People, ISS China

Career development is a marathon, not a sprint

Chef cooking vegetables in wok pan

In just 8 years, Robert Cedermark has created infinite possibilities for his career with courage,ambition and humility. From the global bank HQ in London, to the nuclear power plants and hospitals in Sweden, and now as the youngest member of China Leadership Team, let's learn about Robert's exciting career at ISS.

About Robert

In 2014, Stockholm, Sweden, Robert Cedermark joined ISS as a GMT (Global Management Trainee). During his rotation across all divisions in ISS Sweden, he learned from colleagues at different levels, from frontline staff to CEO. He also traveled to the UK and Hong Kong to exchange experiences, with communication with interns in other countries.

After graduating from the GMT program, his first role was at ISS OES Sweden's Medical Division, where he was responsible for launching new client deliveries and analyzing business performance. After only 6 months, Robert was promoted to Head of Operational Excellence in the same department and served as Deputy to the Business Director.

At the end of 2016, Robert seized the opportunity and was transferred to the strategy department of ISS Copenhagen, Denmark, where he managed strategic projects in different countries and promoted the strategic process of the group.

After 3 years, there is the opportunity to serve as the director of Asia Pacific for a global client and to relocate to Shanghai. With this offer in Asia Pacific, Robert managed more than 250 employees and developed deep connections with both clients.

After one and a half years, Robert was promoted to the head of ISS China strategy and transformation, and became a member of the national management team, mainly responsible for promoting the strategic transformation of OneISS in China.

Since April 1, 2022, he has switched roles again and presented as Director of Operational Performance at ISS China, responsible for leading support functions including Service Excellence, HSEQ, IT, Supply Chain and Procurement, and Business Transformation and Delivery.

 

Although ISS has a long history, it is fast-paced and open-ended, and I am often amazed at how quickly individuals can drive change.

Robert Cedermark, ISS China Operations Performance Director 

Q: How did you become an ISS GMT? What programs did you join at that time?

Me joining ISS was actually a bit of a coincidence, at the time of me preparing for life after graduation. I was looking for a management traineeship and hence searched for positions in this area. I came across ISS which had just launched the trainee program the year before and the structure of the program appealed to me so I decided to apply, although I had never heard about ISS before. Initially, I must admit I wasn’t very excited about the opportunity compared to other companies, but after joining the interview process and understanding more about the company, its culture, strategy, and the GMT program in more detail I was very excited, and it made me determined to join.

Q: What does it take for you to thrive and perform in your work life?

For me it’s important to bring passion into what you do, and a big part of that is to build strong relationships and a common ambition with the people you work with. My colleagues give me a lot of energy in combination with the challenges that we face as a team. Then of course, it’s important that you balance your work life with taking care of yourself, I for instance love doing sports and having an active lifestyle is important to me.

Q: Which moment has made you feel most engaged about working here?

There are many moments where I have felt very proud to be part of ISS but if I should pick moment that made me feel engaged recently is our colleagues’ response supporting the emergency response in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, people don’t necessarily see the sacrifices employees in the FM industry make to keep our society running, however during the pandemic this may have been a little more visible. When the virus outbreak hit China in 2020 some of our staff was working day and night to ensure the safety and stability of our client’s employees and operations. Our clients include hospitals and if ISS staff are not there to disinfect and clean, to transport materials and porter patients, to provide food and ensure that the technical operation of the building is running etc. then these sites would have to close. During the COVID outbreak our colleagues in China and around the world were working tirelessly to keep everyone safe, around the clock, and I’m proud and touched by the dedication and strength in which we saw the organization respond to this emergency.

Q: Please mention the 3 best reasons for working at ISS?

Firstly, I would say the people, I have through my career met a great number and a diverse set of caring, smart, industrious, and talented people who I’ve learnt so much from and whom I feel very fortunate to work alongside. ISS is a very people focused business and, in our organization, you will meet a lot of people with different backgrounds and experience. 
Secondly, the opportunities to affect change. Although ISS is large organization with long history, it’s extremely fast paced and open for individuals to make contributions where they see fit. Ever since joining as a trainee I’ve continuously been surprised and excited about how one can spot raise improvement ideas and simultaneously be awarded mandate to drive implementation of solutions. ISS is an organization imbued with an entrepreneurial spirit and if you are excited about transformation, on a small or large scale, you will be thrilled about the opportunities that lay ahead if you are willing to put your hand up. 
Finally, I would like to highlight the fantastic learning opportunities and experiences you get from working in a business that has exposure to every industry you can think of. ISS provides FM services across the globe to a very diverse set of clients, and I’ve learnt a great deal about many things through rotating through our business from a country, industry, and business function perspective. I’ve visited client sites ranging from global bank HQs in London to Nuclear Power plants and Hospitals in Sweden, to a toy and robotics factories in China. I’ve also learnt a great deal from working with colleagues from all parts of the world with exposure to all kinds of various business functions. 

 

Forward with ambition

In just 8 years, Robert Cedermark, with both humility and ambition, has created infinite possibilities for his career. Hope that every young people with a dream can get in touch with different industries, accumulate knowledge and experience, continuously expand global vision, and advance step by step after graduation, just like Robert does.

Click on ISS Global Management Trainee Program or ISS China Management Trainee Program to learn more.


 

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