Seems to me that Chad Richison is the most important UCO alumni alive and Paycom is the most coveted type business in the modern American economy. IMO that makes him the biggest fish in the OKC pond. How big is he gonna be in the DFW pond if he moves?

Randall Stephenson is the most important UCO alum alive.

LMAO Paycom isn't moving to dallas

Randall Stephenson is the most important UCO alum alive.

Hard agree.

My wife is a 7 year employee with Paycom and I know that the vast majority of people in her role love the work from home option. With the advent of zoom and other services like this, it makes it much more convenient for them. There is a pretty good percentage of employees though that need to work in the office. But for the "customer facing" via phone employees have no reason to be in the office as long as productivity stays within what is considered acceptable.

I suspect moral will go down for a time when a lot of these companies attempt to "go back to normal" . Sure, there is a great benefit to employees working in the same building for collaboration purposes, but for a lot of these bigger companies there is nothing about the job that can't be done virtually. Its more about micromanagement and control. Its easier to pretend the office politics nonsense doesn't exist when your WFH. Don't get me wrong it still very much exists even in virtual form.

The successful companies will be the ones that blend the two together.

I suspect moral will go down for a time when a lot of these companies attempt to "go back to normal" . Sure, there is a great benefit to employees working in the same building for collaboration purposes, but for a lot of these bigger companies there is nothing about the job that can't be done virtually. Its more about micromanagement and control. Its easier to pretend the office politics nonsense doesn't exist when your WFH. Don't get me wrong it still very much exists even in virtual form.

The successful companies will be the ones that blend the two together.

Agree 100%

Randall Stephenson is the most important UCO alum alive.

I knew Richison had given and pledged quite a bit of money to UCO the last few years, and appears to be prepared to give more. I had not heard of Mr. Stephenson's giving to the school.

I suspect moral will go down for a time when a lot of these companies attempt to "go back to normal" . Sure, there is a great benefit to employees working in the same building for collaboration purposes, but for a lot of these bigger companies there is nothing about the job that can't be done virtually. Its more about micromanagement and control. Its easier to pretend the office politics nonsense doesn't exist when your WFH. Don't get me wrong it still very much exists even in virtual form.

The successful companies will be the ones that blend the two together.

very much this... i know on my side of software development, output and response times have actually skyrocketed, and part of that is because we now only have meetings when we actually have them, and not just constantly as an excuse to get away from the desk for a few minutes. The companies that are able to blend an idea of WFH along with still setting some office norms, weill be the real winners.

^

And similarly, employees/contractors who are self-motivated and disciplined enough to get their work done will have a leg-up on those who are easily distracted at home.

Randall Stephenson is the most important UCO alum alive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Central_Oklahoma_people

I knew Richison had given and pledged quite a bit of money to UCO the last few years, and appears to be prepared to give more. I had not heard of Mr. Stephenson's giving to the school.

It's been a few years, but the AT&T donation for the UCO Forensic Science building was his work.

I rate Randall Stephenson higher because IMO a Forensic Science facility and program is more useful than an athletics building. Though maybe I'm forgetting all of what Chad Richison has donated for.

It's been a few years, but the AT&T donation for the UCO Forensic Science building was his work.

I rate Randall Stephenson higher because IMO a Forensic Science facility and program is more useful than an athletics building. Though maybe I'm forgetting all of what Chad Richison has donated for.

First off, I think the University and Oklahoma City are blessed to claim both as our own. And since my father was 36 years with AT&T, I have to say the company helped make me who I am. But, I think Mr. Richison staying local and building a big company which is still in the ascent phase is why I rated him more highly.

They are both good -

Stephenson. ATT Market cap. 204 billion. .52 Dividend

Richison PAYC Market cap. 24 billion No Dividend

They are both good -

Stephenson. ATT Market cap. 204 billion. .52 Dividend

Richison PAYC Market cap. 24 billion No Dividend

stephenson net worth 140 mil

Richison net worth 2.3 billion

AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson who is retiring with a pension of $64 million—or $274,000 a month for the rest of this life. This golden parachute comes after averaging $30 million in total compensation the last three years of Stephenson's tenure.

Not a bad retirement as long as your'e breathing -

too bad Randall can't move at&t hq to OKC (although Dallas is closer than San Antonio was). ...

This is the new 5-story building that should be starting soon. Will be taller than the rest and look a bit different.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/paycom061121a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/paycom020621b.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/paycom061121b.jpg

Is the adjacent drive in movie theater they announced still in the works?

Is the adjacent drive in movie theater they announced still in the works?

Yes, I believe so but they later said it would be for employees only and private events.


After the huge positive response on social media, I've been lobbying Chisholm Creek to do something similar as they have tons of open lots and the movies would help feed all their restaurants and businesses. They are looking into it.

I still think it should be for employees plus anyone who has their payroll processed by Paycom.

Yes, I believe so but they later said it would be for employees only and private events.


After the huge positive response on social media, I've been lobbying Chisholm Creek to do something similar as they have tons of open lots and the movies would help feed all their restaurants and businesses. They are looking into it.

They're doing a movies on the lawn thing there soon, I think? I

Omg they are taking up perfectly good parking for another building!? This is what we don't need more of!

What is their long term goal? Given the perspective of Paycom being this new, “trendy” high-tech company that is growing, their campus has to be one of the most bland and boring ones. Do they plan to simply keep adding more of these buildings every other year? It would really suck if they’re just building a disposable campus so someday they can move to another city like Dallas or Denver and build a real high tech campus like what you see with Google or Apple.

What is their long term goal? Given the perspective of Paycom being this new, “trendy” high-tech company that is growing, their campus has to be one of the most bland and boring ones. Do they plan to simply keep adding more of these buildings every other year? It would really suck if they’re just building a disposable campus so someday they can move to another city like Dallas or Denver and build a real high tech campus like what you see with Google or Apple.

Google and Apple are magnitudes larger. And, they started basically the same way. They didn't just early on exist as they do today. They didn't pick downtowns for growth. You are comparing apples to oranges. Maybe some day, but probably not. Look at the two at similar times of their existence and growth.

Google and Apple are magnitudes larger. And, they started basically the same way. They didn't just early on exist as they do today. They didn't pick downtowns for growth. You are comparing apples to oranges. Maybe some day, but probably not. Look at the two at similar times of their existence and growth.
Good point. My concern was just the lack of what seems to be any real plan for the campus. Paycom should develop a master plan as we see today a big part of luring top talent is appealing work environments.

Good point. My concern was just the lack of what seems to be any real plan for the campus. Paycom should develop a master plan as we see today a big part of luring top talent is appealing work environments.

I don’t think this has ever been part of the culture, from what I’ve heard from EE’s. And corporate culture is a lot like the Titanic. Not at all easy to course correct.

Good point. My concern was just the lack of what seems to be any real plan for the campus. Paycom should develop a master plan as we see today a big part of luring top talent is appealing work environments.

They have a plan. It's just that some people don't like it.

Oh, Chesapeake had a plan to make a live/work/play campus and neighborhood. See how that worked out for them.

They have a plan. It's just that some people don't like it.

Oh, Chesapeake had a plan to make a live/work/play campus and neighborhood. See how that worked out for them.
That was because natural gas prices tanked and shady dealings from Aubrey. Not because of their campus plan.

I don’t think this has ever been part of the culture, from what I’ve heard from EE’s. And corporate culture is a lot like the Titanic. Not at all easy to course correct.
The top companies usually have great HQ campuses for their employees. The best OKCs top tech company can do seems to be a glorified suburban office park.

The top companies usually have great HQ campuses for their employees. The best OKCs top tech company can do seems to be a glorified suburban office park.

Totally agree. I’m just saying, I don’t think they care too much about creating an appealing work environment. This new rendering is further evidence of that.

That was because natural gas prices tanked and shady dealings from Aubrey. Not because of their campus plan.

Aubrey got WAY too aggressive in trying to make it happen. But show me how many others are successful in doing what you are expecting? Growing companies tend to build campuses by adding buildings as they need them. And, if they are lucky and in HIGH profit industries and can become dominant, THEN they can afford to start creating the kinds of urban mecca's like a Google can. They are investing BILLIONS over the next decade in downtown San Jose now after 23 years and it will take another decade for them to do it.. This is because they now can afford BILLIONS. You can't do that while you are establishing and first growing. Google is 23 years into fantastic growth success.

The software department is returning to office only 1 day a week starting in August. Seems at least semi-permanent for the near future. Wonder how that affects a "master plan."

Totally agree. I’m just saying, I don’t think they care too much about creating an appealing work environment. This new rendering is further evidence of that.
If it were me, I’d either build a skyscraper with extra floors downtown or buy land around their current HQ for a future master planned campus and work with the city for an LRT orbital line around OKC.

Aubrey got WAY too aggressive in trying to make it happen. But show me how many others are successful in doing what you are expecting? Growing companies tend to build campuses by adding buildings as they need them. And, if they are lucky and in HIGH profit industries and can become dominant, THEN they can afford to start creating the kinds of urban mecca's like a Google can. They are investing BILLIONS over the next decade in downtown San Jose now after 23 years and it will take another decade for them to do it.. This is because they now can afford BILLIONS. You can't do that while you are establishing and first growing. Google is 23 years into fantastic growth success.
I understand what you’re saying but I can’t pull every plan tech companies have for their campuses around the country. Of course I don’t expect Paycom to build an HQ like Apple’s “Spaceship” but there lies a solution in the middle of that and a suburban office park, no?

If it were me, I’d either build a skyscraper with extra floors downtown or buy land around their current HQ for a future master planned campus and work with the city for an LRT orbital line around OKC.
Hell, how cool would it be if they worked with Wheeler to establish a new HQ in the neighborhood. One could only hope for something like that.

The software department is returning to office only 1 day a week starting in August. Seems at least semi-permanent for the near future. Wonder how that affects a "master plan."

I'm sure Paycom is probably hoping this is temporary and that developers loose their leverage as time goes on. 1 day a week in August is a very small dip into the water and I'm sure they are getting some pushback from their workforce for that.

I'm sure Paycom is probably hoping this is temporary and that developers loose their leverage as time goes on. 1 day a week in August is a very small dip into the water and I'm sure they are getting some pushback from their workforce for that.

I was under the impression they've gone to 1 day per week in office because they kept hiring workers during Covid, and if all the workers came back, they'd have to build yet another building to house them all.

The software department is returning to office only 1 day a week starting in August. Seems at least semi-permanent for the near future. Wonder how that affects a "master plan."

The majority of their everyday workforce will be back in the first week of August.

From what I've gathered, there was significant pushback from the dev department to keep working from home and the 1 day a week thing was sort of a compromise from the higher-ups. A lot of devs/QA didn't want to return back to the office at all.

Well and to compete and/or keep those developers, Paycom will have to allow it too. In the post-COVID world, the companies that are flexible will be the ones to survive. Those that aren't, won't be able to attract the right talent and will slip. It's contrary to Paycom's heavy fisted management style, so we'll see if they can pull their head out of their butts or not.

I understand what you’re saying but I can’t pull every plan tech companies have for their campuses around the country. Of course I don’t expect Paycom to build an HQ like Apple’s “Spaceship” but there lies a solution in the middle of that and a suburban office park, no?

You have to understand that when the spot on Memorial was chosen 15-ish year ago, nobody was thinking that this company would have grown to where it is today AND nobody really knew what was going to happen with the city. If they could have somehow known where the hotspots in OKC would be in 2007, I'd guess they would have still gone suburban though maybe would have tried to incorporate with the Chisolm Creek people at that site (which of couse that conglomerate didn't exist at that time), but who knows. Realistically, they didn't know they were going to have the enterprise scale to try and incorporate a secure campus with life-style amenities, they were just trying to make the next step in growing from small to medium sized company, and even if they did, the landscape of OKC was entirely different.

Surely, I also wish Paycom was downtown, (or at least located along the Embark 005 so I could get rid of a car), but realistically, this setup is ideal. The business still doesn't entirely know what the future holds and they can build whatever they want however they want it with relative ease and no concern for space. And realistically, there is very much space to still do some lifestyle things with Paycom owning the land directly to the east.

I know a lot of people would rather they be downtown, but what would that offer them, realistically? Higher priced rent in a structure they don't own. Parking pains, inability to create things like the fitness spaces. There are actually a lot of benefits to the campus layout, depending on what you're trying to do. Not every company, in fact i would argue that MOST, in OKC are not downtown because they have no desire to be downtown.

Now, I'm anti-Paycom leadership till the cows come home. But, for them, i think they made the right decision and it's worked out very well for them. I dont really see how being suburban influences any of the COVID response nor do I see it in any way different from Microsoft/Google/Apple building a campus out in the burbs. Let's not oversell Paycom here. They will never have Apple's Spaceship (and even Apple wasn't happy with it before it was even done). Microsoft is a tenant of suburban office complexes across the country. And Google, well they do whatever they want and spend more in a day on office space than PayCom does in a year. So it's not a fair comparison at all.

I understand not every company wants to be downtown, but at least if you are in a more central location, you can draw from all parts of the metro for your employee base. As it stands, this location disproportionally favors those living on the NW side. Particularly at lower salary ranges, it’s far more of a hardship to get there on a daily basis from say, south OKC or Midwest City. I bet some talented workers never even bother looking there due to the distance they would have to drive every day.

How big is the Chesapeake campus compared to Paycom? Isn't there quite a bit of space opening up soon?

I understand not every company wants to be downtown, but at least if you are in a more central location, you can draw from all parts of the metro for your employee base. As it stands, this location disproportionally favors those living on the NW side. Particularly at lower salary ranges, it’s far more of a hardship to get there on a daily basis from say, south OKC or Midwest City. I bet some talented workers never even bother looking there due to the distance they would have to drive every day.

One could then argue the same about any business or even Tinker for that matter (since you brought up MWC). What actually ends up happening, is the area it draws from, just shifts. Yes, Paycomm has a larger draw from the NW side, but the NW is far from short of economic ranges. There are people in EOC that do work at Paycom. Just like there are people from my office (Reno/Council) that drive from Newcastle or Guthrie. People are nuts.

BomberMWC, I know you're right and people are going to do what they do. If you're management or at a slightly more elevated position, that's one thing. But what a weird tradeoff for somebody to spend an hour or more in their car every day, not to mention $3/gallon gas, for an entry-level job. I sure wouldn't, unless I was damn sure that is the place I wanted to be long-term and build my career. I'm sure "the area they draw from" shifts. But from the standpoint of the powers-that-be at a company, doesn't it put you at a disadvantage?

Maybe they haven't found that to be the case because people in OKC are so used to making that work/life balance tradeoff.

How big is the Chesapeake campus compared to Paycom? Isn't there quite a bit of space opening up soon?

Paycom is not moving. They are building a new building, and have probably hundreds of millions tied up where they are at. so them moving isn't happening, because they could never, and I mean never, sell those buildings on their campus.

Given how much the north side and Deer Creek in general is booming, I wouldn’t say “never.” The land it’s on may get to be pretty valuable in and of itself.

Not imminent, but not never.

I know it would never happen, but I was just asking a hypothetical question, given that the location of Chesapeake's campus is (arguably) more desirable than Paycom's.

Given how much the north side and Deer Creek in general is booming, I wouldn’t say “never.” The land it’s on may get to be pretty valuable in and of itself.

Not imminent, but not never.

Well, a company would have to buy it to move an HQ there. And those are not coming to OKC, for a multitude of reasons, unfortunately. Unless an investor wants to buy it and have it sit empty. It's Paycom or bust for that spot for a long time. Not bashing anyone, just stating the facts of the situation, as bad as they are. The area is booming, yes. But the campus is set up for a corporate HQ.

I know it would never happen, but I was just asking a hypothetical question, given that the location of Chesapeake's campus is (arguably) more desirable than Paycom's.

not if you are the CEO and live north of the current HQ

I would say that their aesthetic isn't going to change based upon location.

Paycom Grapevine, TX March 2021

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51264136578_68d84a1ae3_o.png (https://flic.kr/p/2m736ML)

Keep in mind that Paycom may well be one of the main reasons that the NW OKC/Deer Creek/Piedmont area is currently booming so much.

BomberMWC, I know you're right and people are going to do what they do. If you're management or at a slightly more elevated position, that's one thing. But what a weird tradeoff for somebody to spend an hour or more in their car every day, not to mention $3/gallon gas, for an entry-level job. I sure wouldn't, unless I was damn sure that is the place I wanted to be long-term and build my career. I'm sure "the area they draw from" shifts. But from the standpoint of the powers-that-be at a company, doesn't it put you at a disadvantage?

Maybe they haven't found that to be the case because people in OKC are so used to making that work/life balance tradeoff.

I get it, and I would agree that the entry level folks aren't going to make the drive. But there are plenty of potential entry level employees within a 15 minutes drive. For me, I cut it off at 30 minutes being the absolute max door to desk commute time. I do not intend on wasting any more time away from my family than that. Good thing is that in a post COVID world, it looks like i'll spend most of my time at home now. One of the benefits of a distributed team means that there's no extra benefit to being in a building. Of course, that's not at play with Paycom, but it COULD be in a lot ways if they wanted to.

What they have shown is that they are creating a brand in buildings too. If you immediately recognize a structure as brand X, then ok. I don't know that brand recognition for a HR services company is important in the slightest, but ok. It could also be, "hey, we've got this design from OKC, so let's just use that and make minor changes. It'll save on the architect charges". <-my money is on this :)

I get it, and I would agree that the entry level folks aren't going to make the drive. But there are plenty of potential entry level employees within a 15 minutes drive. For me, I cut it off at 30 minutes being the absolute max door to desk commute time. I do not intend on wasting any more time away from my family than that. Good thing is that in a post COVID world, it looks like i'll spend most of my time at home now. One of the benefits of a distributed team means that there's no extra benefit to being in a building. Of course, that's not at play with Paycom, but it COULD be in a lot ways if they wanted to.

What they have shown is that they are creating a brand in buildings too. If you immediately recognize a structure as brand X, then ok. I don't know that brand recognition for a HR services company is important in the slightest, but ok. It could also be, "hey, we've got this design from OKC, so let's just use that and make minor changes. It'll save on the architect charges". <-my money is on this :)

There's also internal branding, which being on the inside, I can tell you Paycom is pretty keen on. If at some point they want to expand a department down to the DFW office and they convince some people to move to DFW, then it creates a more seamless/familiar experience and ability to feel like you're still part of the same organization.

Chesapeake's campus probably doesn't meet Paycom's threshold for security from a physical perspective, so I think that would also be a non starter.

There's also internal branding, which being on the inside, I can tell you Paycom is pretty keen on. If at some point they want to expand a department down to the DFW office and they convince some people to move to DFW, then it creates a more seamless/familiar experience and ability to feel like you're still part of the same organization.

Chesapeake's campus probably doesn't meet Paycom's threshold for security from a physical perspective, so I think that would also be a non starter.

I can definintely see that. It's the good or bad of the way CHK built. They have the benefit of being set up to be able to be a campus for a number of smaller businesses now. IF they keep their CHK heads in it and realize that if they dont offer the emmenities as part of the "campus", then they're going to lose them. The much smaller CHK can't afford to maintain all of that and are going to have to share. Things like all of those eateries and the fitness center are going to have to me shared or they're going to close and have to convert to something else that can lease the space. There are examples of how this has worked around town (think 7725 Connect) and examples of how the developer couldn't quite put the right imagination to it (Firestone). The big question will be, what does a post covid office demand look like in okc?

And swinging back to Paycom, the question still stands for them as well. Companies that are not so heavy handed (as Paycom) in their management style, are expanding their hiring to be national searches now. So in that world, the idea of people being in the same building, or needing those multiple campuses, reduces. The word of the day is "real estate cost reduction". For those people that want to work remotely, in most cases the last year has shown that they can. Paycom (and others of course to be fair) are going to have to put on a new hat for new thinking. If they don't, what they will find is that those local employees picked up a job working for someone in, say Washington, because it offered them a chance to work remotely. And we're on the lower end of the market cost too. So if a posting comes up for somewhere else, these Oklahoma folks work for less and become a lot more attractive to those firms. The Oklahoma firms, like Paycom, are going to have to step it up (and relax the hand) or those minds are going to slip right through their fingers.

FYI Paycom has resumed their daily assault on Memoroal WB traffic.

FYI Paycom has resumed their daily assault on Memoroal WB traffic.

The vast majority of staff does not return until August. The paid police have returned, but the actual "assault" on that traffic will begin in August. OKC HQ probably added raw headcount between 250 and 500 during WFH and essentially all of that is returning to office by end of Q3.

The vast majority of staff does not return until August. The paid police have returned, but the actual "assault" on that traffic will begin in August. OKC HQ probably added raw headcount between 250 and 500 during WFH and essentially all of that is returning to office by end of Q3.

Oh I’m aware of the return to work schedule, it was more tongue in cheek since they’ve got a small portion of their staff on the office.

I’d like to say I’m shocked Chad is pulling them all back, but with his management style, I can’t.

You can see the new building is well under construction in the middle of their campus.

They own all that vacant land all the way to Rockwell.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/paycom122221a.jpg

FYI, they started taking up space at 7725 Connect (aka OKC Works...the old Lucent plant) as other tenants left in the post COVID world.