18 November 2015
Concierges, focus rooms and flexible meeting spaces aren’t the sorts of terminology you’d usually associated with the offices of a corporate law firm.
But for Allion Legal, they’re the hallmarks of an innovative new approach to office premises which has already delivered significant benefits in terms of productivity, company culture and cost just three months after moving to a new address.
After six years occupying premises on Kings Park Road in West Perth the national boutique law firm made the move in August to the redeveloped Cloisters Square site at the west end of the CBD, where they occupy level nine of the new ten-storey office building fronting Hay Street.
The move has seen the firm reduce their office footprint by almost ten per cent, from 1,260sq m at Kings Park Road to 1,143sq m at 863 Hay Street.
At the same time, the firm has moved to a fitout providing its staff with a mix of offices and a number of flexible, communal meeting and work areas, all anchored by a 200sq m focal space known as The Hub.
However, Managing Principal Philip Lucas said the move wasn’t just about reducing floor space and cutting costs. Instead, it was about placing Allion Legal at the forefront of the changing face of professional services firms.
“We do have a reduced footprint per person in terms of the office space following the move – but really what we’ve done is ensure we’re working in a way that most leading professional services firms around the globe are either doing, or moving towards,” he said.
“We don’t see space as revolutionary. It was a case of thinking about what a modern office looks like, about what we do as lawyers and finding the solution that encompassed and supported both of those elements.”
Allion Legal has taken a ten-year lease over the new premises. The central space is broken up into six private meeting rooms, one boardroom and the open space known as The Hub, which accounts for less than a quarter of the total area.
While not the biggest component of the new premises by area, The Hub forms the focal point of the Allion Legal office. Clients and visitors to level nine step off the lift and into the large open space, furnished with a mix of seating and tables, an array of the day’s newspapers, coffee machine, kitchen area and television screens, with views out over Hay Street.
The space can accommodate up to 40 people for presentations and up to 100 people for a cocktail function, and also serves as a venue for informal staff meetings, client meetings and section meetings.
Rather than a reception desk, visitors to Allion Legal are greeted by a concierge who moves freely around The Hub and acts as the interface between the firm and its clients and visitors.
Mr Lucas said the move to Hay Street had involved a shift in thinking for the firm, which used Geyer to handle the fitout of the new premises and advise on the change management process.
“In order to make that cultural shift, you need to start changing the behaviours some way out from the move – what makes an office tick is a lot of different elements. It’s behaviour, it’s processes, it’s people. For example, we didn’t bring a lot of paper with us,” he said.
“We’d worked very hard for a period of time to make the firm as streamlined as possible in that regard, so that when the time came to move it was just an extension of that.
“We had to make sure the open space concept was well thought out – you can’t tell staff to go and use a focus room if they need to concentrate but then give everyone a desktop computer, so that means making sure everyone has laptops.
“It was very much about creating an environment that supports both the requirement for concentration and privacy, and at the same time breaks down silos and encourages working together.”
Three months in to the new office environment, Mr Lucas said the benefits had already become clear.
“A reduction in space and a more efficient way of using that space has certainly delivered cost benefits, as you’d expect,” he said.
“However, the new approach has also absolutely increased collaboration across all areas of the firm – it’s enabling us to work smarter, deliver better outcomes for our clients and ensure we’re positioning ourselves for the future.”
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