Newcastle: building a workplace that’s fit for the future
Deloitte’s new hybrid working approach means our people are able to choose when, where and how to work. It also embraces inclusive, inspiring, hybrid working environments designed for today and for the future. And this future of work is embodied by our new office at the heart of the Quayside in Newcastle.
In March 2022, we opened our first Workplace of the Future, a newly designed and refurbished space for our people in Newcastle. Taking opinions from our people in surveys and engagement sessions, the 11,150 sq. ft office at Trinity Gardens has creative space for its 285 people. Full of opportunities, it is a place to collaborate, socialise and network with both teams and their clients.
Elle Burrill, part of Deloitte’s Workplace Strategy team said:
“The development of our ways of working strategy alongside the office design was really important here. This wasn’t just a new physical environment for our people in Newcastle, but a completely new way of doing things.
Ashley Wright, finance director at Visualsoft, a local technology and marketing company, agrees.
“We have worked in the 'open to clients' area a couple of times. It's beneficial to be in a different environment to create some headspace for focus or creativity and having this facility available definitely improves the working relationship we have and makes us feel more integrated with Deloitte.”
The design team worked with the local leadership team to engage with people based in Newcastle and made use of the Ways of Working framework to create an open conversation with people around hybrid ways of working and how to make the new office a success.
Julia Fox, tax director, added:
“The first step for us in determining how our office would look and function was to bring together a local steering group with representatives from all of the businesses that use the Newcastle office. This helped to ensure that, at every step, the views of the different teams were considered in deciding what our space needed to help our people succeed.
“But we went further than just the physical office – Newcastle teams invested time in thinking about how we could best use the space and optimise hybrid working for us all. This led to our Ways of Working framework and some valuable discussions about how to keep us all engaged and enthusiastic. As a result, we now have a brilliant space and a foundation for the future.”
The design and features of the new workplace also contribute to Deloitte’s WorldClimate commitments. For example, the furniture has been selected from a range of sustainable furniture manufacturers who are committed to sustainable solutions through their furniture production and lifecycle.
The new office is also pioneering some new technology, including Owl Devices – designed to enhance hybrid meetings through a 360-degree camera and Ashton-Bentley meeting suites – putting those who are remotely dialling in, in the driving seat.
And the team is trialling a new client welcome experience. Tracey Jones, workplace services ambassador is responsible for the new service delivery and explains what it means:
“It’s been an interesting journey moving away from the traditional reception/receptionist meet and greet. We don’t have an official welcome desk now, clients and visitors walk into the space and can be greeted by anyone in the team. It’s helpful that the space is so welcoming and inviting, many choose to sit at one of the flexible spaces while waiting for their host to arrive. It’s less formal and more collaborative, with greater opportunities to meet new people.“
We’re gathering feedback from our people on all the new furniture and technology to ensure we’re continuing to learn and evolve our hybrid working design, to feed into future real estate projects across the firm.
And we will continue to invest in spaces and technology to better meet our requirements, from a people experience perspective and for our WorldClimate commitments.
