ISS teams have been welcomed home after the Stoke office officially reopened this week.
The official opening saw guests join the Stoke team to celebrate the revamped offices and welcome the team back to their home.
The office is home to the ISS contact centre and our Security Operations Centre, with 150 employees based there. The new office demonstrates ISS’s long-term commitment to the area, with flexibility to accommodate a growing number of staff. The office is a showroom for growth. Its opening lays the groundwork for local job creation to build on our team of 30,000 Placemakers across the UK and Ireland.
Matt Drinkwater, Head of UK&I Property Operations commented on the project via LinkedIn:
“Yesterday was a proud moment as we welcomed the Country Leadership Team to the ISS Stoke Office, this was to officially open the space following a full refurbishment in 2022.
We introduced eighteen technologically advanced meeting rooms and training rooms, a social space and collaboration area. For comfort, we introduced a new dining and social area, offering agile seating, as well as a drink and food offering. We have opened the new dining space with bi-fold wide doors on to a newly designed terrace, in order to enjoy the canal side views and ‘bring the outside in’.
We introduced biophilic design, soft furnishings, sit/stand desks, new ergonomic task chairs and the latest curved widescreen monitors. There are two new shower facilities, extended car parking, all new horticultural landscaping, a new covered cycle storage area and a smoking area.
Thank you to all those involved, it was a journey made much easier by my team in Property and the Capital Projects team.”
The revitalised office is a showcase for sustainability in many forms. Energy efficiency was a priority, with smart energy and lighting, insulation and solar panels. All gas services have been replaced to reduce Scope 1 emissions, saving approximately 2250kg of carbon annually.
The design draws on our Scandinavian heritage, with warm natural design elements including wood and plants to helping create a sense of calm. The new design also brings the outside in, allowing people to enjoy the canal-side setting in a new pergola adjacent to the dining area.
The office is flexible, supporting different working and meeting styles. Wellbeing is a priority, with desks located closer to windows for natural light, and investment in food facilities.
As well as social sustainability through investing in the local economy and workforce, the project used local suppliers to deliver the improvements.
The new office is another showcase office to add to our portfolio to help us attract and retain the right talent to make ISS a place where people want to work.
The opening speech from Liz Benison praised the office, saying:
“It’s not just a building; it’s got a soul.”
Liz later enthused on LinkedIn:
“Why stop at levelling up when you can go beyond? So proud to officially open our newly renovated Stoke Office. A now beautiful workplace, with a real heart, Stoke is reimagined as our Operational Support Centre and a new home for our Security Operations Centre amongst other critical operational services.
“A long term investment in quality jobs in the Stoke area, and a manifestation of our belief that great workplaces inspire great work.
“A triumph by our capital projects and properties teams, and our workplace expertise.”
The opening ceremony also included speeches from Andrew Wilkinson, David Cookman, and Vicky Stevens who all celebrated the new facilities, what the investment means to the Stoke-based teams and the buzz from the teams’ long-awaited homecoming.
