60 seconds with…Renaud Capris, CEO – Enova

Futureproofing the businesses

How was the re-opening of your business and how was it carried out in line with safety procedures put in place to allow social distancing?

At Enova, we had a smooth gradual re-opening of our offices, that was introduced and followed through with a candid and robust communication protocol.

Within the premises, signage and cleaning schedules have been adapted pro-actively and new safety measures have been added, such as transparent plexiglass protections between each workstation for heightened privacy and safety, while keeping the social aspect running. In addition, technology supports the process with video self-serve temperature scanners at every entrance.

Similar principles were adopted at operational level on the facilities we operate, in staff accommodation and transportation. All staff was provided with a hygiene kit that is regularly replenished with basic protection material (face mask, anti-bacterial wipes, hand gel, etc.).

How is the general feeling and feedback from your team members and your customers now the lockdown is over?

In line with the global reaction, locally a first shy sigh of relief is being felt. However, everyone is aware that the pandemic is not fully over yet - it’s a marathon and not a sprint. To support our workforce in this long-term process, mental health initiatives have been heightened. 

Our portfolio covers a wide range of different industries that have each gotten through the crisis on their own terms and we were proudly and strongly by their side, adapting to new challenges and customer needs.

While the industrial sector wasn’t very impacted, our retail clients are celebrating the re-opening of all shopping centres under the ‘new normal’ rules. For the healthcare and transportation sectors specifically, it was a make-it-or-break scenario and the strong collaboration in these difficult times has strengthened our partnerships so that we are now looking ahead optimistically. 

What role has technology played in supporting your re-opening plan?

In the early stages of the re-opening, digital communication played an important role with real-time attendance rosters to not cross the 30% physical presence threshold. 

In addition to digital communication, physical self-serve temperature scanners at every entrance help keep our office workforce safe, by detecting potentially infected staff before entering the premises. 

What market trends are you seeing since re-opening? 

Overall, we can feel more optimism which translates into concrete actions and commitments, now that the MENA region has successfully weathered the worst part of the storm.

Clients across the range of industries have now understood that they need a reliable and trust-worthy expert partner to manage their facilities in an efficient and technologically advanced way. 

This will lead away from a purely money-driven approach, as the cheapest is not usually the best: working smarter is key, which Enova pioneer in by integrating Energy with Facilities Management in a holistic and digitalized approach. 

“We have been noticing an increase in the demand for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) solutions post-Covid and are well prepared to cater to them,” said Renaud Capris, CEO, Enova. “Middle East organizations need to have full insights on the quality of their indoor facilities, whether malls, office buildings, or residential towers. Working with Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls, we have created an innovative solution that will enable operators to better optimize the indoor environment of their buildings, all the while maximizing the level of comfort for the building occupants and visitors.”

A trend we are forecasting to see soon: the wish for efficiencies and savings will lead to more interest and confidence in Energy Performance contracts to generate energy and water savings on the long-term. Sustainability is no longer a nice to have but is now being fully integrated into business models. 

What techniques have you used to build sales and re-engage customers?

We can’t highlight enough the importance of transparent timely communication. Simply shifting physical meetings to video calls is not sufficient. Clients nowadays demand more autonomy, transparency and flexibility; which is why Enova keeps on innovating in this space to come up with new and improved ways to satisfy this need:

1. Proprietary smart monitoring and reporting platform Hubgrade: at the core of our digitalization since 2014
2. Real-time customized dashboards: to visualize key KPIs in a user-friendly way 
3. Enova by Veolia app: gives 24-hour access to real-time data on Energy & Facilities Management services through user-friendly features such as automatic status updates and instant task reporting; since 2020 including live IEQ data in virtual floorplans
4. EVO (Enova Virtual Operations): the ultimate one stop shop portal for our clients

What positive lessons do we need to learn from what the industry has been through?

Taking care of our workforce’s both physical and mental health must be a priority, not just in times of crisis. At Enova, an annual Health & Safety Week as well as an annual Wellness Week have been and will continue to support this goal. 

To help our staff improve the work-life-balance in a flexible way, Enova’s Leadership Team has now also implemented 1 day of remote working per week.

Enova by Veolia website: https://www.enova-me.com/