NAB lures staff back into Adelaide HQ after $450m tower move
A major employer has doubled its number of workers coming into its CBD office headquarters by making one considerable change.
Big four bank NAB says the number of staff choosing to work from its Adelaide HQ has more than doubled since its move into a new $450m CBD tower, which was officially unveiled on Friday.
NAB relocated its 400-odd Adelaide workforce into the new building at the former Southern Cross Arcade site on King William St in December, joining other tenants including Telstra and Services Australia.
The 14-level building was completed by developer Charter Hall late last year.
It operates on a net zero basis, and features Adelaide’s first “sky lobby”, flexible workspaces, wellness centre, and Adelaide’s largest end-of-trip facilities including 350 bike parks and electric vehicle charging.
NAB occupies about 3700sq m of space across two levels, as well as a branch space on the ground floor.
While the footprint is down from the bank’s previous 6000sq m of office space at its previous home further north on King William St, chief executive Ross McEwan said the new building had proven popular with staff, with the number of workers choosing to work from the office more than doubling since the bank’s relocation in December.
“NAB is a relationship bank and with our new central office in the heart of the city we’re ensuring that our people have the tools they need to provide great service to our customers,” he said.
“We can see office attendance is already rising. This tells me our colleagues enjoy and get benefit from being together at our new Adelaide headquarters.”
Mr McEwan, who was in Adelaide for the launch, announced earlier this week he would hand over the reins to incoming chief executive Andrew Irvine on April 2, ahead of Mr McEwan’s retirement on July 1 after four years in charge.
Mr McEwan has long been an advocate for workers returning to the office post-pandemic, and last April ordered his senior leaders back to the office five days a week so they could set an example for other staff.
The bank’s policy for its wider workforce is that they spend a minimum of two or three days a week in the office.
That contrasts with its new neighbour Telstra, which is more supportive of the hybrid model of work.
The telco’s location-agnostic approach has no mandates on time spent in the office.
In Adelaide, the new way of working is proving a challenge for CBD landlords, with the city’s office vacancy rate ballooning out to close to 20 per cent – the highest level since the 1990s – following a wave of new developments that have left the city’s older, lower-quality buildings in an uphill battle to secure tenants.
The latest Property Council figures reveal the city’s vacancy rate rose from 17 per cent in July to 19.3 per cent in January, making Adelaide home to the highest rate of empty CBD offices in the nation. The national CBD rate rose from 12.8 to 13.5 per cent.
The city’s newest buildings, however, including 60 King William St and Walker Corporation’s new tower at Festival Plaza, are near capacity as corporate occupiers seek the newest and most advanced spaces in their bid to lure staff back into the office.
Comprising 39,000sq m of office space and 3600sq m of ground-floor retail space, 60 King William St is Adelaide’s largest office building by floor area.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, who was at Friday’s launch, said the development set a new sustainability benchmark in Adelaide, and “also supports activation in the CBD, with a variety of tenants including retail and hospitality”.
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