Hybrid here to stay, says team behind Brisbane’s new tower

Suncorp’s new Brisbane office at 80 Ann Street

Hybrid work is here to stay and businesses need to get rid of cookie-cutter approaches to convince workers to return to the office, say the people ­behind Brisbane’s newly named top workplace.

Suncorp’s new headquarters in Mirvac’s recently completed Heritage Lanes tower at 80 Ann St was awarded the prestigious Leesman+ certification, which recognises the best office spaces around the world.

The findings of the Leesman survey showed employees are after collaboration and community, which was the key to Suncorp’s executive general manager of people & culture strategy, Matt ­Leslie.

“There cannot be a ‘one size fits all’ approach in terms of where you work and when you work,” Mr Leslie said. “Our strong view is there are no individual desks, you work where you need to be, you collaborate as much as possible and then technology enables you to do that.

“It’s exactly what this building provides and it’s certainly what I’m planning for and all of our future workforce planning and strategies.”

The Heritage Lanes project offers a variety of areas.

No worker is assigned a desk. Instead, those attending the office can book a desk within a “neighbourhood” shared by a team to allow them to work in proximity, even when people aren’t there. Phones act as a key to power the workspace to save power, and meeting rooms of all sizes have a full technology kit-out.

A Leesman review was initiated by the finance firm on the back of the move, which amalgamated three offices into one, to generate feedback. To receive the plus certification, a score between 70 and 100 is required.

Collaboration is key when in the office, Mr Leslie says.

Suncorp executive general manager of real estate, procurement & operations, Colin Harris, said the creation of breakout and events ­spaces had proved critical to entice people back. A group-wide push had been made for activity and event days as an attraction.

“The design, pre-Covid, was forward looking and already catered for that,” he said.

Commonwealth Bank’s Sydney HQ was the highest-ranked workplace in the world in 2021, ­followed by four of insurance firm IAG’s Australian and New Zealand locations.

Office vacancy rates rose in the second half of 2022 as a result of ­numerous new towers coming online and boosting supply. Sub-letting of space showed signs of abating after rises during the pandemic.

Suncorp’s Brisbane office at 80 Ann Street

Property Council of Australia chief executive Mike Zorbas said the next 12 months would see businesses finding an office and home balance in the “new normal” environment.

Mirvac’s general manager for ­office, Andrew Butler, said Mirvac said Suncorp’s new base was built to be a “destination office”.

“Heritage Lanes is the expression of a fantastic partnership that from the outset set out to be a world-class workplace and one of the most intelligent buildings in Australia, with ongoing innovation,” Mr Butler said.

The Brisbane office was Suncorp’s last major consolidation of resources. The next building to be refurbished is the bank’s Melbourne HQ at 530 Collins St.