Creating the number one workplace in the world with BHP

Spanning Manila, Singapore, Santiago, and multiple Australian cities, the international firm identified the benefits of a unified approach, organically fostering an underlining functional and aesthetic cohesiveness for employees no matter where in the world they were.

The goal was a bespoke workplace design strategy that exceeded industry standards in agility, flexibility and health and wellbeing at every office, while integrating with the local cultural identity and lifestyle of each location individually.

“We wanted our employees to experiment and experience how they can work and collaborate in a new workplace” shares Tristan Lim, Regional Manager, Property & Workplace at BHP Asia.

Schiavello’s involvement in this forward-thinking approach wasn’t limited to supplying furniture. Rather, as a trusted workplace furniture specialist, engaged to advise, solve and project manage the multi-location roll out over time, using 50 years of industry insight to deliver a collection of complete, thoughtful workspaces.

Office solutions showcase an extensive package of innovative furniture – including signature Schiavello Krossi Workstations, tech-enabled Vecos Smart Lockers and various local suppliers for specific needs, all managed by the Schiavello project team to ensure a cohesive final solution. The result is a world-class shared service operation with exceptional culture.

A stand out success

A key project in the suite, BHP’s Manila office completed in 2019, gained the number one ranking on the 2019 Leesman+ index, a measure of employee experience and workplace effectiveness worldwide.

BHP Manila ranked higher than the offices of other global companies including Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and Boston Consulting Group.

The new space spans five levels and has BHP’s values of safety, diversity and collaboration at the core. The Schiavello solution allows for activity-based working, made possible with customisable, Australian-made furniture at its heart.

“Providing outstanding workplaces to our employees is absolutely paramount for us. Achieving the highest Leesman+ score to date in our Manila office tells us that we’re on the right track and doing the right things for our people.” says Monica Klyscz, head of global property and workplace at BHP.

Telling a design story

Schiavello partnered with global design firm, Woods Bagot, to bring their sophisticated vision to life. Responsible for the design across each of the locations, the innovative studio constructed a mindful strategy that tapped into the essence of each BHP office while maintaining consistency through-out. Daniel Du, associate at Woods Bagot, describes the workplace and the way furniture, colour and culture entwine for an efficient and comfortable working environment.

"The key to a dynamic workplace is the diversity, agility and empowerment to the staff, being able to decide how they would like to work. We were able to give BHP a furniture kit-of-parts that encompass private to communal working styles,” he says.

“Our design narrative speaks to the fun, happy and cheerful nature of the Philippines and the rich diversity of a multi-cultural melting pot of Singapore. The overall outcome was very positive in terms of design intent delivery and the feedback from BHP staff after project completion is also very positive,” adds Du.

Added value everywhere

As a part of Schiavello’s integrated office transformation, both the multi-city project and the products that it comprises of are informed by our People and Culture Consulting division, where human behaviour and organisational experts give advice and solutions for workplace effectiveness.

Designing custom, collaborative settings to suit BHP’s needs, the solutions achieved go beyond what is readily available on the market. The Schiavello difference is that, thanks to our significant production and manufacturing capabilities, we’re able to offer the tailored, high-end solutions at scale, a critical component to BHP’s project goals.

Our passion for environmental sustainability means we endeavour to extend the life of products wherever possible. For BHP, this meant refurbishing existing products, transporting them around the globe or storing them in the interim: our adaptable offering and impressive capabilities are able to materialise in a variety of ways.

The results show the power of a successful furniture partnership in creating the optimum workplace for employees that allows company culture and wellbeing to thrive.