Års- och hållbarhetsredovisning 2021
Coor creates the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous workplace environments in the Nordic region. We strive tirelessly to build the teams and full-service solutions that enable our customers to do what they do best.
2021 was a year that exceeded my expectations in many areas. Financially, this was one of our strongest years ever, in which we achieved record new sales and made three value-adding acquisitions. We also achieved our highest levels of employee and customer satisfaction to date. During the year, Coor also made important decisions and carried out several activities aimed at building a truly sustainable company. I am humbled by and proud of what we achieved together in the past year!
AnnaCarin Grandin, President and CEO
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Coor’s strategic platform sets the direction for the entire business and guides our priorities and decisions.
The Nordic countries are Coor’s home market. Coor’s proximity to its customers and its knowledge of local conditions enable us to offer customised and flexible solutions. We are attentive to our customers’ needs and work continuously to strike the right balance between economies of scale in the delivery of services and customer adaptations. Coor has some of the largest IFM contracts in the Nordic region, including contracts with Aibel, Ericsson, Volvo Cars and ICA as well as the Danish Police, Prosecution Authority and Prison and Probation Service, which consolidate the company’s Nordic market leadership.
Coor is the Nordic market leader in delivering IFM services to large organisations with complex requirements. Coor sees continued growth opportunities in the IFM segment, which is growing faster than the FM market as a whole. A growing number of customers are choosing to purchase the majority of their facility management services from a major service provider with the resources to invest in development and innovation. An IFM provider such as Coor is also able to create synergies between services by using the same personnel for multiple services and thus reducing the overall cost for the customer.
As a major player, Coor is able to offer high-quality separate services at market prices. The service areas that Coor has chosen to focus on are property services, cleaning, and food & beverages, and these services are included in most customer contracts. Coor experienced healthy growth in smaller deals during the year and aims to continue to increase its market share in this area.
Coor has a strong improvement and efficiency focus and strives to be the best in the industry at delivering services which increase customer value. Continuous operational improvements are an important part of working life for Coor’s personnel. Innovations which increase our customers’ efficiency and reduce the use of resources also help to promote sustainable development.
Coor creates the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous workplace environments in the Nordic region. We strive tirelessly to build the teams and full-service solutions that enable our customers to do what they do best.
Coor’s business concept is to take over, manage and develop services in offices, at properties and production facilities, and in the public sector. We aim to run our business in an effective and sustainable manner that creates long-term value for our customers, employees and investors as well as society at large and the environment.
Coor aims to have committed and motivated employees and zero work-related injuries or long-term sick leave and to promote equal opportunities by:
Actively promoting the well-being of its employees as well as a safe work environment.
Promoting diversity and equality by ensuring that each employee is treated respectfully and fairly regardless of their gender, ethnicity or other characteristics.
Developing and engaging the company’s employees.
Contributing to social development through local initiatives that help build a better society.
Annual organic growth of 4–5 per cent over the course of a business cycle.
In 2021, Coor grew organically by 3 per cent. The pandemic continued to have a negative effect on sales, but this was offset by new business and high project volumes in parts of the business.
The goal is a 50/50 gender balance at management level.
Across the company as a whole, the proportion of women in managerial positions is 51 per cent – a figure that has remained stable and is in line with the company’s goal.
Coor’s major focus on innovation has resulted in a separate ecosystem where we come into contact with exciting start-ups and jointly develop economically, environmentally and socially sustainable innovations.
Respect for the equal value and rights of all people is fundamental to Coor. We are convinced that a diversity of personalities, experiences and knowledge is enriching and that each employee should be treated respectfully and fairly regardless of gender, background or identity. It is also essential to ensure that all employees continuously have opportunities for development – to grow within Coor.
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, Sasitorn Håkansson decided to apply for a job as a cleaner at Gävle Hospital in Sweden.
In the middle of March 2020, Sasitorn Håkansson began her new job at Coor. After completing Coor’s cleaning course and receiving a thorough introduction, Sasitorn asked to work in the hospital’s intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients – a challenging workplace that required one hundred per cent reliability and correct performance of her duties.
“It was tiring sometimes and it could be difficult to breathe with all that PPE. But it went well in the end and I enjoyed working with the nice hospital staff.”
Sasitorn soon noticed how the nursing staff struggled to take care of the seriously ill patients. The patients’ relatives also noticed their hard work and sent coffee and baskets with fruit to the staff to thank them for their efforts. Due to the heavy workload, the staff didn’t always have time to unpack the gifts they received.
“The staff had so much to do in that chaotic situation. Then I thought maybe I could do something for them. I made coffee, cut fruit and arranged it nicely on a plate, so that they would be happy when they came for their coffee break. They were so tired there at the ICU, so when they saw that fruit and coffee had been put out they got some energy and could continue their fight.”
Sasitorn’s care and concern did not go unnoticed. Passion for people and passion for service are things that Coor takes pride in. The staff at the ICU noticed this in Sasitorn and praised her efforts, both her flawless cleaning and the excellent service that went beyond her job description.
Colleagues and customers agree: “It always makes you glad to meet Sasitorn. She does everything with a big smile on her lips.”
Asked what next year will be like, Sasitorn answers calmly:
“I only think about today. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so I just do the best I can every day.”
“I’m very happy and so proud. The staff at the hospital said they thought I did a really good job at the COVID ICU and also at the day surgery unit where I clean today. It’s great to be appreciated for what you do.”
Because of her positive attitude, her care and dedication to her work, Jenna Seiteri is growing, professionally and as a person.
Jenna Seiteri works as a cleaner under a major contract in the banking sector in Helsinki in Finland and was recruited to Coor through a partnership with the City of Helsinki. The local authority’s initiative is aimed at finding employment for people with disabilities, either full-time or part-time, where the key criteria are the individual’s attitude, motivation and willingness to work.
“My job at Coor is really important to me, and I want to work. Having tasks to do makes the days feel meaningful,” says Jenna, who works from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every day.
She describes her daily work as wide-ranging and varied, and although she is fairly new to the job she is already very happy and says she received a nice welcome from her colleagues.
“I feel better and am happier since I started working at Coor. We have a lot of fun in our team, and my colleagues have become my friends.” Jenna says.
In addition to a close dialogue with her boss and colleagues, Jenna has access – through the City of Helsinki – to a work coach who provides support and advice and monitors her progress. The coach also helps her with any difficult questions or situations that may arise, both at work and privately, including work-related challenges such as agreements, procedures and communication. The arrangement is designed to suit Jenna’s particular needs and knowledge.
Jenna’s boss and colleagues describe her as happy, positive and a team player who gets along well with other people. She is also praised for her attitude and her care.
“Since I started, I have received many new tasks to handle, both independently and with my team. It makes me grow as a person, and the best thing about the job is when you get positive feedback from customers, your team and your supervisor – I love that!”
At a time when many 14-year-olds dream of a moped, mobile phone or new PlayStation, Ismael Al-Hamad was dreaming of something completely different – escaping from his war-torn native Syria and starting a new life in another country.
When I was a teenager, I had already experienced so many terrible things because of the war. I had seen dead family members and relatives, seen friends shot to death in the street and had myself been shot at several times. My family and I felt we had to flee Syria,” Ismael says. Today he is 24, works at a goods reception department and lives with his mother, father and two siblings in Stockholm. That the family ended up in Sweden, after a great deal of back and forth, is no coincidence – it was here they dreamed of coming. But the journey to Sweden would prove long and costly. First Ismael, his brother and brother-in-law went to Egypt, where they got a place on a boat bound for Italy through human traffickers.
Once there, they were met by another trafficker, who for EUR 3,000 per person could help them get further north, towards Sweden. They were squeezed into a family car, with Ismael in the trunk:
“It was a very tough journey.”
After another couple of months, Ismael, his brother and brother-in-law finally arrived, but the authorities wanted to send them back to Denmark. Since he was under 18, Ismael was allowed to decide for himself, and he chose to remain, alone.
“I was staying at a home for unaccompanied minors and it felt like I had to wait a very long time to turn 18. Finally my parents also came here,” Ismael says.
Today life looks completely different for Ismael. For the past couple of years, he has been working at a goods reception through Coor.
“My life has changed tremendously. Now I feel that I am moving forward all the time. My job at Coor is good and I am grateful to have such nice colleagues.”
As a 24-year-old, Ismael has the same dreams as many others his age: being able to afford his own apartment, getting a driver’s licence, having a family and continuing his education.
“I don’t want to go back to Syria. I want to buy a flat in Stockholm. Sweden is my country. I don’t want my children to experience what I have experienced. I want them to be happy and thrive.”
Chile, Ethiopia, Thailand and Uzbekistan – the team of cleaners at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna come from all corners of the world. This diversity at the workplace has led to many interesting conversations, which gave group leader Oksana Gomeniuk an idea.
Oksana Gomeniuk works as group leader for cleaners in group 1 at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Sweden. The team consists of 45 people, most of whom come from different parts of the world and have Swedish as a second language.
“I myself come from Ukraine and know how difficult it can be to make yourself understood when you don’t speak the same language.”
All the people with different backgrounds in her team and her own interest in geography gave her an idea.
“I went home from work with a colleague who was going to tell me where he came from,” Oksana says.
When her colleague showed her his hometown on a map, Oksana immediately got an idea.
“Because our team comes from so many different countries, I had the idea of placing pins on a map to make it easy to see where in the world we all come from. I have always been interested in geography so I think that’s how I got the idea.”
There are now four 2 x 1.5 metre world maps in Coor’s coffee room at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna. Many of the employees have already placed a pin on the map to show where they come from. Thailand, Mongolia, Albania, Turkey, Georgia, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Chile, Eritrea and Ivory Coast are just some of the nations represented in the team.
“It’s a wonderful mix and we all get along very well. We don’t make any distinctions – everyone is equally valuable, whatever their origin,” Oksana says.
The map is often a conversation-starter among colleagues.
“Who is the third person from Mongolia?’, ‘Do we have people from China who work with us?’, ‘We don’t have anyone from Australia’ and so on. The map is an easy way to get to know your colleagues better, understand where everyone comes from and learn more about each other’s culture and traditions.”
The Nordic countries are Coor’s home market. Coor operates in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Our explicitly Nordic strategy and our proximity to the customers and knowledge of local conditions enable us to offer customised deliveries.
2021 continued to be overshadowed by the pandemic, but Coor is stable. “Things have been going in the right direction. We made several acquisitions, achieved good returns and have a strong focus on sustainability, innovation and the workplace of the future,” says Klas Elmberg, CFO at Coor.
Read the interview