Deloitte's workplace for the new generation

It's conducive to collaboration -- and boasts a nice view.

Deloitte Hong Kong's spaces have undergone a major change, and which aim to encourage further collaboration -- and hopefully a nice harbour view greatly helps things, too.

Deloitte Hong Kong has just renewed their lease for another 10 years after returning one and half floors to their landlord in Pacific Place (Admiralty), which has reduced their overall office space by 15%. This leaves them with six floors of office space at One Pacific Place and one full floor and two half floors at Cityplaza Four (Tai Koo). Deloitte AP and Deloitte Consulting also have offices in One Pacific Place. Specifically, Deloitte Hong Kong has 35/F to 40/F, and two units on 8/F at One Pacific Place in Admiralty; and in Cityplaza Four in Taikoo they have the entire 6/F and half-levels on both 14/F and 16/F.

However, what's more important is the change being done to the spaces. "Most significant is Deloitte Hong Kong's adoption of the Activity Based Workplace concept which we call the "New Generation Workplace" (NGW)," says Derek Lai, Southern Region Managing Partner, Deloitte China.

The office has adopted an open plan and translucent design to allow more natural light into the office. The partner's offices are now at the core to allow the majority of staff to enjoy the extraordinary harbour view and a more collaborative workplace.

The NGW included various features to suit all types of work carried out at Deloitte such as work cafés on each floor for collaboration among colleagues, focus booths for concentration work, quiet rooms with enhanced acoustic treatment for phone calls and confidentiality needs. Meanwhile, there are meeting rooms in different sizes with media tables and big display screens for team discussions. There are also the sit/stand tables to help staff to stay more active and healthy at work.

Open communication
"The purpose of the NGW is to promote the mobility and collaboration of our staff, supported by advanced technology booking systems for better workplace management and space utilization," says Lai. "The central café atrium on level 35 features a 500" LED media wall and has the capacity to accommodate events of up to 400 guests, helped by more flexible and configurable settings. Finally, full high speed Wi-Fi coverage throughout the office allows staff to work anywhere in the office without limitation."

The project team for the change consisted of professionals including a project manager, an interior designer, E&M consultants, a professional construction team and national vendors. They all reported to the Real Estate team and regional management team at Deloitte, chaired by Lai. 

To overcome the obstacles related to the change, Deloitte Hong Kong needed to have detailed planning and staff relocation plans. People were informed of changes through internal communication and all vendors were briefed to comply with the company's 'house rules' and to confine all noisy work to non-office hours.

"The office remodelling project is part of our talent retention effort to provide an office environment that caters to the needs of the new generation employees. This is in alignment with the global trend of establishing an activity-based office environment," shares Lai.