Segment and Geographic Information - Financial Information by Reportable Segment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2016	Jul. 31, 2016	Apr. 30, 2016	Jan. 31, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015	Jul. 31, 2015	Apr. 30, 2015	Jan. 31, 2015	Oct. 31, 2016		Oct. 31, 2015		Oct. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 1,322.3	$ 1,296.9	$ 1,257.1	$ 1,268.4	$ 1,277.0	$ 1,249.9	$ 1,176.4	$ 1,194.5	$ 5,144.7	[1]	$ 4,897.8	[1]	$ 4,649.7	[1]
Operating profit									54.7		73.6		114.8
Income from unconsolidated affiliates, net									7.6		9.0		6.5
Interest expense									(10.4)		(10.2)		(10.7)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes									51.9		72.4		110.6
Janitorial
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									2,768.4		2,692.7		2,583.2
Operating profit									151.1		150.5		147.0
Facility Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									597.2		594.6		599.3
Operating profit									27.2		25.3		25.2
Parking
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									666.0		631.9		616.1
Operating profit									26.0		29.6		29.2
Building & Energy Solutions
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									643.2		557.7		483.8
Operating profit									11.1		26.3		23.1
Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									469.9		420.9		367.3
Operating profit									17.2		15.2		12.2
Corporate segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating profit									(170.0)		(162.3)		(115.3)
Segment Reconciling Items | Building & Energy Solutions
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from unconsolidated affiliates, net									(6.5)		(9.0)		(6.6)
Tax Adjustments, Settlements, and Unusual Provisions									$ (1.2)		$ (2.0)		$ 0.0

[1] Substantially all of our long-lived assets are related to United States operations.