New Globe tower a great new home to a great old company

EMPLOYEES’ open-style work station

Rarely does a corporation get the chance to build its own home. Too often, offices are rented spaces and the easy answer to the need for more space as the corporation grows is simply to rent more space.

Globe Telecom is one of the lucky companies that had the chance to build its own place—from the design stage all the way to implementation. The staff all chipped in ideas and the result is nothing short of spectacular.

THE 8TH floor food hall called Taste with various food stalls

Three years ago, Globe’s staff envisioned a building that would encourage innovation and teamwork, that would be environmentally responsible, and one that would showcase the latest in telecommunications technology. I think in their hearts, they also wanted the building to be cool.

A home to Globe family

The Globe Tower, in the heart of Bonifacio Global City, has achieved all that for them. Yes, it is a standard corporate HQ of concrete, steel and glass, but more so, it is now a home to Globe family.

Ernest Cu, CEO of Globe, recently took me on a tour of the building. He spoke of how the structure embodies the transformation into a world-class telecommunications company that Globe itself has gone through in the recent past.

THE GLOBE Tower building at the Fort. Photo by Gener Esguerra

In line with the company’s commitment to sustainability, the building is aligned with the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) standards, a green-building rating system from the US Green Building Council. Following energy-efficiency standards, the building makes use of LED lights, significantly reducing lighting use and making the building 20-percent more energy efficient. The building is also designed to reduce water consumption through a gray-water collecting system that brings the building’s water efficiency to around 30 percent in terms of probable water consumption.

Other features such as shared/centralized services, double-glazed low E façade, low-flow plumbing fixtures, harvesting of rainwater for flushing and irrigation, motion-sensor controls, auto-dim and shut-off perimeter lighting and environment-friendly furniture reinforce the company’s commitment to LEED standards. The building also has a high-speed passenger elevator system that groups together passengers to help save time and energy. Employees’ workstations, using the open office concept, also feature LED lighting with energy-saving function, personal and team filing storages, pinnable workstation panels, and Herman Miller ergonomic furniture.

Latest in telecoms tech

To showcase the latest in telecommunications technology, Globe commissioned Huawei to provide in-building solution for its new corporate headquarters. A leading global and communications technology solutions provider, Huawei provided an end-to-end integration service solutions including in-building system and power supply system at the new structure.

ONE of three sky gardens in The Globe Tower

Huawei’s fully integrated LTE in-building solution guarantees all Globe employees will enjoy up to 70 Mbps data download speed. An in-building solution addresses the need for dedicated indoor coverage and location-based applications.

Realizing the need for a business-critical video conferencing solution, the new building also makes use of a more advanced videoconferencing infrastructure that gives the company more flexibility as it reduces the need for travel and thus empower its employees to deliver faster and better results for the benefit of its consumers.

The conferencing solution at the Globe Tower allows up to 60 videoconferencing ports to be connected simultaneously and thus enable staff to schedule project meetings more quickly and conclude such meetings more effectively. The solution is also compatible with all major conferencing infrastructure so meetings with any partner can be initiated easily.

The new Globe building embraces a clutter-free and paperless environment and thus has empowered its employees to work through an online platform. Simultaneous with the move to its new building, Globe tapped Google business solutions and tools, paving the way for a green office initiative to become possible.

Google Apps, a suite of online productivity and collaboration tools, provides Globe employees greater freedom to connect and collaborate anytime, anywhere, using any device, further enhancing employee engagement. Tools that include products like Gmail, Google Drive, Google++ and Google Calendar provide in-house communication breakthrough, allowing employees to hold meetings online, share videos or data with ease, and chat and meet online.

All told, the new Globe Tower is a great new home to a great old company.

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