How JLL Used Coffee To Bring Three Floors Together As One Community

When JLL redesigned their Melbourne headquarters at 101 Collins Street, they weren't just consolidating three separate floors into one. They were building a workplace that would compete for people's attention in a world where working from home was always an option.

As one of the world's largest commercial real estate firms, JLL understood the stakes. A great fit-out alone wouldn't be enough. They needed something that would draw people in, spark connection across departments, and make the office feel alive. In a city built on cafe culture, the answer was right in front of them.

View Service

Workplace barista bar site in melbourne cbd

600%

increase in personal connections across departments

140,000+

cups of connection served in two years

The Challenge

JLL occupied three separate floors at 101 Collins Street, Melbourne. Teams rarely crossed paths beyond their own level. Post-pandemic, the workplace had become competitive. People had choices about where to work, and a great desk and meeting room technology wasn't enough to bring them in.

JLL's workplace strategists had a clear vision: a unified space where people chose to come in, chose to connect, and felt proud of where they worked. But translating that vision into a tangible daily experience required more than a renovation. It required the right partner to create the social dynamism and magnetism that would make people want to be here.

The Brief

Design a workplace coffee solution that:

Delivers a cafe-quality barista experience that reflects Melbourne's coffee culture inside the office
Unifies three floors around a single social anchor that draws people together organically
Integrates seamlessly within JLL's Integrated Facilities Management ecosystem as a trusted soft service partner
Features a custom fit-out aligned to JLL's premium workplace aesthetic at 101 Collins Street

Our Solution

Coffee On Cue delivered a full-service, barista-led cafe experience that became the living heartbeat of JLL's Melbourne headquarters.

What We Implemented:

Custom-designed cafe bar aligned to JLL's workplace aesthetic, featuring La Marzocco and Mahlkonig equipment
Full-time embedded baristas operating as community anchors, greeting people by name and creating a front-of-house experience
Fully subsidised coffee menu to remove all friction from daily engagement
Real-time workplace dashboard tracking cups served, engagement hours, peak times, and sustainability metrics
Co-branded "Coffee on Cue x JLL" BD presentation enabling JLL's teams to pitch barista services to their own clients

What Made It Stick:

Baristas who understood JLL's culture and treated every interaction as a moment of hospitality, not a transaction
Organic connection points that felt natural. Not corporate-engineered, not forced. Just good coffee in the right place at the right time.
A partnership approach from day one. Coffee On Cue didn't just understand the brief. They understood JLL's workplace vision.

“What we've seen is a 500 to 600 percent increase in personal connections across departments since the cafe launched.”

Adrian O'Dea, Head of Workplace Experience, Strategy & Operations | JLL

“From day one, it has been like working with a best mate. Coffee on Cue stood out as someone who was willing to go over and above and understood our workplace vision.”

Shaun Rogers, Director, Workplace Change & Communications | JLL

Ryan serving coffee at the JLL workplace cafe in Melbourne

“One of our senior leaders said to me on day one: 'I feel like I've been given a warm hug by the office.' Over 95% of our people have said the working environment improves their sense of wellbeing.”

Alana Hannaford, Head of PDS Advisory & Lead Workplace Strategist | JLL

JLL cafe with custom bench design and fit-out

“People walk in and they're gobsmacked. It's a wonderful space and it makes you feel really proud. People feel really pleased that they work for JLL.”

Finella Oakley, Talent Acquisition Lead AUS & NZ | JLL

JLL workplace barista team behind the bar

The Results

Community-First Transformation

Personal connections across departments increased 500 to 600% since the cafe launched
The cafe became the unifying anchor across all three floors, creating what leadership described as a "wall of noise and real buzz" from the moment you step out of the lift
95%+ of employees reported improved wellbeing since the cafe opened
4% stated that internal career opportunities increased, a direct result of improved visibility and networking across the business

Voluntary Attendance Lift

Average office days rose from 2.9 to 3.4 per week, an 18% increase achieved without mandates
Leaders report they "don't even think about working from home anymore" because the office is genuinely where they want to be
Peak service of 203 cups in a single hour (10-11am) demonstrates the cafe as the natural gathering point of every workday

Efficiency & Scale Impact

140,807 cups served across the first two years, growing 12.5% year over year
5,201 employee engagement hours facilitated through the cafe, up 8.3% on the previous period
Estimated 5 FTE per year in time saved by eliminating the need to leave the building for coffee

Pride in Space, Price in Brand

Talent Acquisition reports candidates and visitors are "gobsmacked" by the cafe experience, strengthening JLL's employer brand at every touchpoint
The cafe is referenced as a "real benchmark for workplace coffee" by La Marzocco Australia's Managing Director, Barry Moore
Coffee On Cue created a co-branded BD presentation that JLL now uses to pitch barista services to their own clients, turning an internal program into a commercial asset

Quantifiable Impact

140,807 cups of coffee served in two years, growing 12.5% year on year
500-600% increase in personal connections across the office
140,811 single-use cups saved from landfill, plus 3,661 kg CO2 avoided
18% voluntary increase in office attendance (2.9 to 3.4 days per week)

Why It Worked

"I couldn't imagine that we've ever implemented an initiative that's had as much positive feedback from our people than this Coffee on Cue experience."

— Adrian O'Dea

"The impact from our new in-house baristas and positive change within our community is nothing but inspiring."

— David Bakx

View Service