You can study your customers. You can listen to your customers. But it’s not until you actually become your customer that you can really offer excellent service – when you live and breathe your customers’ needs, knowing what they want even before they do, anticipating their ever changing needs. It’s almost like having a sixth sense.

• We take pride in servicing our chosen customers
• We are responsive to customer needs and proactively search for a better understanding of their challenges
• We build relationships with our customers

If you want great performance, motivation is the fuel you need. When you listen, encourage, advise, smile and motivate, you can be sure everybody will be prepared to walk that important extra mile with you. We all want to be part of a success, and creating high performance teams is the fuel that drives success in ISS.

• We take pride in delivering excellent performance and results
• We appreciate and celebrate excellent performance and success
• We go the extra mile

Change happens - even if you don’t want it to. It’s a rule of the world, so why not get one step ahead? Make change, encourage change, drive change and your competitors will be the ones gasping to catch up. Don’t look for status quo, look for openness, adaptability and creativity in yourself and your employees.

• We are always open to new ways
• We look for opportunities to make improvements to our systems and concepts
• We value adaptability and willingness to change

Have you ever had a teacher in school who never yelled, but who everybody respected? There’s a good chance that the teacher showed a natural authority and combined it with a deep respect for the students. That’s exactly the leader you want to be: eye to eye with your employees but with a birds-eye view of the road ahead.

• We consider Health & Safety a top priority
• We listen & communicate openly and honestly
• We treat people as individuals and are aware that their preferences may differ from our own
• We respect the laws of the localities where we operate
• We value differences and diversity

The great kings of ancient times were always the first to ride out, leading their army against a fierce enemy. Luckily, daily leadership in ISS is a more peaceful job, but role models are still needed. If you take responsibility and lead from the front then you can motivate your collegues and together you will in a cohesive way perform better.

• We are role models and ambassadors and act accordingly
• We make ourselves visible
• We are open and honest about the problems we need to manage

Trust is the hardest thing to give away. It is giving away power. But as a leader you must be able to do just that. Give your employees on all levels the power to act. Encourage them to act, and you will see that your gift is treated with respect and responsibility. Actually, you will be the one receiving: commitment, loyalty and performance.

• We give a license and obligation to act
• We are committed to learning from mistakes
• We encourage decisions to be made and executed as far down the organisation as possible

If you want a plant to grow, you don’t contain or restrict it. You give it lots of space, light and nurturing. And even though it sounds like a cliché, these are the exact same things your employees and you need to develop: room to move, space to unfold your potential, an eye for talent and lots of nurturing through coaching.

• We develop by being open and honest about our strengths and weaknesses
• We create space for personal development and for people to achieve their potential
• We identify, stretch and coach talent
• We take pride in developing our own successors

Everyone can gather a group of strong and talented people, but making them “play” together is a totally different task. Just ask any major club football coach. But as an ISS leader, that’s exactly what you are expected to do. By treating everybody as an individual and recognising their personal potential, you will be able to put together the best possible team.

• We build great teams by selecting people with the right abilities and attitudes
• We share ideas, knowledge and experience
• We take pride in our teams’ achievements but always put the company’s interests first.

It may sound like a contradiction, but only by showing a deep respect for differences and encouraging local initiatives can you truly build a global company with a united heart and soul. No matter how different we areacross all borders, we share the same values and principles. We lead, guide, act and do business under the umbrella of the ISS Brand and by emphasising the Human Touch.

• We break down silos
• We collaborate across borders and businesses
• We implement strategies and operate the business in line with the Group vision and corporate values