Summer 2007: a delegation of the Australian investment bank Macquarie visits insurance company Interpolis in The Netherlands. The building and especially the way of working at Interpolis appear to be a real eye-opener. Result: more than 16,000 kilometres from home base Maastricht, Luc Kamperman (project manager at Veldhoen + Company) is supporting Macquarie Banking & Financial Service division to prepare 2400 people for "Activity Based Working”.

Show us that it also works in Australia

Macquarie was not immediately tempted: first they wanted the opportunity of testing Activity Based Working: "Let’s start a pilot to show us that it can also work for our people in Australia”. In collaboration with Macquarie BFS we developed an integrated working concept. Simultaneously we worked hard to realise a pilot for ninety people (which was operational in September 2008). The famous ear chairs and lounges were delivered by SV from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. These furniture elements determined the innovative image of the pilot floor. Simultaneously with the introduction of laptops, mobile phones, follow-me-printing and wireless presenters Macquarie BFS switched from fixed to mobile technologies.

Zoning plan

In April 2008 the concept for Activity Based Working was finalised. We had found customised solutions for the physical, virtual and behavioural environment: i.e. respectively the fit-out of the building, the forward thinking IT solutions and a program to support all leaders and staff in this change. This involved close collaboration with representatives of Macquarie’s various business teams.

Luc Kamperman: "We have created a zoning plan for the building and functional layouts for each floor. The main principle of the zoning plan is that each floor has five working areas. Two of these areas focus on individual work with possibility of short interaction; two other zones focus on intense collaboration. The fifth area, the so-called plaza, is a neutral area and not assigned to a department. Seven plaza areas – each with a different theme – are distributed vertically throughout the building and stimulate to work across departmental boundaries."

Involved architects

High quality and a functional design are very important. But people also like nice exterior and interior design. Fitzpatrick & Partners were responsible for the exterior design of a groundbreaking building. The striking external diagonal steel grid structural system eliminates the need for perimeter columns and maximises the flexibility of the internal floor space.
Clive Wilkinson Architects (CWa) was responsible for the interior design. He and his team came up with a great design for the big atrium. So-called meeting pods literally hang in the atrium. CWa was also responsible for translating Veldhoen’s functional workplace concept into an innovative interior design.

Luc Kamperman: "Next to the solutions regarding floor layouts, types of furniture, user technology we also supported Macquarie’s organisational development team to develop a program to prepare people for this change."

Measuring = knowing

The choice for piloting ABW has proven to be very valuable. Firstly it helped to show Macquarie’s leaders and staff that it could work for them. Secondly, we have gained experience from the implementation process. Some important results we have learned from the pre- and post-move survey are:

• 90% of people prefer not to return to their old environment and way of working;
• An occupancy rate of 80% proofed to be feasible (even without official homework policy);
• One third of people changes work spots during a day, two-third of the people changes on a daily basis;
• The new environment offers much better support for complex problem solving, autonomy and creativity;
• The new work environment offers more support for all types of meetings;
• People have appreciated the e-learning and face-to-face workshop that helped them to prepare for the change;
• Follow-me printing technology reduced the amount of printed pages with more than 60%;
• People were able to cull more than 50% of their team and personal paper archives.

Working in Sydney

Besides preparing and guiding Macquarie on their journey, Luc Kamperman got the ultimate chance to get to know Sydney. "In my role as project manager, I have spent 12 months in Sydney so far. I think it's a fantastic city. Besides the nice climate, there is a real outdoor sports culture. When I went out for lunch in my first week in Sydney, I thought a big running competition was on in the central business district.”

Learning experience

This project is not only innovative and educative for Macquarie. Luc: "We have made another big step in our evolution as a company. We are more experienced in working together at distance.” It is very rewarding to see that on the other side of the globe, clients are very enthusiastic about the ABW concept and our approach.

On October 14th the official opening of the Macquarie building took place. “We have realised a fantastic project in Australia that will get a lot of attention.” Recently Luc has moved to Sydney permanently and he wants to inspire other Australian organisations to adopt the ABW concept, without the need to travel all the way to Europe to visit an ABW project.