Healthcare institutions in Switzerland are under significant cost pressure. ISS offers relief through its services. This does not mean that personal contact with residents has to suffer – quite the contrary, as the example of the Schloss Utzigen residential and care home shows.
For over 140 years, Utzigen Castle has provided care for people in need. In 1875, the 84 municipalities of the Bernese Oberland purchased the castle to offer shelter to farmers who were physically or financially struggling. Over the years, the former public “poorhouse” has evolved into a modern residential and nursing home. ISS has also played an important role in the recent history of Utzigen Castle. The partnership has now been in place for 30 years. The services provided by ISS, with 19 employees on site, include maintenance and interim cleaning, laundry operations, and support at the food service line.
Personalized Service
A key pillar of this success story is the personal connection ISS employees have with the people living in the residential and nursing home. Facility Manager Marina Schubert says, “Quite a few have become trusted confidants to the residents. They greet each other and chat.” For this reason, ISS employees are assigned to the same rooms and areas whenever possible.
Personal service is also key in the laundry. It’s a demanding task: Every day, between 65 and 240 kilograms of laundry made from a wide variety of fabrics comes in - from yellow silk scarves to black wool sweaters. Each garment is also marked with the owner’s name using a heat-activated patch. If a cherished item gets damaged, the laundry staff also offer a custom sewing and mending service upon request.
Flexible Service Package
ISS took over operation of the laundry five years ago. For the client, this means that ISS is responsible for the entire operation - from providing and maintaining the infrastructure to recruiting, scheduling, and training skilled staff. “Since then, we’ve simply been dropping off dirty laundry and picking up clean laundry,” says Thomas Stettler, General Manager of the Utzigen Residential and Nursing Home Foundation.
The fact that ISS has also been providing maintenance, interim, and deep cleaning services in the newly opened extension - which features 48 single rooms - since 2017 further demonstrates that the partnership between ISS and the Schloss Utzigen Residential and Nursing Home has proven successful. In addition, ISS assists the residents of the 30 senior apartments with laundry and cleaning tasks upon request.
The Utzigen Residential and Nursing Home is one of approximately 40 healthcare institutions for which ISS now provides services. Melanie Hösli, ISS Facility Services Director for Healthcare, oversees various facilities in the Bern region: “There is enormous pressure to cut costs in the healthcare sector. We bring a great deal of specialized expertise to the table and can offer attractive and budget-friendly service packages.” ISS can also leverage synergies. Melanie Hösli: “For example, if an employee is absent due to illness, colleagues from the team or the region can step in.” Thanks to ISS’s services, institutions can focus on their core business while still staying within budget.
Thomas Stettler,
Managing Director, Overall Operations, Utzigen Residential and Nursing Home Foundation
Thomas Stettler on thePartnership with ISS
Utzigen Castle has a long history as an institution for people with disabilities. To what extent does this still play a role today?
The moving history of the residential and nursing home is still very much alive today. That is why it is important that we are recognized as a modern center of excellence and healthcare facility for long-term care and the support of adults with disabilities. We are constantly investing in the expansion of our infrastructure and today offer a comprehensive range of residential and care services for every life situation, from individual housing solutions with service options such as home health care, meal service, or housekeeping to accommodations for residents with moderate to high care needs.
What does this multifaceted environment mean in terms of facility management?
We need service packages tailored to our needs. For “private households,” services range from taking down, washing, and hanging curtains to a complete apartment cleaning. For the overall operation, typical FM activities are required. With ISS, we can flexibly cover this broad spectrum.
What are the arguments for outsourcing a particular area?
As everywhere else, cost-saving efforts are a current issue for us as well. We must continually reevaluate our operations and decide between in-house production and outsourcing. For example, in our case - with a location on the outskirts - we were able to make better use of our resources by outsourcing the transportation service. Or, in the case of the laundry service, the long-time manager in charge of residents’ laundry retired. On top of that, ISS itself had a need for its own laundry services. So we came up with the idea of pooling the volumes and improving capacity utilization through the larger volume. When it comes to outsourcing, it’s important to be on the same page in terms of the relationship - that is, to find good partners - so that a win-win situation results.
“The key to outsourcing is building a strong relationship -finding good partners - so that a win-win situation results.”
The partnership with ISS has been in place for 30 years. What criteria are decisive here?
For all services, we continuously evaluate which solutions deliver the best results in terms of quality, efficiency, and cost. This also applies to our collaboration with ISS. For example, during the last contract renewal, we completely reassessed the service package and also explored insourcing options. We then made a conscious decision to continue focusing on our core business and thus to continue our partnership with ISS. And I’m personally very pleased about that. Professionalism in service delivery and broad FM expertise are key criteria for our partnership, just as much as a cost-effective service offering.
Where do you see ISS’s strengths, and what benefits do you derive from this partnership?
The professionalism of the service and mutual trust are central to our partnership. The ISS property manager plays a key role in this. She understands our operations and works closely with our employees. One advantage is the high level of continuity among ISS employees. Many have been with us from the very beginning and have 30 or more years of service. They are fully integrated into our daily work routine - the only difference is their uniforms. In day-to-day operations, you can’t even tell whether they’re our own employees or ISS staff. From that perspective, it really is a win-win situation.