Sarlin has rapidly improved its personnel survey scores in recent years. What are the measures that have produced these positive results, what are the investments made to the welfare of personnel and what is the role of work community skills?
“At Sarlin, we’ve carried out systematic personnel surveys for a few years, and they’ve given us valuable information about things that need our attention and should be improved. It’s been fantastic to see our people respond actively and share their opinions, because this is the only way for us to know what needs to be developed. Our management and supervisors are also committed to building good leadership and a good work community; we share the ambition of creating the best workplace in the industry. Based on the results, we’ve made development plans both on the corporate and team level, which we’ve used to focus on management and supervisory work, communication practices, psychological safety, and work community skills. We’ve also developed our processes in different areas of the organisation,” says Reeta.
Everything starts with people – our daily efforts and interactions with fellow workers. Our company culture reflects how we aim to cooperate, and the importance of work community skills cannot be overstated.
“Together, we have built a psychologically safe atmosphere, considered our work community skills from different angles, and introduced tools for understanding different people. We’ve also had some help from an external partner. We worked with this partner to organise multiple workshops, and we’ve organised team-specific training with our own employees,” says Reeta.
We have also invested heavily in occupational safety and well-being at work. Our personnel’s welfare, occupational safety and work-life balance are very important to us. Occupational safety is key for our business and has been integrated into our company culture. Our maintenance personnel work daily in facilities where occupational safety plays a major role. The development of our safety culture is evidenced by the great milestone we reached at the end of 2023: a full 1,000 days without accidents leading to absences.
Reeta explains how Sarlin puts extra effort into inductions, hazard assessments and preventive measures.
“We encourage our personnel to report their observations of potential risks to occupational safety. We’ve also invested in preventive occupational healthcare and quick access to care. We wish to support the physical activity and well-being of our personnel. For example, we offer Epassi Flex benefits, company bicycles, and nursing services for ill children to ease the pressure on parents. We have an active welfare committee who organise various activities for our personnel to support their physical and mental health and increase our sense of togetherness,” says Reeta.
Have there been any challenges? What have been the greatest triumphs?
“Great changes take time, consideration, effort, and learning from mistakes – they don’t happen overnight. At Sarlin, we’re enthusiastic about new things, and sometimes we’ve bitten off more than we can chew.
As for triumphs, we’ve seen significant improvements in the scores of all the measured indices of our latest personnel surveys. It’s brilliant to see these positive changes in our management culture, commitment and image as an employer. In particular, our ENPS score has simply surged. Our personnel truly feel that they’re treated fairly and equally.”
One final question: In your opinion, what makes Sarlin a good employer?
“Sarlin’s business of making sustainable industry possible is extremely meaningful and inspiring. The fact that we can work for a cleaner future and environmentally friendly energy solutions is plenty motivating on its own. Sarlin is a family-owned business with solid finances that focuses on the customer. In my opinion, Sarlin is a genuinely human and caring organisation where everyone can work happily and develop with industry professionals.”
