Connecting Fitouts With Values

Building a presence in Brisbane

Managing Director Kris Whitehead was heavily involved in the fitout project. “My role and my area of expertise is business growth. I make sure we recruit the right people, with the right backgrounds. We are looking for the best bankers in the market, who we can empower to remove one of the major pain points every small business customer deals with — making sure their working capital is sufficient to enable their growth,” he explains.

Part of the Brisbane Judo Bank office brief was to be aligned with other Judo office spaces around Australia. These are all designed to create space that ‘feels like home’. The new space also needed to reflect the company’s values as well as reflecting the local Queensland customer and partner base.

As Kris explains, “Trust, performance, teamwork, accountability all matter at Judo Bank. Staff sit in an open environment so teamwork can be fostered well. This builds trust and allows everyone to perform at their best.”

The intention of the new Judo Bank offices also reflects customer needs.

We talk about the craft of ‘relationship banking’, which is about personalising experiences. We see a lot of different customers, from different industries, at different stages of their life cycle. Instead of using a computer-based model, we build relationships based on experience and our ability to mitigate or reduce the risks involved with borrowing money and growing a business. For us, relationships and understanding are key and they have seen us grow very quickly.

Kris Whitehead, Judo Bank

A modern, bright workspace with timber, concrete and glass features as well as the brand’s signature green colour helps clients to feel at home as much as staff.

The finished result is, “All set up with a great flow,” says Kris. “We have a space that is well-suited to our employees and makes them feel comfortable but we are also proud to bring customers and partners in on a daily basis. It works well for a multitude of reasons.”

Working to a tight deadline

Schiavello Construction Project Manager Nik Klokov took the lead on Judo Bank’s brand new fitout project, with the aim to deliver a centrally located, client-oriented and collaborative environment for the staff. “We were working on a very short timeframe of just 30 days and relied on clear communication with suppliers and subcontractors to make sure they were aware of the key dates.”

Nik and his team kept the value of ‘trust’ in mind. “The open spaces of the finished fitout feel really transparent and genuine. The look is open plan, with a lot of glass so nothing feels closed off. This creates a free-flowing environment,” he says.

One of the values Schiavello Construction instills in its team is quality craftsmanship. Even in a 30-day time frame, Nik and his team were able to reflect this. “Daily site visits, weekly coordination meetings and clear communication across stakeholders and subcontractors helped us manage expectations. We kept a step ahead and made sure that quality controls such as an internal defects list was ready ahead of practical completion to insure quality was kept to a high standard."

“Kris was a supportive and understanding client,” Nik adds, “He helped us by being very clear in his expectations, which helped Schiavello to deliver on time.”

Judo Bank met with a number of builders but Schiavello couldn’t have been any more helpful. We had a 30-day timeline to go from shell to completed office and the guys worked around the clock to make it happen. Nothing was too difficult, the communication was first class and I would recommend the team to anyone looking to fit out an office in and around Brisbane. It was genuinely a great experience.

Kris Whitehead, Judo Bank