Global media agency Initiative was the last of its holding group to move into the shared IPG Mediabrands building overlooking Prince Alfred Park, next to Central Station in Sydney’s CBD.
Previously two streets over, Initiative's move signifies the union of the Sydney Mediabrands group with over 500 employees in one office.
The benefit? Seamless collaboration across the holding group.
Initiative front desk.
Elyse Foley, Initiative national head of employee experience, told AdNews: “In our old office when working with certain Mediabrands’ units my team would travel to the shared office.
“Now all they have to do is walk downstairs and their partners are right there, so the move has made collaboration so much easier.”
Carolyn Maloney, Initiative head of people and culture, told AdNews: “People want face-to-face meetings instead of virtual, a shared building makes communication and getting to solutions much faster.
“It’s also important to rebuild relationships within the group since people were working remotely for quite some period of time.
"At the end of the day clients want a holistic solution - Mediabrands under one roof provides that.”
As the last tenant in the building, Initiative holds the top agency floor, just below the penthouse which houses the building’s shared presentation room and large kitchen.
In the shared Mediabrands penthouse, Initiative gathered in the huge presentation room to learn about the agency's new Employee Experience Program.
Initiative staff in the shared Mediabrands presentation room.
The shared presentation room also has a bar, pool table and large conference room, available for use to any Mediabrands' employees.
Catwalk that connects the two sides of the Mediabrands' shared penthouse, the kitchen and the presentation room. Which looks down on the Initiative office.
Aesthetically, Initiative’s office is very open and light, providing staff with plenty of space to collaborate and enjoy the agency’s culture in an inspiring environment.
Looking up from the Initiative office to the penthouse catwalk.
Communal kitchen and eating area just for Initiative staff.
Hot desking may be more effective post-covid
After COVID agencies have downsized their office spaces since employees are no longer required at their desks five days a week - hot desking can increase efficiency in a post-covid world.
Carolyn Maloney, Initiative head of people and culture, said: “We started hot desking after COVID and because at that time our office didn't have enough space for everyone we set up a booking system for when staff needed a desk.”
There is a seat for every Initiative staff if everyone is in on the one day.
Desks are a mixture of standard and sit-to-stand.
Elyse Foley, Initiative national head of employee experience, said: “When designing our new office which is double the space we made sure there were more collaboration spaces to ensure hot desking could be even more beneficial than our old office.
“In the old office there were probably one or two places to meet with your team whereas here there is, four or five just on our floor where a team can get work done together, meet casually and use some good tech without even booking a room.
“It's super easy to get a spot and say you had someone who didn't normally come in on a certain day. The team next to you might have a desk available and it's been really easy.”
Large meeting room.
Small meeting pods with screens for more casual work.
Medium sized meeting booth.
However, the common objection to hot desking remains - neglecting feelings of workplace belonging and desk personality.
So will the post-COVID hot desking last?
Initiative believes so.
Maloney: “We haven't quite done that yet and it was something that came up at the launch of our Employee Experience Program.
“Staff said how do we make my space mine? So we're still looking at some options on what we can do there."
Foley: “But we do have lockers here, where people leave their stuff.”
One of several lockers at Initiative.
Initiative is planning to implement more initiatives to make hot desking more personalised.
Another benefit of hot desking for Initiative employees is that people have an appetite to mingle with other agency people that they don’t get to interact often with sometimes as Foley found through employee feedback.
“People have said to me: ‘I love sitting on my team, but I want to sit with different people in the agency to get to know them’.
“It gives you the best of both worlds.”
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