search
EN
English
Contact
arrow_forwardarrow_forward
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

It's not about the building

The first Australian ABW project

flagMacquarie Bank

location_onSydney - Financial Industry

Luc Kamperman

Goal

transparency and collaboration

3.000

employees

30.000 m2

office footprint

Macquarie wanted to define what transparency, collaboration and teamwork meant for the organisation by developing and implementing a new workstyle and workplace concept.

Our Role

In 2009 Macquarie Group's Banking and Financial Services division of approximately 3,000 staff leased a new headquarters at One Shelley Street in Sydney.

Leadership recognised the potential in adopting ABW to align One Shelley Street workspace and workstyle with the goals and values of the organisation and to embody the brand. But one challenge in particular was identified: How to break down silos?

One Shelley Street would be home to one division, but that division was made up of many different business units. Cross-collaboration and inter-business teamwork were not part of the existing behaviours at Macquarie Bank.

  • Veldhoen_CW_Macquarie_©SMG_1664
  • CW_Macq_©SMG_Panorama3

The Outcome

The new environment that Macquarie occupied in 2009 was light-filled, transparent, diverse and colourful. The early post-occupancy experience at One Shelley Street revealed continuing challenges like:

  • “How do I supervise a team I can’t see?”
  • “How can a team be a team when they are not necessarily in the same place?”

But as Peter Maher pointed out, resolving these issues was part of the ongoing journey and part of a permanent process of change management.

"My belief is that we actually end up with a better community of more people are more effective at their work."

Peter Maher

CEO

Why It Matters

6 months after the move, users were surveyed to discover how they felt about the new way of working at One Shelley Street:

  • 92% would prefer NOT to return to their old way of working

  • 73% of people said the implementation to ABW had changed their view on working for Macquarie positively

  • 55% of people said the new way of working had made them more effective in their performance – only 6% of people thought they are less effective

A story not just about the building, but the ideas behind it
Download the book
arrow_forwardarrow_forward
Featured Articles