Training and Collaborative Center Ribbon Cutting
December 2, 2019
Ken Collins knows that there is no stasis in business, only growth or stagnation. It is a philosophy inherited from his father Joe, who founded Collins Building Services 31 years ago and guided its growth in the Tri-State region over three decades. When Ken undertook the role of president of his father’s company in 2017, he knew that further growth required reinvesting prior successes to take that next step forward while simultaneously digging deeper into the foundation upon which CBS was built.
“What are we? We’re a service business,” Collins explains. “And how is that achieved? Through the greatest resource we have – Our human resource.”
A service business with over 3600 employees and more than 140 million square feet of prime office space under its care, Collins Building Services needed to create a new space to best prepare its employees to provide the level of service that anchors the company’s reputation as an experienced leader in the industry. The Corporate Human Resource, Training and Collaborative Center, which opened on November 15 with a ribbon cutting ceremony, is the fulfillment of that need.
The Training and Collaborative Center, located on the twelfth floor of Court Square Place, 24-01 44th Road in Long Island City, is a multipurpose space designed to house all employee onboarding as well as provide a dedicated option for team meeting spaces with state-of-the-art training and tele-training facilities. It will serve as a centralized location both in bringing CBS employees together and disseminating critical information quickly through its collaboration technology capabilities when that isn’t possible.
Housing a Human Resources team of more than 10 employees managed by Vice President of Human Resources Jason Sardiñas, the Training and Collaborative Center will streamline the recruiting and onboarding process. Jason commented that new and prospective hires will be served by the processing center during orientation, and later it will provide them with a familiar setting and an advanced facility, for progressive training.
In addition, the new center will assist in facilitating Vice President of Operations Rob Sardiñas to effectively orchestrate the day-to-day effort of thousands of Collins employees in the field. In a discussion with Rob, he stated he would use the new facility to: host an area manager meeting, conduct a class on OSHA compliance, and provide targeted training for team leaders to learn and implement. The center will provide a place to convene and collaborate to enhance client experience through better education and stronger focus on service delivery.
One of the most exciting benefits of the Corporate Human Resource, Training and Collaborative Center are the state-of-the-art technology capabilities it boasts. A conversation with Assistant Vice President and General Manager of NYU Operations, Carlos Zafra, revealed that to the large workforce requirement and geographic size of the accounts he oversees, his team anticipates making particular use of collaborative technology. This will enable Collins employees at work sites miles apart to use a smart device to dial in, connect, and give or receive instruction, training, and feedback.
Put simply, the work done on the twelfth floor will provide every member of Collins Building Services with the best opportunity to provide the company’s benchmark service standard: CBS Excellence. From their first impression of the company as an applicant, to onboarding and orientation, to skill specific training and compliance seminars, all the way through to Corporate and Executive Team functions, the Corporate Human Resource, Training and Collaborative Center will provide the backdrop for many important milestones that thousands of CBS employees achieve each year.
In his speech at the facility’s ribbon cutting ceremony, Ken Collins echoed his father Joe when he said “Take care of the people who work with you and they will take care of your customers.” In providing a space to be proud of for his employees who take pride in caring for the spaces of their clients, Collins Building Services aims to do just that.