A Recent Move - Yealands Wine Group

Tenant: Yealands Wine Group
New home: Level 17, 1 Albert Street, Auckland Central
Move date: June 2022
Interview with: Laura Chilcott

 

How long did you stay at your previous premises?

Six years.

How far out did you start looking for a new office premises? Was it long enough?

Six months out, I thought this was plenty of time.

What were the key drivers for your move?

Aside from the end of our lease, we wanted a fresh start for the team who had been working from home for the good part of a year. We had also changed and grown as a business and needed our office to reflect this.

How did you determine what your future office should look like? Did looking at other sites help?

We had several planning sessions with our team to gather feedback on what they would like in the new space. We also wanted to move with the times and have access to multiple spaces to work from aside from just our office space. Visiting other sites helped to expand our wish list and also solidify what we didn’t want, especially when it came to location.

Did the move enable you to change the way you are working?

Yes 100% in the best way possible.

Do you provide all team members with a fixed desk? Why or why not?

Yes we do, we believe it’s great to have your own home base while still being able to work from other locations in the building.

Activity Based Working (ABW) - fad or fabulous? Why?

Fab! Connection, imagination and creating a fun place to work.

Now that you are occupying the new space, how has the feedback been from your team members? What is the biggest change?

Everyone loves the new space, we feel like we are in the best place in Auckland CBD right now. Everyone loves coming into work and that is what we want after a long time of working from home.

What piece of furniture has made the most impact with team members and how they work?

Probably our custom-made oak dining table, a social space to connect, share lunch and chat. It is the centre piece of our office.

Are end-of-trip facilities becoming more important? Have team members changed the way they are commuting to work because of this?

Yes, they are. We like to encourage exercise at lunch, riding or walking to work and having these available to staff encourages a place to freshen up before or during work

What happened to your on-site storage needs? Have they changed? Are you using less paper?

We are a sustainable company so we use as little waste as possible. When we moved we did another big clear out to again reduce our footprint and we are always thinking of ways to be more sustainable where we can be.

What are some of the things you did right with the fitout?

Almost everything is just perfect for our team. The kitchen and social space is our favourite, as well as the views!

What is the one thing you would do differently with the fitout?

A bigger meeting room, perhaps.

What is the one piece of advice you would give another company looking to move premises?

Listen to your team’s feedback and don’t go with the first design you are given. Only you know how your team work best, design your floor plan or find a premises that reflects your business and your people.