Deloitte Canada's New National Office Redefines "Work" for Employees and Clients

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - October 05, 2016) - Deloitte Canada today unveiled its new national office in the heart of Toronto's financial district, redefining how employees and clients work by using design and technology to remove physical barriers and provide a more collaborative and productive workplace. The tower is part of Deloitte's national strategy to provide increased flexibility and choice around how people work, encouraging social interaction and collaboration to inspire greater innovation for both Deloitte employees and clients.

Deloitte's evolving approach to work, called Orbis, also reflects the firm's commitment to inclusion. In removing barriers, each individual has the opportunity to contribute their unique skills in a more flexible environment that adapts to the demand of their work and needs.

Located on the corner of Yonge and Adelaide, Deloitte's Bay Adelaide East office includes 18 different types of workspaces to allow employees to match their work environment to the task at hand. The office unites more than 4,000 employees previously housed at seven different locations across the GTA. The building's six-floor open staircase serves as a visual reminder that the firm encourages social interaction and collaboration, rather than stresses hierarchy and tenure -- an unorthodox approach for professional services. Deloitte's new space also has dedicated areas for client use, and a wellness centre focused on physical and mental wellbeing. The interior design celebrates Canadiana through materials such as natural wood and in the furniture and art selection, underscoring the firm's 158-year history and commitment to the country.

"At Deloitte, we are continuously reimagining how we work, in order to foster greater innovation, disruption and collaboration so that we deliver greater value directly to clients, the country and the economy at large," said Frank Vettese, Managing Partner and Chief Executive, Deloitte Canada. "Our national strategy is to create unique destinations, like our new workplace in Toronto, which connects our people, our clients and the broader communities we serve in new ways. We believe strongly that this will increase the positive impact we can have."

Deloitte implemented its new vision for work -- and is continuing to pilot new approaches -- in 2012 in its Sherbrooke, Quebec office, later applying the vision in Langley, British Columbia (September 2013), followed by Ottawa, Ontario (April 2014), St. John's, Newfoundland (October 2014) and in September 2015 opening the Tour Deloitte in Montreal, Quebec. The national office in Toronto is the largest building to apply the flexible workspace model. The strategy represents the largest investment the firm has made in Canada to date.

"The Toronto tower design was informed by our research on multiple generations in the workplace, which revealed that while we share values, what differs are our approaches to work itself," said Ryan Brain, Deloitte Canada's Regional Managing Partner for Toronto. "By providing employees with flexibility and choice when it comes to the way they work, we're creating a workplace that encourages collaboration, teamwork and cross-functional, innovative thinking. It also promotes social interaction over hierarchy, which isn't the typical approach for professional services."

Deloitte Canada's 2015 Human Capital Trends report, which is part of one of the largest longitudinal studies of talent, leadership, and HR challenges and readiness around the world, found that today's workers, particularly Millennials who now make up more than half the workforce, expect greater flexibility in their workplace. This creates a new set of challenges for organizations, as they consider what these trends mean for leading and engaging employees.

But flexible design is good for business. Deloitte research revealed that agile offices are more competitive, leading to a 63 percent reduction in absenteeism. And 67 percent of employees say they would be more loyal to companies with flexible work options.

While most workplaces are designed with only five percent collaboration spaces and 80 percent personal workspace, Deloitte dedicates 65 percent of its workspace for collaboration to be more social, flexible, technological and free of internal 'silos,' introducing more collaborative workspaces as well as physical connection points throughout the office. With Deloitte research also revealing that there is an 18 percent productivity gain for companies that provide employees with access to natural light, 90 percent of seat space has access to daylight and views from the floor-to-ceiling windows that surround the perimeter of the building.

Innovative features of the new Deloitte tower

Eighteen different workspaces allow employees to choose the best environment for the task including:

Spaces for interaction, mental and physical wellness:

• Lounges
• Cafes and bistros
• Outdoor terrace and patio
• Wellness centre with fitness facilities and classes, treatment rooms, change rooms and a quiet relaxation area
• Open stairwell and seating to optimize the flow of natural light

Individual workspace:

• Workstations with dual monitors
• High top "touch down" tables
• Closed-door offices
• Sound-reducing chairs with high backs and sides for private work
• Treadmill desks
• Booths for private calls

Collaborative environments including:

• Flex spaces with different styles of seating
• Open/semi-open ad hoc meeting spaces, boardrooms, breakout rooms and multipurpose rooms
• Shared space hubs, like lounges, at key intersection points across the office

Secure technology to enable connectivity and flexibility:

• Lighter laptops
• Secure Wi-Fi
• Voice over IP phones for mobile work
• Mobile phone powered boardroom booking system
• Airdrop technology on shared screens
• Workspaces with SMARTboards

Innovation centres:

• Deloitte Greenhouse, an ideation and creativity space where clients can go outside of their everyday environments and decision making processes to disrupt conventional thinking, spur creativity, bring about new perspectives to lead to tangible solutions.
• Deloitte University is a world class leadership development centre for employees and clients, to be opened early in 2017.

For more information on Deloitte's approach to work, please visit: http://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/misc/litetopicpage.MF-CA-Tags.workplace-of-the-future.html.

About Deloitte
Deloitte, one of Canada's leading professional services firms, provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services. Deloitte LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership, is the Canadian member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member firms.

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