Trends and looking ahead
- Work place culture
Anecdotal evidence, supported by recent literature, indicates that work place culture is critical for staff retention, healthy office environments and satisfied employees. A commitment to Life Cycle Management demonstrates a proactive approach to environmental management and sustainability. Recent trends suggest that environmentally aware companies can attract and retain good quality staff members. The benefit to businesses is two fold - they can secure productive staff members in an increasingly competitive labour market, and reduce costs associated with recruitment, training and discontinuity.
Costs of recruitment and loss of expertise demonstrate the value of staff retention. A growing awareness of environmental issues has led to staff demanding more of their employers in the way of workplace culture including, for example, green building design. Lend Lease's "The Bond" building in Sydney and Melbourne's 60L Green Building and the National Australia Bank's Docklands building demonstrate that a healthy working environment stimulates staff to be more productive, happier and indeed more healthy.
Building secure bicycle parking and providing an aesthetically pleasing work environment is unlikely to prove a "waste of money". Such amenities are both functional and serve as an investment in staff retention. Put simply, businesses with "good environmental and social records have a better chance of attracting talented employees", says Caroline Rance (The Age, July 2, 2005).
Working for the greater good
Engineers take green step to city
By Tina Perinotto. Australian Financial Review, July 8, 2005.
Engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff has signed for two floors in the new Ernst & Young Centre in Sydney's World Square Tower, citing staff preferences for an energy efficient building and proximity to clients as key reasons for the move. The lease, worth about $2 million a year, is for six years over levels 26 and 27 and will accommodate about 300 staff moving from its premises in Rhodes. Paul Salter Associates acted for the landlord, Multiplex. According to Parsons Brinckerhoff's NSW state manager, Stuart Glenn, staff surveys revealed a keen interest in moving to a building with a good energy and environmental profile. The World Square building has been rated 41/2 stars under the Australian building greenhouse ratings system. "We have a lot of environmental scientists and environmental engineers, and that's what's come back to us, that's the motivation." Access to its clients and being part of the CBD were also cited as being important. Mr Glenn said the choice of location was part of the company's overall strategy of growing and improving morale and attracting and retaining staff. "It's a competitive market," he said. Managing director Mike Wilke said the move would bring the company closer to clients and allow it to recruit "the cream of industry professionals which is critical in a sector where demand for skilled staff is high". The US-based company, which employs about 800 people, recently won major design roles in Sydney's Lane Cove Tunnel, the Epping to Chatswood rail line, Sydney Water's NetWorks Alliance, EastLink in Melbourne, and Queensland's Dawson mine project. In Victoria, the 60L building and NAB headquarters show business moving to green building as a key part of retaining staff and attracting new staff.
Thank God it's Monday
Gone are the days of workers slaving in porky boxes while their CEOs soak up penthouse views. Janet Hawley discovers a new world of "five-star resort" offices where staff feel human... and happy. Good Weekend. June 18, 2005.
..."The old culture was, you should be grateful to have a job so put up with what you're given - and people largely did," Kirkby says. "The modern culture is we want to attract the best and brightest people, we value the people who work long hours, so we will provide the best possible environment so they will want to stay."
Lend Lease moved from Australia Square to a new, six-floor horizontal building, The Bond, a year ago. Instead of the CEO and senior executives taking the penthouse floor and hogging the best harbour views, it's now communal recreation and training rooms and a roof garden. The CEO sits in a middle-level floor at an open-plan desk like everyone else. "When we surveyed staff about the move, top of their wish list were to have natural light, fresh air, and everyone sharing views out the windows," says Chris Carolan, a project director with Lend Lease.
The big tick for the award-winning office is its environmental edge - it's the first CBD building in Australia to commit to a five-star energy rating, producing 40 per cent less CO2 emissions than a typical office building. Air-conditioning has been replaced by natural ventilation and "chilled beam" cooling where cool air descends from water-filled radiator beams in the ceiling. Glass louvres along the front of the building provide fresh air - a rare commodity in corporate offices.
"We're in the property business so we decided to go the extra mile with our own new building," Carolan explains. "The criteria were that as well as being seriously green, the building must have remarkable design. There is a notion around that seriously green buildings can end up looking a bit folksy."
