For Northwest Center Integrated Facility Services, Cleaning Means Better Business Practices

By: Tracee Christie
Writers: Jennifer Owen
 
Tracee, Senior Area Manager at Integrated Facility Services (IFS), has been with Northwest Center for 15 years and knows what it takes to succeed. From working long hours to personally inspecting with her teams the 1.6 million square feet of property she manages; Tracee knows that hard work and proper management leads to successful teams. 

“My management style is to hire the right person for the position; I look for drive. Once you find the right person give them the tools they need to succeed, training and an expectation of what they should be doing,” details Tracee. “It’s my job to make them successful.”
 
This approach works. Many employees have been with IFS for over 20 years, helping the company progress with their extensive knowledge of the local market. Beyond employing a roster of loyal staff, that includes; Alvin and Ronnie, Amara and Debbie, IFS works to ensure that their hiring practices are inclusive in all realms. With a staff composed of over 80% minority groups, IFS is leading the charge in undermining hegemonic practices and ushering in much needed change.
 
One such long-lasting relationship Tracee has fostered is with Debbie. At first unsure of certain skills, Debbie, who has a disability, has gone on to manage a team responsible for keeping a total of 50 floors of office space clean every evening. This isn’t any ordinary building, however. It’s the Jackson Federal Building, a government institution where access to floors is restricted to certain time periods. This means that Debbie’s team has to be especially efficient, something which they thrive at.
 
This level of hard work and devotion is standard at IFS, for they understand that it’s about more than their work.
 
“I was born into inclusion, my older sister has a developmental disability,” explains Tracee. “I like that I get to contribute to Northwest Center by both hiring people with disabilities and contributing to ventures like Northwest Center Kids through our work. So many people benefit because of what we do.”
 
What makes IFS successful is their superb quality of service and dedicated team members. Being an inclusive workplace is an added bonus and further proof that workplaces benefit when people of all abilities are a part of the team.