INDUSTRY LEADERS FORUM
Changing the way the world views cleaning Supporting members will be the focus again this year for ISSA, along with the association’s overarching purpose of promoting the cleaning and hygiene sector, as the organisation celebrates its 100-year anniversary.
Lauren Micallef
Oceania Manager, ISSA
What were the highlights for 2022?
A stand-out moment for the industry was the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo. After two years of postponements, it was great to see the show go ahead in Sydney. The event brought people together again, with attendees wanting to meet face to face with industry peers and view new market products and services from our largest number of exhibitors to date. The show saw a 25 per cent increase in attendees, with companies bringing more staff than normal to the event so these employees could sit in on workshops and see and hear from industry experts. These learning opportunities will be crucial as part of efforts in 2023 to strengthen teams and drive companies forward. The expo also coincided with the INCLEAN Excellence Awards, which showcased innovative and progressive products within the cleaning and hygiene space. A record number of registrations for the awards underlined just how much research and developments was invested into products and services during the pandemic. The ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo will return this 1-2 November 2023 to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. This will be our first show in the state of Victoria since 2019. Already more than 60 per cent of exhibitor space has been sold and we believe this show will be the biggest Expo to date. The INCLEAN Excellence Awards will once again return and coincide with the event. This year, ISSA Oceania had our first company in Australia, residential and commercial property cleaning services provider, Sebastian Property Services, 46
INCLEAN January / February 2023
achieve the highest level of Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) certification – CIMS Green Building (CIMS-GB) with Honours. Through third party validation CIMS GB offers a company the ability to distinguish themselves from the market, demonstrate their professionalism and commitment to cleaning excellence. In 2022 ISSA Oceania also launched our Member Benefits program, powered by Supply Clusters, which offers benefits regardless of a company’s size or sector of the industry. The program offers our members significant rewards, savings and strategic assistance across 30 common expense categories. It was established to support members in streamlining their operation, boosting profits and managing spend across their business. We will continue to promote this initiative in 2023.
What are ISSA’s priorities for 2023?
Supporting our members will be the focus again this year, along with ISSA’s overarching purpose of promoting the cleaning and hygiene sector, as the association celebrates our 100-year anniversary. Throughout the year the association will be highlighting people, products and brands from around the world who have helped us reach this important milestone, and those moving ISSA and the industry forward into the next hundred years. The association is looking forward to hearing back from their members on industry icons within their organisations, past or present as well as innovative products and
brands that have helped to transform the industry. As the cleaning industry emerges from COVID-19 there is still a significant desire and need to embrace knowledge development and training. ISSA Oceania’s online webinars and workshops continued to remain very popular during 2022, and we expect that to again be the case in 2023. Sessions on costings, pricing and tenders have been in high demand, with businesses seeking to be more profitable, competitive and efficient. The desire to remain abreast of the latest trends and developments was also felt across both our international and local media. ISSA Oceania’s INCLEAN publication experienced a 55 per cent increase in digital subscribers in 2022, highlighting the growing significance of the cleaning industry and the broader markets’ desire to remain informed about the sector. A key theme that has been present across the publications and has gained traction throughout the pandemic is how we need to clean for health and the vital role our industry plays in infection prevention and management. We need to continue the momentum gained during this unique period into 2023 and beyond. This will be a key message focus for ISSA and GBAC (Global Biorisk & Advisory Council – a division of ISSA). Both online training and certification as well as GBACtv global updates will continue to address the latest human health, infection prevention and control topics. Last year leading professionals updated our audience on the latest COVID variants, monkeypox, indoor air quality, tripledemic: flu, R.S.V & COVID and more.