OCS’ Best Strategy: Elevating Experiences, Empowering Communities

The international facilities management landscape has been dominated by the same global players for a number of years. However, when OCS Group and Atalian Servest's operations in the UK, Ireland, and Asia merged, it created a new company which had the potential to act as an industry leader and disruptor.

I have been involved in facilities management for close to three decades and it has become a real part of my DNA. Our merger earlier in 2023 was an opportunity to drive forward not only the business, but the entire industry. With our newly expanded, critical scale, we saw the opportunity to take stock of our purpose and values and ensure we were building the most compelling offering for our customers.

Our approach

When formulating a plan for the next phase of OCS’ journey, we established a collective vision of wanting to be the partner of choice in the industry, providing the most valuable service to any customer?we worked with across each of our geographies. The culmination of this work was the formulation of OCS’ new strategy, BEST. It has been established to enhance how we serve our customers, empower our workforce, and contribute to the well-being of the communities we touch.

Today, our mission at OCS is clear: to make people and places the best they can be. We've embarked on this journey with the aim to create exceptional experiences, enhance productivity, refine our practices, foster communities, and ultimately, deliver outstanding outcomes. These aspects form the core of our strategy and are reinforced by our TRUE values.

Trust, Respect, Unity, and Empowerment—these values are the foundation of everything we do.

They guide our interactions with customers, colleagues, partners, and the communities we serve, ensuring a cohesive approach to our mission.

In an ever-evolving world, we believe that creating exceptional experiences is paramount. We understand that the value we bring is not just in our services but in the experiences we create. From a well-maintained office space that enhances productivity, to a clean and safe healthcare facility that promotes well-being, OCS is dedicated to improving every aspect of the human experience within the spaces we manage.

Our business is powered by best practice, consistency and our unique attention to detail. Ultimately, we will look to set the benchmark for our industry, harnessing the power of technology, innovation, and human expertise to create efficiencies for our customers.

However, this is not a one-step change but rather a continual process. To succeed in our mission, we must consistently look at improving our practices and ensure that our work aligns with the highest ethical and sustainability standards. Our commitment to best practices guarantees that we are not just compliant, but we set the standard for excellence in our industry.

Empowering our workforce

Overall, OCS is made up of 120,000 individuals, most of whom are workers on the frontline. These are the people who sit at the core of our business, and it is only by empowering them that we can truly thrive. We encourage our colleagues to take ownership, make decisions, and shape the future of our business. This not only elevates the service we provide, but also gives our workforce the opportunity to progress their careers in our business.

As a business we have a fundamental commitment to social mobility. We ensure we recruit from the widest possible talent pool; we offer each of our colleagues ongoing training to support their career progression and we foster and invest in a diverse and inclusive culture.

Serving communities

Last but not least, we consider ourselves integral parts of the communities we serve. Our goal is to create a positive impact on the people and places we touch, fostering a sense of belonging and well-being. We aspire to be responsible and sustainable members of every community we serve.

We adopt this mindset right the way through the business and are continuously looking to evolve our approach to each of the ‘E’, the ‘S’ and the ’G’. It runs from our 2040 net-zero commitment, down to the work we do to supporting the individual communities we work in across each of our geographies.

OCS’ BEST strategy and TRUE values are at the heart of our mission to make people and places the best they can be.

We also believe they will be fundamental to our future growth as a business and industry leader – our commitment to this strategy and our values sets the stage for us to set a new standard in the industry. OCS is in a unique position and is primed for growth. We are a dynamic business and it is my ambition to make this company the market leaders in the facilities management industry. Reflecting on the first 6 months of my role as Global CEO, I believe we have the team to deliver on this ambition.