Facilities Management Middle East
KEEPING UP THE MOMENTUM
IN A FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT, GREG WARD, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TRANSGUARD GROUP, REVIEWS THE EVENTS OF 2020 AND REFLECTS ON THE POWER OF PUSHING BEYOND THE BASICS OF SURVIVAL AND INTO THE CERTAINTY OF THRIVING
It’s been a year of rapid change for the entire world, hasn’t it? One year ago, when we first started grappling with Covid-19, it felt like the hits just wouldn’t stop coming, both in our personal and professional lives. For Transguard’s management and operational teams, work weeks bled into work weekends, and throughout the business there was a question of “what next?” hanging over our heads.
Last summer, when we had settled into the new rhythm forced upon us by Covid-19, I wrote an article in Facilities Management Middle East where I said that because of the global pandemic, the world seemed to have finally woken up to the fact that good FM is absolutely vital; I also said that I hoped clients wouldn’t be as quick to stop investing in a quality FM provider as they might have done before the pandemic. I challenged the industry to dig deeper, to think more strategically and work more aggressively to break out of old habits so that we can meet any new obstacles that come our way
– and all of this must be done while caring for and celebrating the people on the front lines who are out there, every day, representing our companies while they go about their daily tasks.
A year later and I’m proud to report that this is exactly what Transguard has done!
REDEFINING HOW WE APPROACH THE MARKET
It is not an exaggeration to say that Covid-19 sparked greater innovation for us, as well as increased our focus on customer service. Being the first to market with insightful solutions for the new requirements of Covid-19 prevention provided with the bestin- class client support has offered an unprecedented opportunity for Transguard to broaden its already extensive work in the UAE. No matter what came our way, Transguard actively worked to redefine what we offer to the market, as well as how we partner with our clients to deliver those products and services. Because we’ve been delivering on our promises for the last 20 years, our customers felt valued and because of that trusted the solutions we crafted during a time when they perhaps weren’t sure who and what to trust.
The global pandemic increased the need for thorough hygiene and sanitisation, which acted as the impetus for a number of remarkable achievements for our FM division. In addition to deploying more than 44,000 employees every month during the height of the Covid-19 crisis, a further 500 employees took on a variety of roles at the UAE’s field hospitals, while another contingent serviced the FM needs of one of Dubai’s largest hospitals. Our FM division also launched three new products and two new services lines to answer the requirements of Covid-19 prevention: Designed and produced by Transguard, these bespoke misting stations for individuals, crowds and vehicles were incredibly well received by businesses large and small, including a major airline and a multinational automation