04 November 2020
Providing help where it is so badly needed now
EW Facility Services deploys professionals as Facility Supporters in the care sector
Anyone who says EW Facility Services quickly thinks of hospitality and quality. This is not surprising, as the cleaning service provider has its roots in hotel cleaning and has been the market leader for quite a few years. A position which it occupies with great passion and pride, but which, unfortunately, is also causing a great deal of unrest at the moment. The hospitality sector is upside down and these are unprecedentedly difficult times for all players in this sector. EW Facility Services has seen the demand for its services fall considerably since March. As a result, cleaning professionals are forced to sit on the couch at home while they prefer to roll up their sleeves.
What not everyone knows is that in recent years, its agility, professionalism and hospitality approach have also strengthened its position in the offices & real estate, education, travel, leisure and care sectors. These segments now account for half of the organisation’s total turnover. Jeannot Peijen, Hotel Specialist at EW Facility Services, explains: “Now that there is enormous pressure on the healthcare sector, we are responding to this need to offer support and thus create a win-win situation for both our own organisation and the healthcare sector. Our cleaning professionals are rolling up their sleeves to make a valuable contribution to healthcare. Care professionals no longer have to concern themselves with facility peripheral issues and can fully focus on the care for their patients and clients. By joining forces, we are doing everyone we are good at and together we ensure a safer Netherlands. In short: together we are strong.
What not everyone knows is that in recent years the facilities service provider, with its agility, professionalism and hospitality slant, has also strengthened its position in the offices & real estate, education, travel, leisure and care sectors. These segments now account for half of the organisation's total turnover. Jeannot Peijen, Hotel Specialist at EW Facility Services, explains: "Now that there is enormous pressure on the healthcare sector, we are responding to this need to offer support and thus create a win-win situation for both our own organisation and the healthcare sector. Our cleaning professionals are rolling up their sleeves to make a valuable contribution to healthcare. Care professionals no longer have to concern themselves with facility peripheral issues and can fully focus on the care for their patients and clients. By joining forces, we are doing everyone we are good at and together we ensure a safer Netherlands. In short: together we are strong.
Last Tuesday EW Facility Services therefore launched Fons, the Facility Supporter. Fons is a cleaning professional who takes care of matters such as bed, linen and waste transport, cleaning tasks, making beds, disinfection, receipt and logistics of goods and support with meal facilities. Facilitary tasks that I am sure a hotel winch won't sound strange, due to the interrelationship with work in a hotel. And it is precisely the origins of EW Facility Services in the hospitality industry, where the creation of hospitality is inextricably linked to the primary service provision, that works in favour in this case. Peijen: "The actions of our colleagues reflect our core values: Hospitable, Enterprising, Self-willed, Together and People-focused. In other words, what we say and what we do is always based on creating hospitality. That is in our hearts and minds. Side by side with the healthcare professionals, together we create the best result for the patient and client".
As said, the care segment for EW Facility Services is not unknown. In addition to its cleaning services with existing clients in the care sector, the facility services provider already offered extra support at various hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation centres during the first corona wave. Peijen:" Unfortunately, the corona crisis means that in segments such as the hotel and travel cleaning staff are temporarily out of work. We are training these hotel colleagues through training courses by our care specialists, training facilitated by care institutions and E-Learning modules. This enables us to respond quickly and provide support where it is most needed. Many of our cleaning staff found this quite exciting in the beginning, but quickly found their place. They are more combative than ever to contribute to the safety of the Netherlands".
Peijen concludes: "Of course we too cannot wait to return to our 'business as usual'. But still, although this sounds crazy of course, this situation also offers opportunities for us as a company. We can show our enormous agility in these unpredictable times. The situation also challenges us to look for new opportunities and creative solutions on a daily basis. The launch of Fons is a direct example of this. I am therefore convinced that there will be many more great initiatives!
Would you like to know more about the possibilities of 'Fons' within your organisation? Our colleague Jeannot Peijen is happy to think along with you!
E: jpeijen@ew.nl
M: 06-44607341
