If you want to demand from others, start by demanding from yourself. This is the maxim that we follow at Clece to maintain excellence in all our activities, especially in those whose objective is the care of the most vulnerable, such as the Home Help Service that we provide to many elderly and dependent people in Extremadura. Thus, just as we strive to maintain these high quality standards, we also have the obligation to demand that those ultimately responsible for this public service pave the way for us to reach that level. In other words, the Administration must live up to these standards and, therefore, must provide us with the way to offer excellent service. And this will be achieved with measures such as a greater balance between the price and the technical characteristics of the services in the tenders, so that, in addition to being competitive in costs, companies can be competitive in quality. Because when it comes to an activity related to people’s health, all forces must focus on guaranteeing the best service for them, minimizing as much as possible the rest of the factors surrounding this service. In cases such as SAD, it is also essential that the contracting and management of this service takes up the minimum possible time of the users, who must focus on receiving quality care that allows them to live with dignity. Management and contracting are two aspects that, in an ideal situation, should be dealt with between companies and Institutions and, if possible, on a local basis, as is the case of Clece which, despite being a company that operates at a national level, The entire workforce in our community is from Extremadura. Only in this way will we ensure, on the one hand, that the company provides a quality and close service, also knowing that the management work has already been done and, on the other hand, we will ensure that the user focuses on what really matters: their health and quality of life.
Because, although it could be said of all companies, it is especially in companies in our sector where the person takes the leading role. Those of us who dedicate ourselves to these health-related activities know that people come first, that we work for them and for their well-being. And when the center of your work is this, you are lucky that the human side emerges from every pore of the company and the people who make it up. Suddenly you realize that, as we say at Clece, you are part of a company made up of people for people. This is seen in the small details, such as in the selfless disinfection of social entities in the midst of a pandemic, as we did in many places in Cáceres and Badajoz, or in the campaign to collect food and clothing for those around us who were going through a complicated situation.
And then you take a step further and also decide to help the people who need it most, those groups that are at risk of vulnerability. Clece, in this sense, has a lot to say, because solidarity is in the DNA of those of us who form it. So much so that 72 of the 400 people who make up our workforce in Extremadura come from disadvantaged groups or at risk of social exclusion. This represents more than 19% of our employees. The commitment to these groups is one of our characteristic features and, for this reason, we are unequivocally committed to their labor inclusion.
Furthermore, in 2017, Clece employees confirmed their social commitment with the creation of Corazón y Manos, an association that seeks to solve problems in the immediate environment through solidarity projects and collaboration with Third Sector entities. In these four years, Corazón y Manos has helped numerous families who have gone through a delicate situation to get ahead. But what we have been doing for years at Clece should not be the exception. All service companies should contribute that social plus, as some of us already do, making it clear that we have a lot to contribute to society and improve the daily lives of those who need it most.
And we can achieve this together: with the collaboration of institutions that provide the means for labor inclusion; of third sector entities that are the link with these people; and service companies that have become employers and trainers for these people.
Extremadura is a land of solidarity, a social land where we care about people. We are close people concerned about taking care of each other and that shows in everything we do. We have a great base, solidarity and companies that are dedicated to improving people’s lives; Now we only have to, together, continue building this framework to make ourselves noticed as a community with first-class social services.
The needs of companies are constantly changing. The demands of their clients force them to evolve if they want to maintain their businesses. The chain does not cut there. These companies, in turn, demand new products and services from their auxiliary companies.
In short, all of them are forced to adapt if they want to survive. And with them, workers do not want to be expelled from the labor market. Doing so in the current context has more merit than ever, because it is more difficult than ever. How to know what clients are going to demand if they don’t even know what they are going to be able to do: if the immunization of the population with vaccines will make them forget about the coronavirus or if new strains will appear, hopefully not, that will force health restrictions to be prolonged .
Not only that. Change requires an investment, either of time or money or both. You have to have very clear ideas, faced with a truly uncertain future, to take the risk of investing. At the same time, not doing so can mean being left behind. We are, obviously, facing a crisis, first health and now also economic. Whether it is an opportunity for some companies depends on talent and the work of analyzing the situation, but also on luck when making decisions.
On the other hand, the pandemic has opened new market niches that must be filled. Those who detect them first will be able to emerge stronger from the current situation. It is true that others have disappeared, or shrunk so much that they must be abandoned, and many companies must be recycled to remain active.