Sanofi’s new Sydney office purpose built for agile, inclusive and hybrid working environment

Pharma News: Sanofi Australia has officially opened its new Sydney head office, which has been purpose built to support the company’s new ways of working and collaborating.

Karen Hood, Country Lead for Sanofi Australia and New Zealand, said the space facilitates an agile, inclusive and hybrid working environment with sustainability as a key focus.

Invited guest Dr Michael Freelander MP congratulated the Sanofi team on the new office and also acknowledged Sanofi’s significant work in the development of immunisations in consideration of the World Immunisation Week 2021.

“It is wonderful to see innovative companies adapting to the new world in which we live and it certainly is a new world. What is clear is that we are going to work in different ways, we’re going to be smarter in the way we work. We’re going to allow more working from home. Now that’s a good thing as it enables people to have less travel time and more time spent with family,” commented Dr Freelander.

Sitting across two floors totaling 3,340sqm in Macquarie Park with a design that is based on the seasons of the local indigenous D’harawal calendar, the new space has been created to support the company’s goal of becoming a truly diverse and inclusive workplace where employees have the flexibility to work remotely at least 50% of their time.

Karen Hood said the new office would support 300 Sydney based employees across some 200 work points.

“This office has been designed with COVID safe principles and hybrid technology as a priority to help our people balance their ongoing flexible work practices while still supporting high quality face-to-face and hybrid interactions,” Karen said.

“As we moved through the ongoing COVID pandemic and considered our organisation’s Play To Win strategy, we asked ourselves how we could embrace new ways of working and provide an innovative, inclusive workplace that empowers and connects our people.

“This new office helps to answer that question with a design and fit for purpose build that supports the business that we’re becoming.”

Sanofi Australia and New Zealand’s Director of Human Resources, Michelle Zimany, said the new office reflected the company’s continued focus on reinventing how it works.

“When the COVID pandemic hit we needed to quickly get our people working effectively at home so we listened to their needs and provided grants to help set up home working spaces,” she said.

“As we started to come back into the office our people were clear that they didn’t want to just bounce back to old ways of working. This new office is one of the ways we’re taking the best of what we learned over the past year while embracing the benefits of face to face and high-quality hybrid interactions.

“It has been wonderful to see how excited our Sydney based team have been about our new office. No matter their working style or needs, this space will support our people to work where and how is best for them.”

Key aspects of the new office include:

• A new activity based working environment with a range of spaces to support different working needs and styles including quiet working, meet up spaces and reflection areas.
• High quality technology experiences ensuring productivity is maximised during face-to-face, remote or hybrid meetings.
• A COVID safe design with sanitising stations and larger workspaces to support social distancing.
• An accessible and welcoming workplace design for people with disability with braille signs, wide corridors, and lowered reception and kitchen appliances
• Visible participation in ACON’s ‘Welcome Here’ project, which supports companies to create and promote environments that are welcoming and inclusive of LGBTIQ people.
• A new parent’s room and a zen room for meditation, yoga, reflection and prayer.
• Sustainable and resilient design with motion activated lighting, energy efficient dishwashers and no single use plastics amongst other features.