REGIONAL REJUVENATION

THE GREAT MIGRATION

Over the past eight years, migration from cities to regional areas has increased threefold across Australia [Regional Australia Institute, Big Movers 2023, p.6].

Softening the edges of the cost-of-living crisis, regional hubs can offer improved wellbeing, housing affordability and more time for what matters. Alongside a growing dissatisfaction with city living, these key drivers are boosting internal migration and prompting businesses to strengthen their approach to regional connection.  

For organisations with headquarters in the CBD and multiple regional locations, how do we encourage an aligned sense of purpose and a commitment to connection across all team locations?

This month we will explore the role of organisational culture, career development and workplace equity in regional sites. 

We’ll focus on what connects teams and their customers when distance has the potential to isolate. 

THE RISE OF THE SPOKE

Delta Air Lines introduced the first ‘hub-and-spoke’ model in 1955 as a system to transfer passengers from a central airport hub to their final destination.

Whilst the function of the ‘spoke’ has typically been associated with back of house operations, business continuity sites, service centres and call centres, the relevance of this model continues to grow with the rapid development of hybrid working models and the relocation of city-based knowledge workers to regional centres.

In these models, it is vital that regional workplaces provide the same amenity, technology, security, wellbeing, and connectedness as their CBD hubs. With this intention, spokes can achieve an equal measure of productivity, sense of belonging and cultural cohesion.

And with seven out of ten graduates from regional universities choosing to remain in their community [Regional Universities Network, 2024], successful spoke models are becoming increasingly viable, with the intellectual infrastructure already in place to build upon the growing internal migration within Australia.

EQUAL EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE EVERYWHERE

With the 2024 Growing Regions Program in place, the Australian Government has committed $600 million to support capital works projects that deliver community and economic infrastructure across regional and rural Australia. Australia’s regional areas are an essential part of our economy and integral to our sense of identity and shared values.

Our work with the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the Department of Community and Justice, the National Disability Insurance Agency and Water NSW allows us to see firsthand the support of the Federal and State Governments for people living in and moving to regional and rural communities.

We also support many of our CBD based clients to design and equip regional centres with the same tools and technology as their city-based counterparts. 

As a strategy for linking regional and CBD locations, Accommodation Guidelines are a great mechanism to establish a common set of organisational principles, metrics, space budgets and workplace elements. These guidelines provide a foundation for the design process while respecting the nuances of each location to provide an equal employee experience across cities and regions.