Kund: YIT Media: Tidningen Together 1, 2007 Svensk text: Maria Lindberg Howard Översättare: Roger Howard /rubrik/ Maintaining the best workforce is the key – for today and tomorrow /ingress/ It is important for YIT’s continued success to be regarded as an employer that can attract capable managers and employees, both internally and externally. Through strategic management and competence planning, we work to find people with the strongest attributes and offer them continued development via an array of training programs. /text/ A position in management is one appointed by a company's upper management. However, this does not automatically make a good leader. A good leader earns trust and respect from fellow workers. Leadership means taking responsibility, creating results, building relationships and developing the company towards its common goals. This can be a difficult but rewarding assignment that requires learning new things. Our managers are an important resource when it comes to YIT’s continued success. Therefore, YIT Sverige AB has now entered into an extensive program for strategic management planning. The goal is to map existing competence, and contribute to management development and create leadership continuity. At the same time new talent must be recruited, both internally as well as externally. This will help to demonstrate why YIT is the market’s most attractive employer. Mapping available competence The process begins with a management inventory conducted in four steps. Firstly, background information is gathered regarding education and work history from the “Competence Library”, in which we ourselves enter and update the information. The next step entails work psychology interviews and tests to judge leadership qualities. Next there are follow-up conversations with the human resources department in which current working strengths and weaknesses are discussed, as well as training needs and future plans. The immediate manager then issues a judgment of, among other things, goal fulfillment. The management inventory concludes with a Management Panel, which discusses development possibilities, successors etc. Swedish model for the entire group? One of the people actively working with management planning is Gabriele Mönnig. As Personnel Manager for the Climate System division with responsibility for management planning, she has had extensive experience working with, and development of, personnel issues. When Gabriele presented a model for strategic management planning several years ago she received the go ahead to implement this model for the entire company in Sweden. “They wanted me to formulate the model, test it and assure quality within the Climate System division and create a model for Sweden that can also function as a template for the entire group,” says Gabriele. “Therefore, it was important to create a
simple structure that provided continuity for the development work that would function year after year and could be easily updated with new information.” The first batch of management inventories within the Climate System division was finished in 2005. At the same time the Electrical System division and later the Plumbing System division began their own management inventories. This year, Facilities Management and the main office will begin their respective management inventories. “In total the new strategic management planning program includes approximately 180 managers at company, division, regional and branch levels,” says Gabriele. A better manager makes all the difference Pär-Arne Eriksson is a Regional Manager for Nord-Stockholm in the Climate System division. He has been both subject to the management inventory system and also has conducted inventories within his various branches. “Management inventory gives us a picture of our personality and our strengths and weaknesses as managers and leaders,” says Pär-Arne, who has worked as a manager for ten years. "In my experience, I found that my test measured up to my own self image. As a manager I also take advantage of management inventory in my daily work so that I can more easily understand how and why my branch managers act in certain situations. It makes my role as a coach and leader easier. Using the inventories we can make better decisions regarding leadership development etc.” After the management inventory and the management panel, a leadership development program follows, which can be implemented in a total of six steps, all according to the participant’s requirements. “It begins with a management introduction in which the managers at all levels gather and the CEO explains the company’s values, ethics and morals,” says Gabriele. Five key values present the personal qualities and strengths that are required for good leadership within YIT. KRAFT (the Swedish word for power) is built from - Customer Focus (K), Results (R), Responsibility (A), Belief in the future (F) and trust (T). Together these represent the attitudes and working methods that are necessary to help YIT live up to its mission to build, develop and maintain a good living environment for people. New possibilities for management training After the management introduction the leadership development program continues with “To be a manager with YIT”, which consists of theoretic material such as labor laws, finances, working environment and employee regulations. “YIT Leadership Training”, on the other hand, is a practical training program covering self leadership as well as group and business leadership. The primary themes for the “How to lead the business” program are finding new business, managing leaders/leadership and overall business management. The training program is custom tailored for managers at different levels. “How to lead the business” will be ready for launch in the fall of 2007. For those that have already gone through these steps, individual training programs will be arranged. The last step on the development staircase is JOKO, which is a manager training program at the group level that encompasses comprehensive issues such as strategy, marketing, business management, and overall leadership. This training program is conducted in Finland and is held bi-annually in English with participants from the entire group. “I want to deepen my knowledge in these areas,” says Pär-Arne, who currently is participating in the JOKO program. “It broadens my competence and provides me, as a Regional Manager, a unique platform to stand upon, as well as teaching me more about the YIT corporate culture and expanding my network within the YIT group.”
Today’s resources are tomorrow’s competence Similarly important for YIT is to find key personnel and other capable employees within all areas of operation. Currently the need for personnel is great and during 2007 a series of strategic recruiting measures will be implemented, including job advertisements, school collaboration, internal training and trainee programs. “We must venture to recruit, develop and maintain the best employees if we plan to extend our service segment and meet the company’s growth goals of 10%,” says Jocke Carlsson, Personnel Manager for YIT Sverige AB. In collaboration with Lernia and the Swedish employment office Arbetsförmedlingen, service installers (electricity and heating, ventilation and plumbing) and service technicians are recruited and trained with an emphasis on service. Those working currently within the construction segment can receive internal training in order to broaden their competence in industrial service areas so that they can move to other company positions if required. This provides resources for today and competence for tomorrow. YIT offers a wide trainee program In the past, YIT has had good experience with its internal trainee program, and during the spring new trainee positions will be offered. Unlike other trainee programs, YIT’s model is directed at sales personnel, project managers, service managers and future managers. In addition, all participants are assigned a personal mentor. Claes Waxin is the Key Account Manager for Facilities Management and now has his dream job. Getting there was a straight path thanks to the trainee program he participated in during 1999-2001. “I started as a service technician in 1994 but made it clear that I wanted to have a job in sales before I turned 30,” says Claes. He was offered a trainee position that would last for about a year in order to learn more about leadership, working environments, project work, project economy, contract law, negotiation technique and business management. This was a chance he could not miss. Professional knowledge is crucial for a trainee Studies were always sandwiched with practical work and he was able to put his working experience to good use. “It made it easier to understand the connections and apply the new knowledge in my daily work,” says Claes, emphasizing the importance of having access to a mentor. He also thinks that it is important that managers give the trainees some space and allow them the chance to develop. During the trainee program Claes already took the first step towards becoming a service manager with responsibility for all contract customers in the Stockholm area. During the years 2003-2005 he was branch manager for Stockholm. He sees this as an important period even though he could not concentrate on sales. Today he works with new customer processing on the national level and feels that he has achieved what he aimed for. “The trainee program provided all of the prerequisites that I needed to achieve my goal,” says Claes. “In addition to a good network it has also given me personal maturity and many informative “aha” experiences.” “We are convinced that the efforts we are now making in training, besides all of our traditional training, will make us an attractive employer,” Jocke Carlsson concludes.