By: Nick Almond, Assistant Director of Compliance
Independent service providers (ISPs) partner with NEST for its robust book of business and transparent partnership model. ISPs don’t have to worry about seeking opportunities at retail chains and big box stores—a feat they likely would struggle to accomplish without help. Instead, providers just focus on delivering quality service to a wide range of retailers.
NEST’s retail clients succeed when they have a fully-vetted team of providers to rely on as part of their integrated facilities management (IFM) strategy. It is this passion that has helped to build the ISP network—the lifeline for so many of our retailers.
The NEST-ISP model is founded on believing in a lifetime partnership. As providers join NEST, the network is always expanding, not turning over—which is a big advantage for retail clients.
NEST acts as the bridge between providers large and small and retail chains that need reliable facilities management. For example, retailers can feel confident knowing that they have fully-vetted coverage for issues spanning the entire facilities management spectrum. From electrical work to the ever-increasing demands for cleaning and janitorial services during COVID-19, NEST ensures their clients have access to the full range of providers. And, NEST ISPs are backed by a dedicated quality assurance (QA) team, which gives retailers peace of mind that their standards are more than upheld—they are exceeded.
Efficiency is top of mind when giving work to providers. Instead of the typical 100 or 200-mile work radius, NEST shrinks providers’ routes down. The smaller the radius, the easier it is for providers to assist retailers and tend to emergencies that may arise.
To guarantee ISPs are meeting the necessary benchmarks, retailers rate their provider’s performance based on a criteria-based scorecard. Vetting service providers is the first step we take when a partnership first begins, and NEST prides itself on partnering with the best in business. By completing background checks, creating a uniformed look and providing procedural overviews, this process does more than ensure the ISP is not only a good match for NEST, but a good match for our retailers.
NEST is committed to keeping fruitful partnerships intact. In several instances, retailers have wanted their existing providers to migrate to the new IFM partnership. And for NEST, the answer was simple: Bring them into the network.
Thanks to in-depth training and weekly meetings, we ensure each ISP understands the ins and outs of each brand they work with. To streamline the process between client needs and facilities management services, NEST proudly acts as the middle man between ISPs and the retailers they serve. While ISPs act as the boots on the ground completing the work at hand, NEST handles the other 99% of the issues.
Moving forward in the tech space, NEST has found new ways to better engage with providers, such as through the ISP mobile app. This technology improves the relationship between management and providers without creating a robotic or impersonal experience, which can often happen when technology enters the picture. It also identifies areas of improvement for NEST across its entire ISP network.
Trust is at the forefront of NEST’s ISP care model. Quality work starts with baseline, quality relationships, which is why NEST takes on a familial approach—and yes, that includes company-wide Scrabble nights. With NEST, ISPs are not another number. They’re family. And that’s the NEST difference.