ISS, known throughout the world as a provider of facility services (catering, cleaning, technical maintenance, reception, etc.) and a partner of ABVH/BVZD for 15 years already, was certainly not bound to miss the opportunity to be a partner of the EAHM Congress 2019 – an unbelievable opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas about innovation and the future of our health sector, according to Tony Vanlaeke, ISS Business Development Director.
“The facility challenges for institutions and care networks are complex. The trend towards a person-oriented care chain, with the patient as an active partner and a changing financing model, questions the classic approach of Facility Services as a necessary evil. Healthcare must create new values and the facility partner must contribute to that end. For this reason, healthcare is a priority market for ISS, both in Belgium and abroad”, says Tony Vanlaeke. “ In this sense, the EAHM congress was an opportunity not to be missed. In fact, we want to go and show tangible items there. As regards catering, for instance, we will certainly be active in the buses to the hospitals and for the evening meals”.
Improving the experience
Innovation has become a key concept in contemporary partnerships more than ever before. It is the driving force of improvements and renewal. The call for innovation therefore rings loud among clients and operationals. But innovating is no easy matter: “It requires not only an open mind and the will to question the current way of working, but above all a process to develop and test innovations on a small scale first, and then to implement them in a structured manner with the proper support. That is seldom self-evident”, adds Mr Vanlaeke.
ISS has accordingly developed an innovation process for detecting, selecting and developing potentially good ideas. “This is necessary, because there are always more ideas than time and money to develop them to the point that they become real added value for cooperation with the customer. Because only then can we speak of successful innovation. That is why we analyse potential innovations in the light of our Value Proposition for certain market segments, such as Healthcare. The ISS Service Value chain is our model for creating sustainable value for our clients and employees, and therefore for our company also.”
“For us, innovation certainly rhymes with improving quality as well as the experience of the stakeholders. That is essential for us. It is not nice to be in a hospital. But if you improve the experience for the patient, the visitors and the staff, then that is successful innovation for us”, underscores the ISS Business Development Manager.
Friendship as an important common value
“What is important for ISS also is that our values are aligned with those of the ABVH/BVZD”, adds Tony Vanlaeke. “In fact, 15 years of partnership is no mean feat. And if everything is running smoothly and turning out well, it is particularly because ABVH/BVZD and ISS have a number of common values.”
One of these values is namely friendship. “I have been a member of the ABVH/BVZD for 15 years, and I have been able to make many friends as a result. It is important for ISS that we can sit at the table and consider how we can deal with our customers in optimal fashion, in a professional but also a private capacity. The direct contact with decisionmakers in hospitals has strongly influenced our gives us insights into how the sector is developing. If logistics can be centralized, then why not? How can we go about it in the best possible way? And with the advent of these hospital networks, it is certainly worthwhile to be able to sit together at the table, including with players from other countries.”