The Alliance - Inside Citrix's Fort Lauderdale headquarters

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At a time when the fight for talent is tougher than ever, cutting-edge companies are increasingly pouring significant capital into headquarters renovations to attract and retain skilled workers.

Technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google – companies in an industry with a larger shortage in potential hires than others — are among the enterprises that have all together invested billions of dollars outfitting their main offices in recent years.

Add Citrix Systems (Nasdaq: CTXS) to the roster of companies with shiny, new features and room for expansion. From full-sized gyms, to robust dining options and shuffleboards, the Fort Lauderdale-based software giant polls employees to decide their next headquarters improvements.

"We invest in our offices around the world but at the end of the day, our headquarters is here," said Citrix Senior Director of Corporate Risk and Americas Real Estate Laurie LeLack said. "I've been here 21 years and I've seen the progression from a startup to a corporate culture. It's been a nice ride."

Citrix launches renovation projects at its headquarters every four to five years, LeLack said, but some floors at its headquarters on West Cypress Creek Road had not been changed for over a decade since its most recent upgrades broke ground in the first half of 2018.

Earlier this month, the company unveiled its fully renovated 24-hour gym. Another significant portion of the multimillion-dollar project went to its café, where square footage was added for an additional 40 seats for a total of capacity of 142 seats indoors. The company added a pizza oven for custom pies on its menu, and also serves smoothies, soups, wraps, sandwiches and sushi. About 1,100 meals are served daily at Citrix's café.

In the company's 26 kitchens across its campus, employees have access to free snacks and coffee. Last year, Citrix served 88,000 cups of coffee to its headquarters workers.

The company also invested in creating "town squares" on each floor near the kitchen, where employees can play shuffleboard as they socialize. Break rooms, tranquility rooms, rooms for nursing mothers and even telephone booths were constructed on each floor nearby meeting rooms of various sizes. Meeting rooms can be reserved via Outlook.

Other features include massage chairs, gender-neutral bathrooms and digital signage throughout the company's four-building headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.

"They have a choice for any way they like to work," LeLack said.

In the coming months, Citrix will unveil a new lobby in its engineers' building. The company will then asses new projects for the rest of 2020, LeLack said.

Citrix has about 1,800 employees at its South Florida headquarters, 500 people at its headquarters in Santa Clara, California and about 800 workers at its Raleigh, North Carolina operations. Currently in growth mode, Citrix has room to increase its Fort Lauderdale employee count by 20%.

Citrix, one South Florida's largest technology enterprises, last year celebrated 30 years in business. Since it was founded, the company has amassed $3 billion in revenues and 100 million users.

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