Our approach

Business certainty and risk management are key issues in any business, and planning is fundamental to ensuring that they are handled professionally and effectively.

Interserve has developed ‘think ahead’, a quality assurance process that identifies gold, silver and bronze statuses, enabling us effectively to identify, evaluate, allocate and actively manage risk and control its associated cost throughout. Every aspect of the situation is covered including people, systems, premises and suppliers, ensuring that when business continuity is needed most, the support is there.

Managing incidents from severe weather conditions to the 7th July London bombings has tested our systems and proven our capability in proactively preparing and managing these incidents for clients such as the University College London Hospital and Metropolitan Police.

Interserve is a member of the Business Continuity Institute and works to the BS 25999 framework.

The social aspects of sustainability are a fundamental part of our approach. We employ directly from local communities and our work affects the local environment, so we are committed to helping create sustainable neighbourhoods in partnership with our clients.

• In addition to supporting our corporate, employee-selected charity through events and fundraising, we encourage employees to take the initiative locally and carry out community projects. Examples include refurbishing and refreshing the Acorn’s Children’s Hospice in Selly Oak, Birmingham, and restoring a neglected pond area with the children of Ponteland School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
• We support the Beacon Scheme’s Raising Economic Prosperity through Partnership theme which gives local authorities the chance to share best practice and knowledge on tackling worklessness and long-term unemployment in their local communities through the recession.
• From our own employees’ recommendations, we now work in partnership with three different agencies: Workstep (for the disabled), Compass (for homeless veterans) and Pecan (for ex-offenders) to help reintegrate these individuals into the workforce.
• Interserve has signed a three year partnership and donated £75,000 to the Safer London Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Metropolitan Police. Interserve is also working with them to match ex-offenders with mentors from our business to support them through sustainable training and employment.

Interserve’s people are the heart of our business. With a workforce of over 50,000 worldwide and over 22,000 in our support services business, we deliver services for our clients across the globe in a wide range of public and private sectors.

Operating in our clients' premises, we often represent their public face and understand how our staff reflect on their business. Whether our people are branded directly as Interserve, work under a joint brand or adopt our client's livery, we emphasise the importance of embedding a consistent culture and customer service approach.

When we transfer employees through TUPE we make them feel welcome and part of team, and offer training and development opportunities. All employees have the opportunity to develop their careers, leading to a more motivated team and improved client service.

The skills of our people are a major competitive advantage. We invest in our people for tomorrow, and Interserve was one of the first companies to sign the UK Government Skills Pledge, a voluntary public commitment to guarantee all employees the chance to realise their potential through training.

We have rolled out a new training platform , i-Learn, to give employees the opportunity to develop their skills while working towards relevant and valuable qualifications including Facilities Management and Cleaning Apprenticeships, developed in conjunction with Asset Skills.

i-Learn

Comprehensive training platform. Gives all employees the opportunity to develop, from scaffolder training to food standards, cleaning to customer service. Includes:

• Competency passports
• Personal achievement and development programme
• Customer CARE
• Leadership edge
• Reward and recognition schemes
• Specialist apprenticeships and NVQs

We operate in highly safety-critical environments from industrial facilities to hospitals and from shopping centres to schools. Quality, health, safety and the environment (QSHE) are of paramount importance to us, not only for our employees but also for our clients, for the environment we work in and for all those affected by our activities.

• We are accredited to and comply with industry standards ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001
• Health and safety professionals provide advice and support to all our contracts
• We undertake comprehensive risk assessments and ongoing management of health and safety in the working environment
• We operate a culture of continuous improvement in safety through campaigns such as CATS (Changing Attitudes Towards Safety) and Don’t Walk By. Both schemes are designed to induce safety-conscious behaviour
• We have had over 100 RoSPA awards in the last five years and have won its Facilities Management sector award for the last four years

We use our unique sustainability framework, RENEWABLES, to drive sustainability for our clients. We have a whole-life approach to support them in sustainability which includes

• Conducting carbon footprint analyses
• The procurement of more sustainable materials and ecologically-sound chemicals
• Energy efficiency and the use of more sustainable energy sources
• Behavioural-change programmes designed to change employees' attitudes to sustainable practices

We support the Sustainable Development Agenda and are working closely with our customers to implement measures that reduce waste, energy and pollution and increase the level of recycling. Our sustainability awards include:

• BIFM Sustainability Award 2008
• CoreNet UK Sustainability in Real Estate Award
• Recognised in the Observer Top 20 Good Companies Guide