About 25 years. Before that I worked at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The company really does represent the people. If the people are nice, the company comes out on top. The people represent 101 Collins Street and when they are polite and nice to me, it says something about the place.
When I came here, everyone told me that 101 Collins Street is one of the best buildings. And a lot of business people told me they’d kill to have even one room at this address.
A lot of things have changed. The ground floor wasn’t what it is now with the evolution and the new floors and tiles. I can say one thing: whatever 101 does, it does it perfectly.
No, same job just different colours!
It’s quiet. I usually work late at night, so I start when people are leaving. Mostly, there’s no one around. I clean the lobby for a couple of hours from 7pm, then at 10pm I go downstairs and do the car park, and I finish at 2am.
I recently met an old tenant who has moved buildings but still parks his car downstairs. I asked him, “How do you compare 101 Collins with your new building across the road?” He said, “No comparison! The car park is the cleanest I’ve ever seen!” This is the cleanest car park in Melbourne. Another evening, I saw a former tenant. I said “Hi, how are you?” and he said, “You still remember me?” I said, “Yes, I’m not so good with names, but I remember your face.” Then he told me he’d been in America for the last ten years!
Sometimes people from Flinders Lane come in with a bottle, but overall there’s not much trouble because the security is very good.
I’m a family person. My wife and I have been married for 49 years and we have three children and four grandchildren.
There are people worse off than me. First of all, I’m a very healthy person. I’ve accrued about 800 hours of sick leave! I try to be honest. I represent 101 Collins, so I’m happy. The management respects me and what I’m doing, and that’s very important.
That’s right. She respects me and what I do, and I respect her. I’ll give you some advice: looks attract, personality keeps.
No. I work with a smile.
Over 20 years. I started when the building was under construction for the original company, James L. Williams in the late 80s and early 90s, and there were no windows! So, we did work when it was only a shell. Then we started getting involved with commissioning and setting up the air conditioning in some of the individual fitouts. Then, through Ross Boreham and Bill Burgess, who could see the benefit of having HVAC skills in their engineering team, I became the independent air conditioning agent at 101 Collins.
The core hasn’t changed much. In simple terms, you have air handling unit fans. So you have big fans, pumps, filtration systems and things like that that haven’t changed, but the technology inside them has. Just like TVs or phones. Luckily things were well-designed when the building was built, so the systems are straightforward, but they still need to be upgraded and that takes constant management and oversight. But it also gives me a lot of job satisfaction.
My alarm goes off at 4:45am and I’m in by 6am. I usually try to finish up at around 3pm, but sometimes I’m here at six or seven o’clock at night. Most of my day is fielding calls and attending to requests, and fitout work takes a lot of time because they have deadlines. Leading up to the completion of the JLL fitout, I was here seven days a week. So, I set myself a goal for the day and that goal usually goes out the window in the first half an hour! I’m constantly on the go. Luckily, I have a very beautiful and patient wife, but she has dinner on her own a lot of the time.
101 is a family. It doesn’t matter whether it’s building management, engineering, marketing, or even tenants – we all try to help each other out. I’ve been involved with so many of the fitouts and you get to know people. My happy place here is Il Solito Posto. I try to have breakfast there once a week and I like taking my wife and friends there because the owner, Michael, is lovely. Ray, the chef, and I have become really close friends. It’s these faces that keep me here because it’s like coming home to a family.
Treat and speak to people the way you want to be treated and spoken to. Also, we can’t do anything about yesterday, but we can control the moment we’re in and try to make life better for the people around us.
I like to think I’ll be part of it! 101 has always been the market leader, the number one building in Melbourne. It has consistently high occupancy and that comes down to the building itself, how it is maintained and how it has moved with the times. The key thing is service: if you don’t get good service, you don’t come back. If you do get good service, you’re prepared to pay a bit extra for it and that’s the thing with 101. The way this building looks after its tenants – they’re the number one priority and other buildings could learn a thing or two from that.
Just over two years.
I lost my job at the airport during Covid but heard that there was a position going here at 101. I came in and had a look and thought, ‘Yes, this will suit me’, and I was lucky enough to join the company!
The high-end clientele and people, and the amazing services.
Probably the capacity. It’s filling up and getting busier and busier, which is good. The building is diversifying because some tenancies have downsized and some have grown.
I do, it’s full on! From the people to everything that goes through the place, whether it’s the alcohol they’re drinking or the windows they’re looking out of, everything comes through here.
I start at 6am and finish around 3pm. People probably think that every day is the same, but every day is different, which is good because it keeps you on your toes. A normal day is a juggling act, you don’t know what’s around the corner until you see it and work out how you can fit it in. You just do it.
Depending on the time of the year, I like to go for a swim at the local outdoor pool or a walk. On weekends, I head down to my cabin on the coast and go surfing. I’ve been surfing for over 40 years. I did paper rounds to buy my first surfboard.
The hours are great and the people are amazing.
I never realised how much goes into running a building like this. I just took it for granted. You look at these big buildings in cities around the world and you think, ‘How do they manage it?’ That’s the biggest thing.
Yes! A tenant had the 2022 Premiership Cup brought into his office by Steven Hocking, one of the Geelong Board members, and he said, “I’ve got to take this down to Adam!” So, he brought it down here and I got some photos. It was so cool. He had it wrapped up in a blanket so no one would realise what it was. That was probably the best thing that’s happened.
Over 25 years.
As a staff member, it’s more about completing your tasks, but as a manager, you take on much more responsibility. You’re managing not just tasks, but also people, processes, and the overall success of the team. You have to navigate team dynamics, handle performance issues, and ensure everything runs smoothly.
I’m usually in by 7am and aim to leave by 5pm. The afternoon shift supervisor arrives at 4pm, so we do a handover and I pass on any instructions before heading out. However, some evenings we do stay back after hours, and we’re still dealing with phone calls and emails – staying engaged even after we have left the building.
My day usually begins with reviewing the supervisor’s report from the previous night and passing on any issues to the relevant people. After that, I do my checks and choose a few floors for inspection. Throughout the day, I touch base with some tenants and handle any client concerns. Then there’s the paperwork – payroll, ordering stock, consumables, materials, and managing other administrative tasks that come with the role. There’s always something to keep me busy, never a dull moment at 101!
What I really enjoy about working here is the people. Whether it’s our team, management, the workshop, or security, we’ve all known each other for years. There’s a strong sense of teamwork, and everyone works together to get the job done.
My management style is shaped by the diversity here, with people from different nationalities and backgrounds. Every day brings new challenges and issues, so I make a point to address each situation individually and treat everyone with respect.
I have been here for 17 years and it’s always been a pristine building. That’s what I like about 101, we always keep the classic standard, but at the same time introduce innovations and changes without losing the essence of what 101 is. Part of this success is credit to the owners for maintaining the people who make 101 what it is. We all make that happen.
Every day is different. We manage around 55 people and we have such a busy site, in terms of tenants and their events, there’s always something happening! If it rains, it’s a different day. If tenants are in renovations, it’s also a different day.
Our people. It feels like a big family here. We are ONE team. The maintenance guys, the workshop, Building Management, Security, our tenants and us. Even though we are contractors for the site, we do not feel like it and 101 has never made us feel like outsiders. We are all treated as part of one big team.
I have a few, but my main one is treating everyone the same, whether it’s the general manager, the loading dock supervisor, or a tenant, a CEO or the cleaner doing the toilets. If you treat people the way you want to be treated, everything should be fine. Also, as long as you do your job, your hard work speaks for itself.
I believe 101 will maintain its essence but it will continue bringing in new ideas adapting to new technology and digital impacts, caring for our tenants, and making it even better. We’re working on becoming fully recyclable and adaptable to many different elements and uses; shaping a better place to be in regards to health and wellbeing.
Creating a team that meets the building’s standards. I’m proud of having a good relationship with everyone and the culture we have built together. It makes my job a lot easier.
Seven and a half years.
I worked on the production line at Ford for 14 years, making seats, before I was made redundant in 2016. I then did a security course at Crown Casino and worked for a security company before getting a job interview at 101 Collins. I got the job straight away and have been here ever since.
It’s a beautiful building and environment. Beautiful people. And I just felt comfortable from day one.
Everything is still very beautiful in the building. The foyer has been renovated, new tenants and businesses have come in, but it’s still the same beautiful place it always was.
Busy! I do over 10,000 steps every day. As soon as I get in in the morning, I have my routine. I change the daily data tapes and hard drives inside the management office and then I do a foyer patrol, making sure that everything is okay and there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Then I just help anyone who comes in and needs assistance.
There are good and bad days and a lot of different personalities!
Just the environment. I am very fortunate to be working in such a beautiful building and I’m very thankful to wake up every morning and be able to come to work. I hope to be here until I retire.
More than an iconic Melbourne landmark, 101 Collins Street is where influential businesses exchange exceptional ideas.