“
When I came to Ireland, I took my tie off and I started on the floor with a cloth and mop,” he says, as he recounts a series of jobs he had in those first few months, which included a memorable stint covering the late shift at a chip shop.
Shortly afterwards, Radoslaw took on a temporary role at a pharma plant in the small town of Dungarvan, before following a recent colleague who had become a site manager at ISS to his first role with the company.
“
I didn’t know at that time how big a company ISS, was,” Radoslaw explains. “
But I wanted to see more of Ireland and the opportunities that were out there, so I joined the company.”
After two years managing industrial works of all shapes and sizes in Waterford and Wexford, he was promoted to supervisor covering small and medium contracts in the area.
Then in 2007, when an industrial manager position came up in the Cork area, Radoslaw’s proven track record helped him to secure the role, where he took on Munster as well as Wexford and Waterford.
Over time, he progressed to area manager, taking on larger and larger contracts, before taking a role as soft services manager at another pharmaceutical site.
“
That was a really important time for me,” Radoslaw remembers. “
I decided to study for my bachelor’s degree in Business Management. But there was also a lot going on as part of the day job. I was able to expand my knowledge of soft services to things like landscaping, pest control and garment management. And I took more responsibility for quality – working with Group to develop an entirely new quality programme for the client.”
Alongside studying for, and getting, his degree, Radoslaw had expanded his role to include sort and hard services when he heard about a new greenfield project coming up just outside Dublin.
“
I really wanted greenfield experience,” Radoslaw explains, “s
o I applied for the soft service manager role and got it – becoming the second ISS employee on site. From there, I was part of the leadership team that built a cohort of around 60 colleagues, and we worked hand in glove with the client to develop all the processes and procedures from the ground up.”
Once the site manager moved to another job at ISS, Radoslaw became site manager on a temporary basis and then, in September 2020, on a permanent basis.
“
That had been the goal for some time,” Radoslaw says, “
I was really pleased.”
Radoslaw stayed at the site through a number of takeovers which saw the plant pass between different owners. And, when the latest owner brought in their own facilities management provider, he was transferred out of ISS to work for the new business.
But, when the call came from ISS to return just a few months later, albeit in a less demanding role, Radoslaw didn’t hesitate.
“
As I told my employer at the time, I had grown with ISS. I remember, when I started, my contract was a single page. I had started on small regional projects and ended up part of a team building a massive pharma plant from the ground up."
