Thrings Solicitor Victoria Tallis meets Dieter Wood, Managing Director of Interaction
Victoria Tallis: Interaction has been in Bath for some time, but for those who don’t know you, what do you do?
Dieter Wood: We design and build outstanding work environments nationwide.
If organisations want their staff to spend eight hours a day somewhere being energised, enthused and creative, they need a workplace to reflect that. We work with developers, landlords and let-space operators to give people the environment they need to succeed.
To put it simply, we’re on a mission to banish boring offices!
VT: So, you must have an in-depth process when working with clients to deliver what they want?
DW: Very much so. We work in partnership with our clients and so it is important – for both sides - to ensure there is a match in our culture and values, especially around quality and sustainability.
This enables us to get an in-depth understanding of what our clients’ vision is for their space and their ambitions are for their organisation so that we can create an enjoyable and exciting working environment.
VT: What sets you apart from your market?
DW: While we might compete with London-based firms, our attitude towards quality means we consider our past work as our main competitor. We’re always pushing forward, driven by a great looking final product that delights our clients.
Having pride in what we do is important to our culture and when our clients see that, they buy into it. In total, more than 3,500 people use an office space by Interaction each year. Those are big numbers of people whose day we are improving!
VT: What is it that you love about Bath?
DW: We were founded in Bath 31 years ago and have always been here, albeit in a range of different offices over the years. We love it here and couldn’t imagine being based anywhere else.
As a city, Bath is really well positioned compared to somewhere like London and is becoming seen as a much more metropolitan area where people really want to live and work.
VT: Working patterns have changed a lot since Covid, with the rise in hybrid and remote working. How has this impacted what you do?
DW: Like every business, Covid presented us with plenty of challenges. While our culture remained steadfast and staff were able to adapt, our main issues in the first lockdown were on building sites with active projects across the country that had to be stopped completely.
However, this turned to our advantage as it gave us breathing space to look at the whole organisation and identify how it could successfully evolve for the future.
We know hybrid working is here to stay which is why we some of our clients now want smaller office spaces but with a greater emphasis on the quality and sustainability of the space, and also on better technology.
But we believe people are at their most creative and productive when they are together in the workplace which is why, at Interaction, we encourage our staff to be in the office more often than not so as to share ideas, best practice and to achieve their full potential.
VT: What’s on the horizon for Interaction in 2023?
DW: We will continue to be focused on working with more people who share our vision to create spaces that users will thrive in.
The biggest thing for us this year, however, is our plan to move into a new home in Bath. We’ve outgrown our current fantastic offices, having gone from around 20 staff to more than 60 over the past eight years. And so we are moving across the road to a beautiful Bath building which we are redesigning to create something very special.
The move will give us the space and freedom to expand and we’ll be spending the coming months evolving our structure so we are ready for growth and can continue doing what we love.
To find out more about Interaction, visit interaction.uk.com. If you any questions about any issue raised in this article please contact Victoria Tallis from Thrings Family team.
