and I'm just a phone call or an email away."
“Christine is collaborative, she values the unique personality that each of our offices has, she respects the autonomy that each office wants," said Kelli. “By bringing those soft skills as well as her knowledge, experience and credentials to her role, she always has tremendous impact."