D&B unites sustainability for people and planet

Recent years have thrown up some massive challenges for many businesses, forcing organizations to continually adapt and stay flexible in their operations. Michel Pan, director of business strategy and development at D&B The Facility Group, tackles the questions this raises every day. Questions like: who do we want to be, how do we want to operate in the marketplace, and who are the customers we aim to serve? The answers draw together a whole host of topics spanning the labour market, technology, competition, clients and activities. “These topics are packaged in projects that both ensure long-term sustainability in terms of reaching business goals and keep everyone motivated to contribute”, Michel says.

Flexibility

As a company focused on the Dutch Randstad region and on the specific niche market of ambitious corporates in the high-end property sector, D&B sees sustainability as a concept with multiple dimensions. First and foremost are the two Ps: people and planet. Another essential goal is maintaining a sound and flexible strategy. According to Michel, the crux of D&B’s service philosophy is a precise understanding of how the world is changing. For companies, far-reaching developments call for far-reaching flexibility, Michel explains. “During the pandemic we made some extreme adjustments, resulting in a 30 per cent revenue loss. But that also earned us the trust of many clients, and so as the market recovered, we regained 35 per cent. As an example, we came up with a new hospitality concept called ‘Loaf’ for offices just opening up, combining a reception desk service with an informal, healthy lunch concept. That’s a gap in the market we discovered in the midst of the crisis.” By maintaining a dialogue with clients and not being afraid to change and roll out service concepts like these, D&B has managed to stay both sharp and sustainable as a service enterprise.

People And Planet

If you want to the be the best in the business for clients, you need happy employees, and that’s where D&B makes the difference. Michel and his team routinely conduct satisfaction surveys among staff. “We’re a truly diverse organization, with six different service divisions and a mix of generations. Frequent surveys are key for getting a picture of roughly what each group needs for their employability and performance. Needs and wants vary widely between groups. Being genuinely attentive to our employees is a top priority, in HR but even more so in daily operations. People strongly value the guidance and supervision they get.” Sustainability for the planet is already integrated across all of D&B’s services. Cooks in company restaurants are free to devise their own menus and keep their carbon impact as low as possible. In the mobility division, which offers valet parking and chauffeur services, the company has developed an app that incentiviz- es employees to drive as economically and efficiently as possible. Those who score highest drive the nicest vehicles and get a year-end bonus. D&B’s cleaning services have been working with the cleanest products for years.

“We’re striving to reduce our footprint by 25 per cent within the next three years. My wish is for sustainability to become a criterion in procurements. You can already show the effects of each service category in detail. I’m not seeing that reflected in procurement processes yet, but it could be. There’s an awareness within corporates, for sure, but it’s not ingrained yet. That’s what we need to aim for.”

Advice

In practice, many organizations are finding it a struggle to meet the C energy label rating requirement for office properties. Although the hard dimension of energy is not a service as such and so falls outside D&B’s portfolio, Michel says he nevertheless noticed an opening for their facility management division. “Clients who lease premises often need advice on how to use their space efficiently. We are launching a partnership with TPEX that will let us use building data to advise clients on their operations, and vice versa. To me, the great thing about D&B is that we’ve got the speed and the spirit to make the most of new opportunities. And if you fail, well, that’s okay too, because it’s how you progress as a business.”