OCS has set its sights on the healthcare market in 2019, with the company to launch a sector specific healthcare strategy in New Zealand from next year.

OCS, the largest family-owned facilities management services company, employs around 16,000 team members within its healthcare divisions across 14 countries, including New Zealand and Australia.

Speaking at the OCS ANZ Conference in Nelson, OCS Group global healthcare director Paul Morton outlined the new strategy, describing the healthcare sector as a significant “growth engine” for the UK-based services group.

“For OCS, healthcare is going to be one of the biggest sectors we play in globally. The reason it is so important is the magnitude of the market and the fact it aligns clearly to our OCS values. [Healthcare] gives us sustainability and longevity in the market.

“Healthcare is the most specialised, complex and regulated market that we operate in. We have developed a new global value proposition that will set the scene for OCS globally. If you can do healthcare, you can do any sector,” Morton said.

The new value proposition, OCS Healthcare, is the result of  research undertaken by the company, which holds more than 190 healthcare accounts across its global footprint.

The new integrated facilities management model will see OCS offer a larger scope of existing services, introduce tailored services and develop staff training specific to healthcare environments.

“A healthcare facility is one of the most emotionally charged environments you will ever go into. To have people that can operate consistently and represent our brand in that environment is important. We’re going to do a lot of work in the future of training our people in operating in [healthcare] and that will make a big difference.”

OCS has also created new corporate branding for the division including logo, iconography and tagline.

“Our business strategy is that we will enable our clients to provide healthcare excellence. Physicians and nurses want to provide clinical excellence. For us as a support services provider we set the frame for them to provide those services. Everything we do should be focused on enabling clinical excellence,” Morton said.

In New Zealand OCS will launch two value propositions for healthcare and the aged care/senior living sector from early year.

Presenting at the OCS Conference, Ross Cameron general manager of OCS NZ, said the company will focus on small to medium sized hospitals, while its aged care proposition will be resident focused.

OCS NZ will retain its existing service offering which includes cleaning, catering, security, grounds maintenance and facilities management. The new OCS Healthcare corporate branding is expected to launch in New Zealand from March 2019. It is not yet known when the strategy will roll out to Australia.

“We have two distinct value propositions that will we will take to those two distinct markets next year,” Cameron said.

“The healthcare [proposition] is about enabling clinical excellence and is built around small to medium public and private hospitals, whereas the value proposition on the aged care market and senior living sector in New Zealand is focused on the resident.

“We have the international backing in New Zealand to really make a difference and be a viable competitor in this market. We’re looking forward to taking OCS Healthcare to the market.”

INCLEAN NZ attended the 2018 OCS ANZ Conference as a guest of OCS Australia and New Zealand