Fishing, massages and more: A look at the insane amenities at USAA’s San Antonio headquarters

The pin-drop silence was broken by a snore rippling out from behind a curtain.

A USAA employee, fast asleep on a recliner, was the source of the sound. The worker was making full use of one of several “Relax Zones” scattered throughout the company’s sprawling San Antonio campus.

On another floor, two employees whacked a ping-pong ball back and forth across a table inside an “Energize Zone.” The space, which has lockers for competitive players to store their own paddles, also featured ellipticals and foosball games.

The zones are designed to offer employees a place to recharge during the workday. They are part of the massive financial services company’s push to attract top talent from across the country, and retain the employees already aboard.

Additional amenities at the Northwest Side campus include three fitness centers, five cafeterias, a sit-down restaurant, multiple food chains, a health clinic, an on-site pharmacy, basketball courts, softball fields, volleyball courts, tennis courts, a soccer field, a fishing pond and a 9-hole disc golf course.

For workers who need a little help falling asleep, there’s even a masseuse available for paid appointments.

“Our employees are the heart and soul of USAA and are dedicated to serving military families with excellence,” said Wayne Peacock, the company’s president and CEO. “We are committed to providing highly competitive benefits, including a world-class workplace to support our employees’ total well-being so they can be their best every day.”

USAA has more than 35,000 employees across the globe. Of that total, more than 17,000 report to work at the San Antonio headquarters.

Although the exterior of the building — much of which was built in the early 1970s — appears dated, renovations have turned sections of the interior into the open-plan, whiteboard-walled offices reminiscent of Silicon Valley giants.

USAA competes against those tech colossuses to hire members of the “brain trust out there,” spokesperson Christian Bove said.

To lure in-demand workers, the company has turned its headquarters into a 282-acre magnet, with some areas that recall a college campus and others that pay homage to the boot camp many employees and members went through.

Recent college grads might feel at home joining one of the 180 intramural sports teams. Veterans may experience déjà vu when picking up their freshly-laundered plain grey shirt and blue shorts before working out at one of three fitness centers.

The amenities have the added benefit of keeping employees on campus. A USAA worker could exercise in the morning, eat three meals at Starbucks, Wendy’s and the full-service Grove restaurant, then unwind by casting a line for bass and catfish at the pond.

Of course, the San Antonio company has one more lure if basketball courts fail to reel in desired talents: a 14.5 percent annual bonus.