The services group of the ONCE Business Corporation (CEOSA) was born out of the merger of two different groups, Grupo Vinsa and Grupo Pilsa, fifteen years ago. While Vinsa provided security and surveillance services, Pilsa specialised in cleaning services. Now, CEO José Antonio Reyes gives some clues on the group’s evolution and future prospects.

“Back in the 1990s, CEOSA realised it would be interesting to have only one group operating in the sector without affecting specialisation in different business areas. Joining efforts would thus result in an adequate organisational and business structure leading to an overall business boost.”

Q: −Like all the other CEOSA groups and companies, Alentis has its Strategic Plan 2008-2011. What are the main goals for this period and what are your long-term ambitions for your group?

JAR: −In 2008 we have to take the first step to accomplish our ultimate goals for this four-year term. Alentis is the result of the coming together of two distinct businesses, so we need to cement a single administrative, financial, HR and business structure. We’ve come a long way, but it could always be better. We have to focus on improving effectiveness. Our two main business units still rely on traditional cleaning activities (for buildings and shops) and conventional security services, although the provision of auxiliary services –garden design and landscaping, building maintenance, temporary employment– has strengthened.  These services are growing, some more than others, of course, but they have never equalled our two basic sectors (cleaning and security), which are still expanding. And we hope they continue to do so at an above-average rate, despite drawbacks such as the labour shortage for surveillance tasks. They idea is to work in the development of these other services, which have been secondary to us so far, so that we can level them up with our traditional businesses.

Q: −Alentis is one of the top services groups in Spain. Do you feel comfortable with this position or would you want to fly even higher?

JAR: −Feeling comfortable isn’t easy in the corporate world, let alone in the services sector. Fortunately or unfortunately, this industry is fed with lots of man-hours, so we deal with a high number of workers. Of course, this can be troublesome, especially because we provide services in different sectors and have to abide by different collective agreements and regulations in different Spanish regions. Anyway, Alentis is strong in the services sector; maybe we are, and I don’t want to sound smug, the second most important group in Spain. Naturally, there are big companies in some specific trades like security, but they specialise in one business only. On the other hand, groups providing a wide range of services like us are not so many. I’d say there’s only one that is larger than Alentis and that is serious, prestigious and hardworking. Then, we would be the number two, and our ambition is to consolidate in this position by enhancing competitiveness and service quality.

Q: −What are the most serious problems in the sector and what are Alentis’s solutions?

JAR: −Service companies can’t escape the general picture. There is a sector of unskilled workers, an increasing number of whom are immigrants, that we need to perform certain tasks. Immigrants are taking up jobs that used to be done by Spanish citizens a decade or so ago. This brings about cultural difficulties, as it isn’t easy to manage your staff when employees have different backgrounds. Moreover, there are regional differences to deal with as well. The situation is not the same in Andalusia, Extremadura or Castile-La Mancha as in La Rioja, Navarra or the Basque Country, since the makeup of the immigrant population varies depending on the region. In the case of security services, there are additional hurdles: according to the Private Security Law, to be a security guard you have to be a Spanish citizen and your qualifications have to be officially approved by the Police. These requirements translate into staff shortage, a situation that the need for ongoing training in technology contributes to worsen.

Work integration
Q: −Beyond profit, the companies of the ONCE Corporation are concerned with employing people with disabilities, and Alentis is no exception. At present, 1,400 out of CEOSA’s 16,000 employees belong to this group. Does this affect competitiveness? What do your customers think of this social responsibility initiative?

JAR: −Briefly put, profitability isn’t the first thing stockholders demand in the CEOSA companies. Of course, they are companies, and companies should be profitable. In fact, in the last four or five financial years, we’ve managed to reach acceptable profitability levels. We try to make it better every year, despite the fact that our market is tough and highly competitive –but which market isn’t, anyway? So we try to increase profits little by little. With regard to the social aspects of profitability, there’s no other firm in our sector with a similar staff makeup. We strongly believe that people with disabilities can fill some job positions that have been carefully studied. They can’t perform security tasks because the law prevents them from doing so. But they can still do cleaning, landscaping, gardening or maintenance jobs. We’ve made big efforts to incorporate disabled workers in these areas. Over the past few years, customers have begun to appreciate this, perhaps after the State Employment Law or the inspections to see to its enforcement. So now clients are more sensitive to these issues, hiring companies like ours, whose staff includes disabled workers. There are firms who can’t hire people with disabilities themselves, so they think we can be a good partner in this respect.

Specialisation and Outsourcing
“Security and cleaning are Alentis’s backbone, and I think these two businesses will continue growing in 2008,” says José Antonio Reyes, the CEO of the CEOSA services group. “Looking into the future, however, we shouldn’t overlook auxiliary services, as there’s an increasing number of national, regional and local companies that want certain jobs done but can’t do them themselves, given their narrow scope of business resulting from specialisation. They then decide to hire a service company to do these jobs. In my opinion, auxiliary services are our next challenge and a great opportunity for future development.”

Executive Change
In December, Alentis appointed Gabriel Fernández Jiménez as the new General Manager. Mr Fernández Jiménez has long experience and a solid career built in companies in the services sector. He will be replacing Iñigo Moreno, who worked at Alentis for five years, first as a Business Manager and then as the General Manager, contributing all his professional experience in the sector.