Coor is currently in a strongly expansive phase, which highlights the need for financially, environmentally and socially sustainable growth. Diversity is a prerequisite for this growth, while also contributing to increased profitability.
“Diversity makes us stronger as a company and we value the different personalities, backgrounds, experiences and expertise of our more than 13,000 employees. More perspectives help us make better decisions and increases customer satisfaction,” AnnaCarin Grandin, CEO and President of Coor explains.
Compared to other employers, Coor’s comprehensive Facility Management operations allow us to offer more jobs to new immigrants and people on the fringes of the labor market. To facilitate their journey back into society and to give them the opportunity to advance professionally, we offer language courses and other educational programs.
“We want our employees to grow alongside Coor, because it enables us to grow as a company. It is wonderful to meet employees who tell us that Coor has meant everything to them, or who have taken on new challenges. Several of our line managers started their careers with Coor as cleaners or working on goods reception,” AnnaCarin Grandin continues.
At Coor, we believe that diversity and inclusion are key to our continued success. Our ambition is that our employees reflect society as a whole. Coor’s Code of Conduct and Diversity Policy state that all employees are to be treated with respect and fairly, and all managers at Coor complete an inclusive leadership training program.
“A large company such as Coor can and must make a difference. We need to create the change we want to see in the world,” AnnaCarin Grandin explains.
Wherever possible, Coor’s recruitment process does not reveal the sex and ethnic origin of its candidates, and our contract with Nya Karolinska Hospital in Solna, Sweden is particularly successful in this respect. Although we have done more than many other companies, a great deal remains to be done and it is important to continue to challenge prejudices, both internally and with our customers.
“In order to find the right talents we need to search far and wide and go beyond our own prejudice. We need to have the courage to employ people even when a candidate does not have exactly the right educational background or does not speak the local language perfectly—potential and motivation are what is important. Otherwise we will miss out on important competencies,” AnnaCarin Grandin concludes.
REDO aims to match people with permanent residency permits with jobs in businesses needing manpower through the new Upper Secondary School Act. Coor’s ambition is to recruit at least 25 new employees in Sweden 2022 through REDO.
In Norway, a professional qualification known as “fagbrev” is based on studies and practical experience. Each year, around twenty Coor employees in Norway study for this professional qualification while working for the company.
In Finland, cleaners have been given the opportunity to learn Finnish during working hours. Shared language skills increase safety in the workplace and enhance the employees’ professional development.
The Swedish consulting firm Novare Intro matches young people with disabilities with companies in need of skilled labor.
Ringar i Vannet is a Norwegian initiative that matches people on the fringes of the labor market with the right employer.
BLING creates change in deprived areas in Sweden through business and entrepreneurship. Coor contributes with know-how and coaching.
Coor in Denmark participates in several projects aiming to get the long-term unemployed back to work in partnership with Danish municipalities.
