Tell us about your professional background. When and how did you get your start in the cleaning industry?

I took over the general management of the Federal Guild Association of the Building Cleaning Trade (BIV) in 2022. It was helpful that I was familiar with the structures of the association and the processes in the regional guilds thanks to my decade-plus tenure as managing director of the North-East Guild, which represents almost 200 companies in Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

My career, in brief, from the Bundeswehr — via politics — into Germany's strongest employing craft: After graduating with a political science degree, I worked for 13 years as an intelligence officer and company commander. Then from 2005 to 2011, I managed the office of the Hamburg Member of the Bundestag Marcus Weinberg (Christian Democratic Union), where I first came into contact with the issues of the building cleaning trade. In 2011, I took over the management of the North-East Regional Guild.

Having recently stepped into the managing director role at the BIV, what is important to you for the association's work in the future?

The consistency of the membership figures over the past decades impressively underlines that the work of the BIV and the guilds is appreciated and considered meaningful. I would like to continue this successful work. Contemporary association work is not to react but to anticipate developments, topics and needs of the companies. For me, this includes an intensive exchange with the honorary office because the companies have the authority to set guidelines in the federation. As far as content is concerned, the main thing is to continue to make the collective bargaining policy attractive for our craft sector and to guarantee the best possible information policy for our members. As a political scientist, I also see a special focus on incorporating our interests into the plans of political decision-makers.

In the next 10-15 years, where do you see the building service contractors industry, specifically on a global scale?

Whether regional, national or global, digitization and sustainability are and will remain the two big megatrends. In Germany, however, our companies are primarily and acutely concerned with the growing problem of labor shortages and the increasing importance of cleaning and hygiene, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How does the BIV deal with the labour shortage and how does it want to counteract it?

There is not one answer to the labour shortage, rather very different keys that we have to use: keyword digitalization — especially for young, tech-savvy people, this can make our craft more interesting. Immigration will undoubtedly become more important, just as it can make sense to recruit more pensioners. It is also important to modernize external circumstances where possible. Increasingly shifting cleaning hours to normal times of the day will give people more attractive time slots and make them all the more valued as important service providers. Last but not least, it is of course about attractive collective bargaining conditions. The BIV as an association and building service contractors as an industry have done our homework.

You call digitalization and sustainability the two big megatrends. What development do you see in these realms?

If people understand digitalization to mean replacing cleaners with robots on a one-to-one basis then that is a misconception. On the contrary, there is a huge need for personnel in the industry at present and for the foreseeable future. Digitalization means, above all, rapidly advancing mechanization, automation and sensor technology, and ultimately advancing the networking of all systems, processes, and machines. The keyword here is Smart FM. Sustainability and climate protection are increasingly about reducing energy consumption, switching to photovoltaics, environmentally friendly working materials and avoiding plastic. This complex of topics will also massively change not only our trade but our entire society. Here, too, it can be observed that the companies are facing up to this challenge in a creative and solution-oriented way.