The power of One for a future-proof Vebego

Our purpose

From our very first days, our focus has always been the same: people, meaning, employees, customers and the wider society we are proud to serve. We appreciate every employee for who they are and what they can bring. Together we deliver meaningful impact to help build a better world.

To a stronger future

In a changing world, fulfilling our purpose requires clarity, focus and great execution. Since we launched our Strategy 2025 in 2017 (now known as 'One Family. One Culture. One language.'), and specifically our restructuring programme, Designing our Future, we have been transforming from over 100 mid-sized companies to a powerful core of 8 strategic core companies, complemented by several specialist activities in four core markets, with one brand. As we near the end of this process, we must focus again on exactly what we want to achieve and how.

A clear vision, mission, and ambition

We have therefore formulated a new vision, mission and ambition to unite us as we move forward.

Our vision is that we want to help build a society where everyone can participate and make a difference to the world around them. A vision we support by creating meaningful jobs that embrace and develop our employees, and deliver real value to our customers.

Our mission - and daily goal - is to enhance people’s surroundings, so they can live well and perform better. We do this by empowering our employees, developing their talents and encouraging their resourcefulness, so they are able to do every job to the best of their abilities and with a smile on their face. An approach we call GREAT WORK.

And finally, our ambition by 2030, is that Vebego will be an inspiring example of how truly caring for people – employees, customers and society – is the greatest foundation for delivering meaningful impact with business success.

Building a future-proof Vebego

We have transformed to position ourselves as a thought leader in our markets. As a collective, we can communicate our story more consistently and raise awareness of Vebego as an impactful company: one people think of when it comes to great work and meaningful jobs. This will differentiate us from being a price fighter in a commodity market. Even beyond this, the transformation will allow us to learn from each other across our companies, deliver higher-quality service, make us less complex and more efficient, and create more career and development opportunities for our people.

The power of One

This transformation also brings a different role for Vebego Group as a holding company. From now on, the Group will operate as a Strategic Architect that motivates and enables our companies to give meaning to Vebego’s purpose locally. In doing so, the Group will focus on three key areas:

1. Setting out the Vebego strategy and steering unambiguously, by having a long-term and outside-in focus and defining clear Key Performance Indicators.

2. Strengthening the Vebego culture and brand by leading by example, telling our story to the outside world and inspiring our companies to grow our culture and brand further.

3. Encouraging and maintaining entrepreneurship within the companies, by truly interacting with the companies and asking the right questions, not just the easy ones.

What gets measured gets done

To provide clear direction, the Strategic Leadership Team has set four categories of KPIs: Employees, Customers, Society and Finance. For some of these KPIs, we have defined Vebego-wide objectives, particularly in the areas of diversity, sustainability and finance. For others, each company sets their own targets and reports on these.

The Value Creation Dashboard

By 2030, Vebego wants to be an inspiring example of how truly caring for people – employees, customers and society – is the greatest foundation for delivering meaningful impact with business success. A ‘Value Creation Dashboard’ was initiated in 2023 for the SLT to efficiently track company performances. This dashboard, focusing on the Six Capitals of Value Creation, will guide decision-making and support transparent reporting, aligning with the forthcoming CSRD legislation. It marks a shift from purely financial data to a broader, sustainable and resilient business approach. 

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

Vebego’s core strategy is to have a positive impact on people, the environment and society through sustainable business practices. This commitment to sustainability is woven into our overall strategy, which ensures we provide valuable employment, enhance quality of life and protect our planet’s future. Our sustainability strategy not only helps us achieve these objectives and foster a supportive workplace. It also prepares us for future regulations, such as the CSRD, which requires large companies to disclose their societal and environmental impact starting in 2025. During 2023 we have been preparing for the implementation of the CSRD.

Branding and culture are key

Becoming a thought leader in our markets requires a long-term approach, where our master brand and shared culture play a vital role. That’s why our focus is shifting increasingly from restructuring to building our brand and defining our culture. In our Beliefs & Behaviours, we have identified what unites us more explicitly. We will work with all our companies to further reap the fruits of our shared culture.

Vebego brand

In 2022, we chose to adopt one brand for our strategic core companies: Vebego. The reason behind this is to be more recognisable for (potential) employees and customers and to emphasise that our ambition is to be a powerful collective. The new logo, the new name and the renewed visual identity exude simplicity, accessibility and people focus. This fits seamlessly with today's Vebego. In 2023, we launched Vebego Facility Services in Germany, Vebego Cleaning Services and Vebego Groen in the Netherlands. In 2024, we will prepare the rebranding of our Swiss companies, our Belgian cleaning company and our healthcare activities in the Netherlands.

Beliefs & Behaviours

It’s our Beliefs and Behaviours that give meaning to our purpose, brand, and strategy. We started by defining the desired customer experience and linked these back to the required leadership behaviours. This is because it’s leadership behaviour that creates the right working environment for our people to grow and become the best version of themselves. Read more about our Beliefs & Behaviours here.

The change has just begun

In 2023, local management launched high-level plans to integrate and restructure the Belgian cleaning companies Care, Vebego Airport Services and Cleaning Professionals. Based on the Designing our Future principles, a new design is to be created followed by a gradual and careful transition. This process will take one to two years, however, management plans to launch the first phase of this transition in October 2024.

In the Netherlands, Hago Zorg (our healthcare services company) started its transition based on the same principles:

Designing our Future principles

We foresee that the new Vebego branded healthcare company will be launched by the end of 2024.

While we are nearing the end of the biggest organisational change in Vebego’s history, the execution of our Vebego Strategy 2025 is still in full swing. In practice, the change has just begun. We expect it to deliver leading companies throughout the segments in which Vebego is active, supported by several, specialised companies. In 2024, we expect to look beyond 2025 to see if our strategy requires finetuning, bigger changes or more focus.