One Of The World's Largest Employers Aims To Make Big Push Into U.S. Facilities Management

Facilities management company ISS is a major force around the world, and now it’s looking to take on the U.S. in the same way.

The Copenhagen-based company, a top 100 employer globally and top three facilities management company by headcount, has reorganized its North American operations to offer all of its services, including facilities management, custodial and workplace services, in three U.S. regions.

ISS employs over 350,000 people in dozens of countries but has always been Europe and Asia-focused. Now, the company wants to drive a big push in the U.S., Joe Stolarski, president of the eastern division of ISS North America, said to Facilities Dive. 

The company has over 20,000 North American employees and manages a 350M SF portfolio across 13,000 sites. But that pales in comparison to competitors like Cushman & Wakefield, which manages 600M SF in North America. 

Its bundle of offerings will ensure hard services, like HVAC maintenance and electrical repairs, are integrated with soft services, like cleaning and workspace management. It is also bringing into the fold its food services line, which had been growing independently since its 2017 acquisition of food services company Guckenheimer. 

ISS' growth strategy includes a focus on providing building users with excellent hospitality as return-to-office mandates are back in full force and companies want to make the experience a positive one, Stolarski said. 

Over 80% of CEOs are calling their employees back to the office sometime this year, a KPMG survey found. 

Foot traffic data collected by Kastle's Back To Work Barometer showed office usage reached 54.1% of postpandemic levels across 10 top metros, up 6.5 percentage points from December, which is always a slow period. Multiple cities have hit new usage highs in recent weeks.

Some employers are sweetening the RTO deal with perks. Tech startup Cameo is offering employees a $10K raise to come back into the Chicago office four days a week, along with transportation and fitness memberships. Class-A office spaces, with amenities like food services and gyms, get more leases and more foot traffic than those without.