A NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT

The past few years have seen the most dramatic shift ever in the concept of “the workplace.” The traditional belief that people’s work style, ethos, productivity, and outcomes are tied to and dependent on where they work has proved a misconception. Flexible work models — including hybrid and fully remote work — have arisen as viable alternatives to the in-person norm, resulting in a mass re-visioning of and lively debate over the role of “the office” going forward.

With this evolution came a new realization that people are most organizations’ most important asset. To attract and retain qualified workers while simultaneously drawing existing talent back to in-person work, the physical space itself must change. The office must be a stimulating environment that supports culture, inspires collaboration and innovation, fosters relationships, and makes people feel safe, welcomed, and accepted.

FACING CHANGE WITH ISS

As a leading workplace experience and facility management company, ISS has the experience, expertise, and resources to help organizations develop and execute integrated facility strategies that ensure their workplaces operationally function, contribute to their success, and positively influence their employees and communities. In partnership with clients, ISS drives the engagement and well-being of people, minimizes impact on the environment, and protects and maintains property.

In this video, ISS’ Agostino Renna, Michael Hinz, Ulla Riber, and Alice Fournier discuss how the company taps its technical, workplace, food, and cleaning services to connect people and places to make the world work better — and how ISS’ belief that people make places leads to a true company of belonging and a workforce of “placemakers'' deeply committed to their clients and the quality of results produced. Empowering people and putting the employee experience at the center of everything also optimizes the workplace and re-directs client resources to revenue-generating business activities.

The ISS Commercial, Segment, Workplace, and Information Technology leads also discuss the company’s self-delivery service model — a unique organizational concept in an industry where many outsourcers further outsource non-core tasks. Through self-delivery, ISS staffs the majority of contracted services directly with ISS employees, providing clients with consistency, compliance, transparency, and efficiency, standard processes across portfolios, and a world-class experience from people who care. And self-delivery offers a career path for every ISS placemaker, enabling personal and professional growth and investment in the communities in which the company and its people live, work, and serve.

Further discussion centers around ISS’ segment and key accounts approaches, which allow for a focus on integrated facility solutions for clients in the life sciences, technology, banking and professionals services, industry and manufacturing, and healthcare industries. Through its OneISS strategy, ISS builds on these specializations by applying the enterprise knowledge and capabilities of 30+ countries; experiences and lessons from 40,000 customer relationships; and its peoples’ interactions with suppliers and partners to every client’s individual facility program. ISS leans into technology and AI to give clients the tools to make their workplaces more efficient, operationally reliable, and sustainable — and support every touchpoint along an employee’s daily work journey.

The leaders also discuss ISS’ commitment to both social and environmental sustainability, and how both are embedded in the company’s identity. By becoming THE Company of Belonging and a champion of sustainable workplaces, ISS helps clients achieve their own corporate responsibility goals.

THE FUTURE OF THE WORKPLACE

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted the planet in innumerable ways, with one of the greatest shocks felt by a foundational concept of society — the “workplace” as the accepted place for work. While no one can predict how the dust will eventually settle, two things are certain: the workplace is a much more fluid concept than before and many organizations are unprepared for the change necessary to accommodate the new normal. ISS can help disrupt these crises by developing 1) workplace solutions that strengthen culture while balancing business objectives and the needs of people, and 2) facility solutions that ensure safe and functional spaces while meeting the sustainability, energy management, and waste reduction commitments that protect the future of the planet.

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