VEFF Magazine 1 2022

VEFF//22 VEFF – THE DNV EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION VEFF MAGAZINE 2022

The ultimate role of GSS is to help the business areas achieve their goals.

To accomplish this mission, we need to understand their needs and their challenges.

Meet

Meet

Meet

GSS ELT

THORMOD FJELL GLOBAL SHARED SERVICE OFFICER

GSS SPECIALISTS

I EDITORIAL I

Attracting talented employees to DNV:

The VEFF magazine is produced by employees in DNV and sponsored

by VEFF union, which is a union for DNV employees.

© VEFF 06-2022 Editor: Nina Ivarsen Front cover photo: DNV Brand Central Back cover photo: ©DNV Design and print: Bodoni, 125875

Do we need different employer branding strategies in different business areas – or do we simply need people with the right attitude?

Attracting and retaining highly talented employees and to consolidate competitive advantage is an important issue for companies in all scales around the world, also for DNV. Understanding what attracts talented employees to a company provides important insights in potential employee’s personality, attitudes, and skills instead of pure expertise.

Yet, there is another important question in today’s globalised business world: can we use standardized strategies to attract potential employees all around the world, or shall we customize our employer brand according to the cultural differences between the countries and ­business areas. At the latest SMC (Senior Management Council ­meeting May 2022), this was an important topic all over the agenda.

The world has been changing rapidly the last two years, and so have the expectations of workers across all industries. A year later, the talent market has shifted once again, tech talent is in huge demand, and employer branding is becoming a priority for DNV. The basis of your employer brand; it’s the values and missions that we all work towards, and this outlines what candidates can expect from us as an employer.

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Our employer brand is to what extent people within our organization and outside of it see us as an attractive employer. The only thing we can control about our employer brand is the strategy

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in which we communicate our company

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culture, mission and values.

I CONTENTS I

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EDITORIAL

6-43 Interview

CHAIR OF VEFF, NINA IVARSEN However, in a market where employer branding will be even more crucial in the race for tech talent, it’s more vital than ever that scaling tech businesses get these strategies right in 2022. While large corporations have large recruitment marketing budgets and the capacity to hire at scale, every company has a culture and a brand which should be celebrated. How we communicate these unique aspects will set us apart in 2022. Remember, not everyone are the same, and different aspects of work will appeal to different candidates, but all these individuals are becoming much more aware of what they want. In a market where the candidates hold the cards, employer brand communications couldn’t be more ­critical. The last two years have thrown a lot of challenges our way in a fast speed. Businesses have had to adapt to change quickly in ways no one could have expected.

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Thormod Fjell Baste Amble Andreas Fischer Marta Pajak Trond Gunnar Iversen Andreas Knaus Anett Hollum Xander van der Meijden Sam Wallis Jakub Olik Mona Olander Kristoffersen Anna Juhanila Rupali Bodke Remi Kristoffersen Martyna Stolinska Ivar Magnus Næsset 44 Stress at work can lead to burnout Lin B. Kasten 46 HVO Ellen Margrethe Pihl Konstad

If we can show how we weathered the storm of a global pandemic and came out on top, it positions us as a reliable employer to begin a career

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with.

If you as a manager managed to hold onto your team throughout years of layoffs and resignations, shout about it, as this shows we are a people-orientated business. Employees in all industries are worried that we could face this level of uncertainty again.

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I EDITORIAL I

We need to amplify our employer branding efforts and dedicate more time to become an employer of choice, but also make sure we reach the right kind of ­candidate. Not everyone wants to work at Google and Amazon, and this can be used to our advantage. We all need to look at our company culture, consider the kind of employer we are and want to be, then we need to own the image.

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We are all ambassadors and “recruiters”.

2022 will be the year of knowing who we are as an employer and promoting those specific qualities that make us unique. The time for broad employer brand messaging is over if you wish to attract the best quality hires.

What is important to candidates and employees in 2022 won’t be the same as pre-pandemic or even halfway through. For example, diversity and inclusion became a priority after the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, just like sustaina­ bility is becoming more critical after COP26. Similarly, at the beginning of the ­pandemic, remote work and flexibility seemed to be at the forefront of candidates minds when thinking about the return to work. A year later, and many are missing the social aspects and collaborative nature of being back in the office.

To make our employer brand stand out in 2022, we need to get to the bottom of what is essential to the people we are trying to attract and as important; to retain.

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Don’t be afraid to talk to your teams and ask for honest opinions, as this is the only way you can adapt your recruitments

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to meet current priorities.

Also, remember that millennials and Gen Z are now making up more of the workforce, and these younger generations will have different priorities. Chances are, if you ramp up your talent acquisition, these are the candidates you’ll be speaking to as older generations are more settled or even considering retiring. Therefore, you need to know what’s important to them and tailor your employer brand messaging to incorporate this. Again, market research and speaking with focus groups could really help.

If there is one thing the last two years have taught us, change comes around quickly, and the most agile businesses will come out on top. One event can change the ­expectations of candidates and employees forever, and it can leave you looking outdated and behind the times as an employer. During pre-pandemic, very few of us were working remotely, and employers were still trying to win over candidates with quirky perks, plus the candidates had significantly less power than they do today.

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I EDITORIAL I

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The recruitment market can change rapidly, and to remain appealing to top talents, our employer brand must be prepared for

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this change.

My experience now is that employer brand should never be static. We should constantly improve how we communicate our brand and promote what makes us unique. As our business grows and evolves, so should the qualities that make us special. As our employees grow with the company, we have more stories to tell.

By having an employer brand strategy that is constantly evolving and improving, we will quickly adapt to any future changes.

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Today we have 300 dedicated cyber security experts in DNV and more than 1000 exceptional IT experts, this makes us an important and

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attractive high-tech player.

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When I’m not at work, I love

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playing golf.

References: Talent Works International 2022 conference Leekha Chhabra, N. and Sharma, S. (2014), ”Employer branding: strategy for improving employer attractiveness”, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 48-60.

Abdullah A. Aldousari, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait, Alan Robertson, Mohd Shukri Ab Yajid & Zafar U. Ahmed. pp. 153-170.

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I INTERVIEW I

Thormod Fjell SVP, GLOBAL SHARED SERVICES OFFICER

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING The classic song of Bob Dylan, “The times they are a-changing” will probably always be true. But, during the last two years we have all experienced more ­dramatic changes and challenges than normal. Covid-19 sent most of us home and we picked up our work and duties from our kitchen tables or rapidly constructed home offices.

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At the outset I believe we all felt uncertainty as to how this would play out and how DNV would get through the pandemic business wise. The various business activities of DNV have proven very resilient and robust and performed very well through the pandemic. I think we should all be grateful for this and indeed for all the hard work done by DNV colleagues throughout the world to make this possible

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under quite difficult circumstances.

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I INTERVIEW I

From my post as the Global Shared Services Officer, I am also grateful and proud that we have managed to support the company in a very good way throughout the pandemic. GSS has worked for many years to digitalize our service deliveries and enable remote service delivery. So, in many ways we were well prepared for the new reality of working remotely and providing services remotely.

A little snapshot from our visit in Pune.

Great collaboration between Business Areas, Country Chairs and GSS is also something that stands out as a positive experience in the pandemic period. This makes me motivated and optimistic for the future.

While we in GSS can do most activities remotely, it certainly feels refreshing that we are now able to come back to the offices and also be allowed to travel again. There is something positive happening when we come together, which goes beyond simply completing our tasks and responsibilities. As such, it was a very special moment for me and the entire leadership team when we visited our new Global Centre in Pune, India early May – following two years of planning and build-up – all done remotely.

WHO AM I? “Who am I” is a well-known song from the Les Miserables musical, and in many ways represents a key theme in Les ­Miserables.

This could be a rather deep question, but I think I will limit this to a quick summary here. I have reached the age of 55 and have been with DNV since I was 25. I believe this long tenure with DNV is not for lack of imagination, rather because I have been given many and great opportunities, in many parts of the company and in several different countries. I live in Tønsberg, Norway – some 100 KM south from Høvik. I live here with my Fiancée, Julie who also has her work in the Oslo area. We are fortunate to live very close to the sea and we are

active users of the sea for various kinds of recreational activities. This is great for work life balance!

I have two grown-up daughters, both moved out, living in Oslo and well into their adult lives and careers. The household here in Tønsberg also includes our cat, Mr. Leo. There is also a dog on the way, a Finish Lapdog that will join us 1st of July. I guess we will stay busy also on the home front in years to come.

MY JOURNEY IN DNV Last year I completed 30 years in DNV. My journey in DNV started as a Finance Trainee in Maritime. The Trainee Programme opened up many opportunities for me, starting with a Finance Manager role in Korea directly after completion of the trainee programme.

Korea was a great place to learn the ­Maritime business, with a large ship ­newbuilding activity and as well large ­volumes of CMC activity.

Next stop on my journey was Sweden before we moved out to Dubai in 1996.

An initial 3-year contract in Dubai was extended twice, and the total stay in Dubai became 6 years. The time in Dubai stand out positively in so many ways for me, professionally and privately.

At the time we were roughly 100 employees in the entire region, so we were all on first names, and we all knew each other. My responsibilities were Finance, HR and IT, but I also got ample opportunity to engage very actively in in the

business activities of DNV. That time we had all BAs under one roof so to speak, with Maritime and Oil & Gas as the key activities. For two years I was also responsible for the Oil & Gas activities i n the Region. This type of role was very new and different for me and gave me a chance to really get close to the real operations and challenges of this business.

While our base was Dubai, I spent a lot of time visiting the other countries in the region (Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain) and I have found memories from all these countries.

Being a Regional Finance Manager in those days was a bit of “Jack of all trades”, which sometimes included events like presenting ISO Certificates to key clients.

Beyond my own found memories of Dubai and the UAE, Dubai will always be a key part of my two daughters’ childhood memories as they both did their kinder garden and early school years in Dubai. As all expatriate kids, they ­mastered two languages at a very early stage in their lives.

Following a total of nearly 10 years abroad, I returned to Norway in 2002, initially as Head of Group Audits, then shortly after shifted to a role of Corporate Controller. This was a great role for learning the global business activities of DNV, across all business areas. Then in 2006 I was offered the role as Finance

A younger version of me at an award ceremony for Arabian Ship Repair Yard (ASRY) in Bahrain.

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I INTERVIEW I

RE-CHARGING The world goes electric and battery charging of cars and devices is a natural ingredient in everybody’s lives these days. Beyond cars and gadgets, it is also important to ensure the mind and body is re-charged on a regular basis.

Director for Business Assurance (that time DNV Certification). After many years dominated by Maritime and Oil & Gas, it was a great opportunity for me to get deeper into a rather different business, with Management System Certification as the most important service line.

I truly enjoyed my years in Business Assurance and will always follow the developments in Business Assurance with great interest.

In 2009 several changes took place in DNV, and I made a move back to group level as Group Controller. The acquisition of KEMA and indeed the merger with GL are some of the most interesting and challenging projects I was involved in during these years in Group Finance.

Then, late fall of 2014 I was asked to take on responsibility for the newly formed Global Shared Services organization in DNV GL. GSS was formed in connection with the DNV and GL merger.

GSS covers a broad range of services and activities globally, with more than 1200 staff across the world.

The best way for me to re-charge the ­batteries is through sports and outdoor activities. One of my favorite sports is kayaking. Luckily, my fiancée Julie is also very keen on kayaking, so we often go out together. As we live very close to the sea, this great sport is very accessible for us, and we enjoy kayaking both as a good workout and even more as a recreational activity combined with camping at one of the islands out here. The 2022 kayak and camping season started already in March. As the sea was still very cold, we used dry-suits and proper wool clothing to stay warm and safe. Even below zero temperatures during the night is manageable with the right clothing and camping gear.

The ultimate role of GSS is to help the business areas achieve their goals.

To accomplish this mission, we need to understand their needs and their challenges. We wish to be relevant and useful for the business areas, a business partner they can rely on. The people in GSS are the ones that make this happen and a primary focus for me is to ensure we are able to attract and retain the right people in all our locations. I believe development opportunities is the most important parameter when it comes to attraction and retention of people.

Great employees wish to continue their growth, in terms of knowledge and in terms of career paths. Collaboration across the entire company will be important to provide exciting opportunities for ambitious employees within all domain areas.

Another favorite of mine is being out with the boat. There are lots of great places quite close by, and we spend many days (and some nights) in the boat during the summer months.

While the maritime activities of kayaking and boating rank highest on my list of hobbies, I also enjoy cross country skiing very much. Previously a winter sport and now more or less an all-year sport as we have new roller-ski facilities many places.

Finally, as many Norwegians, I am a big fan of mountain hiking. A warm summer day somewhere in Jotunheim is always enjoyable.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

So, this new role was a move from a specialized finance role to more of a general manager role. The years from 2015 till now has been extremely interesting, a challenging journey in many respects with huge transformations in all parts of organization. Now we are well positioned for the future with very capable Global Centers in Poland and India and with regional Centers specialized to cater for the local needs of the BAs in the larger hubs of DNV globally.

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I am very proud to be part of the DNV family and very happy to lead GSS on to the next phases of our journey. Looking ahead I believe further digitalization of our operations will be critically important along with a continuous focus on professional development of our

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people.

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I INTERVIEW I

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My professional career has been like going from station to station, collecting and accumulating more and more experiences in

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a good way.

Baste Amble DIRECTOR GSS IT

I was born (in the times of the Beatles) and raised in beautiful city of Bergen, Norway.

My father worked in shipping and my grandfather was a steward and sailed the seven seas. Bergen is a city that has looked outward since it was founded in the 11th century, so it was probably meant to be that I would work in something related to the maritime and indeed it has been so.

I was an active and curious boy I was told, always asking questions and the “why” questions was my favourite one. I cannot say I had a teenage wildlife; I was a good kid, and my biggest interest was football, tennis, and music, both playing and listening. I played the euphonium for many years in wind bands and brass

bands and served my military services in His Majesty the King’s Guard Music Band (Gardemusikken), where I played the French horn. I do not play anymore, but I’m a big music lover and somewhat a music nerd when it comes to knowing artists, producers, cover, samples and who is influencing.

I recently joined DNV, April 2021, ­coming from a position as CIO in Multiconsult, a Norwegian civil engineering company.

I have a master’s in business from NHH (Norges Handelshøyskole), but also ­studied information science in parallel at the University of Bergen. I always was interested in information technology and how it could be used for business, and I started my career in Accenture. In

my professional career I have changed from time to time working in consulting and being in “line- organisations”.

After some years in Accenture, I was interested in getting leadership experience and work internationally. I therefore joined Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a global logistics and ro-ro shipping company, where I had some great years in different management positions within IT. In addition to several global roles, I also worked abroad in Antwerp, Belgium for a period and my eldest daughter is born in Belgium. Antwerp is therefore still a part of my heart.

After Wallenius Wilhelmsen I worked for some years in Aker Solution or more precise Aker Business Partner, where I was part of the global management team

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Running is so easy to do (if you have the knees for it), and it triggers a lot of good biochemical reactions like feelgood endorphins reducing stress, boost immunity, slow the aging process. Nearly for free!

I’m a big music lover and listen a lot to music; classical, opera, pop, and rock.

Exploring new artists, going to concerts with friends, all this give a lot of energy.

My all-time favourites are The Beatles, Prince, and my hero David Bowie. My classical favourites are Wagner, Puccini, Beethoven, and my hero Gustav Mahler (everybody should at least ones in their lifetime experience Mahler’s 8th or 2nd symphony live).

building up the global shared services within Aker Solutions. This was quite a daunting task, but we learned a lot during these years. Then I went back to consulting for some years with spells at Deloitte and PA Consulting typically working with CIO agenda stuff like strategy, digitalization, sourcing, architecture, governance and change management, before joining Multiconsult as CIO. But now I’m here at the wonderful DNV. Even though I just started my career in DNV I believe I am not an absolute beginner. Being humble to the long ­traditions in DNV; I believe I have some strengths I can bring to DNV due to my background and experience.

My business background is an advantage when it comes to understanding business thinking and how to communicate and translate between businesspeople and technology people.

My consulting background is relevant for process and communication and storytelling, and finally I have experience from other global companies, understanding the complexity and diversity of an international company, balancing central and regional/needs and requirements.

Outside work I enjoy spending time with my family, my wife and two daughters

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and our lady dog (it’s then me and four ladies in the house). The kids are in their prime teenage period so it happens they will not spend time with me. I can therefore enjoy and follow some of my interests.

I like to be active. I have recently taken up windsurfing again, but the biggest activity in the summer half year is running, the longer the better. Having reached rock bottom shape wise back in 2006 I decided something had to be done.

One thing took the other and now I’m a keen marathon runner, and I do love it, it has become way of life.

I’m the cook in the house for most of the times, and this is a big interest of me, so I also spend time on reading about wine and food.

I think life is too short to eat mediocre food and drink uninteresting wine.

We must enjoy life and good food and wine is part of it (and an occasional cigar).

Watching football is fun, especially together with good friends. For me the teams must be dressed up in red; Brann from my hometown and You’ll Never Walk Alone in Premier League.

In winter season my off-work activities are very Norwegian, cross-country skiing,

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downhill skiing, off-piste skiing, then some more cross-country skiing and not to forget, anyone for skiing?

My role in DNV is Director IT in Global Shared Services, based in Høvik. I’m responsible for all IT services GSS are delivering. I have a great IT management team and a great IT organization across the world. I have been working in many organisations and being a consultant, I have also seen many IT other organisations.

I’m not saying that here are things that can be improved, but the IT services in DNV and the IT organization in DNV is one of the best I have come across.

The competence levels are high, the effort is very good, and the dedication to the work and DNV is extraordinary. I’m very lucky to have this role.

One of the most important activities for me is to build networks with stakeholders in BA and Group, understanding the business needs, and to communicate to the business stakeholders what possibilities the information technology can give.

Of course, I also spend time within IT, together with my team and GSS ELT, to set the right direction, develop our people and take decisions on key strategic IT topics that are important for GSS and DNV, the journey to cloud (we are about halfway there I would say).

To provide stable, efficient, and secure services to all of DNV is fundamental for us. We will always strive for operational excellence for the day-to-day services.

However, this will not be sufficient for enabling DNV’s digitalisations and develop our people; we need to develop GSS IT to become a partner with all the BAs and Group functions for DNV to succeed. I think this is one of my key responsibilities, to develop GSS IT (and GSS) to become a true partner to all BAs and Group functions in DNV. IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR ME AS A TECHNOLOGY OPTIMIST Information technology is shaping the future and will be pervasive in nearly all aspects of life. This development must

be shaped and guarded by good people, people who wants the best for the humankind. I’m a technology optimist, I think the good will prevail, but is does not come by itself. I think we all can play a part in this and DNV as a company for sure. DNV has a unique position to play an important role in making sure (information) technology is being used to safeguard life, property, and the environment.

To continuously develop oneself and help others to develop is a key area for me.

“Know thyself” is a guiding principle and then use the insight to build upon strength and develop or compensate for own weaknesses.

To give people opportunities and help them along the way, either with coaching or mentoring or being available is so important. I think one of our obligations as senior leaders is to spend time and

help people to develop and release their full potential.

Work together across BAs, Group and GSS will be key for DNV’s success the coming years.

We in GSS will do our utmost and I think this quote from Henry Ford sums it up:

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Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together

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is success.

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folio. The then CEO of the newly founded company hired me as an assistant and after 3 years I was appointed Head of Facility Management Bavaria, my first leadership role. At the age of 29 I was suddenly responsible for 60 employees. My wife and I moved to Munich and were fortunate enough to live in Schwabing, probably the most beautiful district in Munich.

After later being stationed in Frankfurt (responsible for a real estate sales port­ folio worth 5 billion euros), I thought it would be time after 10 years in the DB Group to look for a new challenge, so I became Head of Facility Management at ECE in Hamburg. ECE is a development and management company for shopping centres that operates around 250 sites in Germany and Europe, and it was a very exciting and challenging time.

Andreas Fischer GSS, DIRECTOR REAL ESTATE AND PROCUREMENT

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I am 52 years old, have been married to my wife Kirsten for 21 years and we have 3 children, Mats, Ole and Jan. Obviously, when we chose the children’s names, we already knew that one day I would end up in a Norwegian company with global operations. However, that was anything but foreseeable when I was born in Neuss in the Rhineland in 1970.

known for its illustrious university and a very southern climate.

After a week which I spent mostly in the hospital in Neuss, my parents, my brother and I moved to Cologne. After another 4 years then onward toward ­Heidelberg, which I would describe as my hometown. Heidelberg is an incredibly beautiful city in southwest Germany

I started my first job in 1996 at Deutsche Bahn in Frankfurt. Unknown to most, Deutsche Bahn is the largest property owner in Germany and Deutsche Bahn Immobiliengesellschaft was founded back then to professionally manage Deutsche Bahn’s huge real estate port­

After school and subsequently my compulsory military service in the Bundes­ wehr, I completed a Business Administration degree in Mannheim and later also studied Real Estate Economics at the European Business School in Munich.

In 2013, a head-hunter drew my attention to a position at Germanischer Lloyd, which was Head of Real Estate Management in Hamburg. The function was newly created, and I really had to establish everything from scratch because there was no professional real estate management function up until then. The merger with DNV came after a relatively short time and I was actually a little unsure how my professional life would continue.

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Luckily, I then very quickly met a Norwegian who was to completely turn my life in the German real estate market upside down:

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Lars Kjønø.

Lars was the Director Real Estate and Procurement in GSS, a completely new area that was responsible for all our worldwide offices and for setting up a purchasing organisation. I became

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The dynamic world of working conditions and the adaptation of our locations to hybrid working methods are major challenges we are still meeting to this day.

Global Head of Real Estate and at breakneck speed (after brushing up on my ­little-used school English to cope with the global role) we merged the offices of DNV and GL and created the appropriate organizational structures for the merged entity.

In the following 7 years I experienced a lot. Travel to all major DNV locations worldwide, exciting real estate projects and lots of fun. Lars opened many doors for me at DNV and introduced me to many interesting people in the company around the world, for which I am still very grateful to this day. In 2020 I suc-

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ceeded him as Director Real Estate and Procurement and I am currently working with my global team of around 80 people on our large real estate projects in Hamburg, Høvik and other locations.

In addition, we are implementing a global procurement tool for DNV, which will enable us to standardise and digitise the purchasing process.

In my private life, I spend a lot of time with my family. All my sons play soccer, and I can often be found on the soccer fields of Hamburg at the weekend.

Since my father was born in Dortmund, he made me an ardent supporter of our club Borussia Dortmund very early on and I did the same with my 3 sons. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that we bleed

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yellow and black!

In addition, my wife and I are trying to raise our Covid dog Willy, which maybe among the biggest challenges of my life.

Willy usually drags me along the nearby Alstertal for at least an hour every morning and evening while at the weekends and during summer holidays we go to our holiday home on the Kiel Fjord as often as possible.

In summary, I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to use my knowledge of real estate in an such an exciting global company. I thoroughly enjoy working with my 80 colleagues in Real Estate and Procurement, who are all incredibly committed and professional. I am particularly looking forward to hopefully being able to meet everyone again soon after the long Covid period.

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Marta Pajak PEOPLE DIRECTOR, GLOBAL SHARED SERVICES

My name is Marta Pajak and I’m the People Director in GSS, based in ­Norway.

I’m originally from Poland and that’s where I spent the majority of my life.

When I was 8 years old, I started playing the piano (inspired by my older sister who was very talented) and I enjoyed it at beginning, but the interest soon faded. I would say I am a very committed person, and this started at an early age, so despite not liking to play the piano, I did it for 8 years.

I also trained athletics and especially loved the hurdles. I was a ‘mummy’s girl’ and was always inspired by her and that’s what made me want to be a teacher (she is a teacher obviously). Therefore, I started studying languages, and along with the studies I got an opportunity

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to work in DNV and quickly changed the direction in which I want to further develop. And that’s how my journey with HR started.

I have more than 14 years of experience and all of them have been with DNV (this was my first real job).

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I started working in DNV when I was 20 and I studied on the weekends.

I originally planned to be a teacher, but I quickly realized that working in HR was something that I further

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wanted to explore.

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Therefore, I completed my bachelor’s degree in Languages and then switched to a Master’s in HR Management. I started working with operational HR, where I had the opportunity to see the HR tasks from the inside and experience the operational perspective. After almost five years in operational HR in Poland, I moved to Norway to take on my next role, working as an HR Applications Consultant in the Partner and HR Applications team.

Here I had the chance to work with supporting the HR applications and HR ­processes. In 2016 I moved back to ­Gdynia on an assignment, leading the HR Operations team that delivered HR operational services to the Nordics region. Being in a leadership position taught me a lot and gave me valuable experience that I could utilize in my next HR roles.

During my assignment in Gdynia, I was also involved in the Partner 2 implementation project, where I held a Project Manager role.

In January 2019 I returned to Norway, taking on the role of Global HR Manager in GSS, supporting GSS HR and GSS REM &PROC. In this role I had a global responsibility and the opportunity to support employees and the leaders in all GSS locations. This enabled me to have a global perspective and be involved in several areas, such as recruitment of senior manager positions, ­having challenging and crucial conver­

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sations and other people related topic.

And 4 months ago, I took on the role of People Director in GSS. I love my work but there is a life outside of work as well. Together with my fiancé and our sweet little dog Goya, we spend a lot of time outdoors. Goya loves to play football but also loves to eat the ball, so on average we need to buy a new ball every other week. We like travelling as well even though Goya is not a big fan of flying. I also really like shopping, especially shoes. I also try to ‘regularly’ exercise, but I probably need to improve in this area. I like to read, and I get very inspired by ideas and concepts that I d ­ iscover while reading books.

MY EXCITING JOB AT DNV People Director in GSS where my responsibility is to actively promote, ­support and facilitate the fulfilment of the GSS and DNV strategy. In my role I also focus on various HR processes, such as workforce compensation, succession, performance management, talent management, as well as attraction and retention.

I also work with a highly engaged and professional People team, which I’m very proud of and impressed by their knowledge, attitude and deliveries.

Important issues for me is: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, People Development, Exceptional Employee Experience and Strong Leadership.

I’m very passionate about people and their experiences, and people fascinate me. I also believe that Inspiring Leaders can really help our employees to grow and make a difference. And as a final word, I would like to ask you to be curios, ambitious and set stretch goals

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for yourself.

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Harstad and the northern part Norway always has been a very important place for us and each summer we have returned to enjoy time with family and friends and explore

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the fantastic nature.

Trond Gunnar Iversen DIRECTOR OF DIGITALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT GSS

I grew up in Harstad, a small town in the north of Norway. Harstad is a fantastic place, small enough to “know almost everyone”, large enough to have variety of activities to explore. My favorite activities as a young boy were all kind of sports, but most of the time was spent on football. You could say “I lived” at the football pitch for some years. In addition to being able to play my favorite sport, it was very social place where strong friendship was built. I also enjoyed being an active alpine skier for some years. My wife Marit is also from Harstad and we meet during high school.

I moved from Harstad when I was 20 years old to do my studies. The first step was an Officer School in Sandnes.

Being both competitive and eager to learn about leadership, it was a great place to test oneself and learn. After one year in school and working one year as an Officer, I started my study within Business. This took me to Trondheim and Bergen, where I graduated as a ­Master of Science at NHH.

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In between our studies in Norway, my wife and I took a “gap year”. We brought with us books within social anthropology and German filled up a camper and drove off towards Germany, with the goal to get to know Europe, learn and enjoy.

We loved it and will always remember this year as a special year filled with unplanned learnings.

After finishing my studies, I was very happy to join the DNV Management trainee program. I started in 1999 and the trainee period gave me two roles within Finance working for Group in Høvik and one role within Finance in Essen, Germany.

After the trainee period, I worked as a project manager for the implementation of Agresso, which was then our brandnew Finance tool in back in 2001. After completing the implementation of Agresso in Italy & Croatia and Finland & the Baltics, I moved to a new role as Finance and HR Consultant for Business Assurance, based in London. It was my

first role within HR and my job was to document the best practice for the MIP process. I loved learning about ­people and leadership and took this interest with me in my future roles. In London, we also became parents for the first time, when Jesper was born.

My next role was Admin Manager, for Region Korea. This was my dream job, back in 2003. As it meant you where Finance and HR Manager for the region you worked for, in addition your where also responsible for IT services including all services, we today deliver from GSS. On top of this, it gave a lot of learning within leadership, the maritime business and culture. Working in Korea was a great experience, and I learned a lot.

My family also enjoyed our time in Seoul. We will always remember how open and friendly people were. It was also special for us when our daughter Julia was born in Seoul.

After almost four years in Korea, we were

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ready for a new adventure, and we were all happy that it was Dubai and the UAE. This exposed us to new culture and new learnings.

As an Admin Manager for Middle East & India I enjoyed learning more about our fleet in service business and advisory business and of course a new business culture. Privately we became parents for the third time, when Jacob was born in Dubai.

After three years in Dubai, I took up the role as Admin Manager for Region South East Asia, Middle East & India.

The role was based in Singapore, so it was time again for the family to move.

Singapore was another great experience.

Professionally I learned a lot, being exposed to new business with Offshore class and Oil & Gas, in addition to ­Maritime.

Singapore was also a great place for to live and my family have great memories from our three years there.

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After more than 10 years abroad, it was time to move back to Norway. We really looked forward to it. It was time for skiing again and it allowed our kids to “become

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Norwegians”, which was important for us.

Professionally I also got a great role as Finance Director for Maritime and Oil & Gas, Division Norway, Finland & Russia.

It was great to join a strong team, learn from them and also learn more about the Norwegian business settings and see the very strong standing we have in Norway.

The next role was also a Finance Director role, but the challenges and learnings were very different. Working for Maritime Advisory Globally, the job was to help merging our DNV and GL units into one stronger team working together.

In 2016 I joined GSS, and I was really attracted by the opportunity to build a professional Global Shared services within DNV. I took up the role as Finance Director for GSS and Project Manager for GSS Future State and later on the New GSS Delivery Model project.

These two projects have been key in transforming GSS from a unit located at 106 locations to build a global delivery model with two large Global Centres in Gdynia and Pune delivering global services remotely, together with our Regional and Country offices.

It was a very demanding transformation for many of us in GSS and especially for our employees who lost their jobs during a time which was also challenging for DNV. After six years in this dual role of Finance Director and project manager for transformation projects, I was thrilled to take up my current role as Digitalization and Development director for GSS. I really want to contribute to our next transformation, through the digitalization of our services.

So the desire to learn, explore and help DNV grow stronger for the future, have resulting in the following fun facts about myself: I have been living in 12 cities, 6 countries and have 3 children all being born in a different country.

When not working, most of my time is spent with my family. We enjoy spending time outdoor and in the nature. Hiking, kayaking and skiing are favorite hobbies.

I try to get out into the nature every day, even if it is for a short walk. Being active in the nature is both a place to exercise and a place to reflect and charge the battery. During the pandemic, I have

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tomers in the centre when digitalizing our services. It is also important to join our forces. The opportunities within ­digitalization are complex and we will only succeed if we collaborate across our services and ensure subject matter expertise within change management, process management, automation and user experience are supporting our ­digitalization projects. In GSS we are at a very good place, since we have so many talented people who can contribute, so our job will be to help them connect, build a platform where they can work effectively together and set the direction.

I am passionate about teamwork and helping teams to grow and succeed.

succeeding also after I am not working with this team anymore. I also enjoy learning new things and love when we innovate and turn new insight into business value.

I hope I can give back by inspiring, ­setting the direction and also develop good structures which will help our teams grow their competences at the same time as their help DNV turning new insight into business value.

My best advice to my colleagues would be to stay curious and open minded and share your insight and ideas with your colleagues. This is also a great way to learn and grow.

I have always gone into a job with a ­targeted to build a strong team for the future who can keeps developing and

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I have really enjoyed working in

enjoyed cooking for my family. I am not a fancy chief, but my Paella and Risotto has been popular.

I have stopped playing football myself, however have enjoyed being a football coach for all my children. Today my youngest son is still an active football player and I enjoy helping him reach is goals also within football. At last, together with my two sons, we enjoy watching our favorite team Liverpool playing.

My current role as Digitalization and Development director, is all about helping GSS to digitalize and develop our services. We know digitalization is the future and the key is how we use key insight from our operation and external insight from suppliers, experts and the industry to find our way to turn this insight into business value for DNV. GSS create business value for DNV when we deliver on our strategic goals: Customer value, cost efficiency, quality, compliance and cyber security.

So for us it is key to focus on our strategic goals and ensure we have our cus-

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DNV and will always be grateful for all the fantastic DNV colleagues who has been helping me learning

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through my career.

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“

A Swabian from the south, now residing in Hamburg, in the north of Germany – what turn of events could lead this

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to happen?

Andreas Knaus GSS FINANCE DIRECTOR

This journey began after I completed a Bachelor and German Diploma in Finance & Controlling and Process ­Management. I started as a trainee in a publicly listed manufacturing company in South Germany, not far away from the beautiful Lake Constance. During the first 3 years, I was part of the central group controlling unit and finance business partner for the main production plant.

and to find time to study. With the support of my family and company however, I managed to work through most of it in the end, with only my master’s thesis to be postponed for a few months to fit in another, much more important project: The wedding with my wife Yvonne. ­Consequently, the day after our wedding became the kick-off day for my master’s thesis. Suffice to say the first 3 months of our marriage became quite ‘hectic’.

During that time, I started a part-time MBA program with a focus on General Management and Information Systems.

With my finance degree as a basis, I wanted to learn more about Information Systems as I realised quickly that finance and IT are strongly intertwined. It was quite tough sometimes to manage the demands of my job and being at university on Friday evenings and Saturdays

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Shortly before finishing my MBA, I received the fantastic opportunity to work as Assistant to the CEO/CFO of the company. So, I found myself suddenly working for a very experienced top manager in his sixties who was CFO of various companies during his career and was awarded CFO Of The Year in Germany in that very year. At the age of 27, his authentic and modest leadership style made quite an impression on me.

Being part of executive board and supervisory board meetings and working on a capital increase project together with investment bankers and lawyers gave me the opportunity

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to see a company from a bird’s-eye view.

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During my time as GSS Global Controller our family moved to Oslo for nearly 3 years. This was another dream come true – as I had hoped for this opportunity when I first heard about the merger with a Norwegian company.

As both my wife and myself grew up as boy and girl scouts, we have always loved outdoor activities and Norway, we knew, is a fantastic place to experience that.

The move to GSS also gave me the unique opportunity to establish new Controlling/Finance teams in our Global Centres in Gdynia, Poland and Pune, India. After moving back to ­Hamburg during 2017, I kept my role as GSS Global Controller and leading teams remotely and hiring people only through video interviews in remote ­locations was normal for us even before the outbreak of covid-19.

As the company went through a very tough restructuring process, I also appreciated the responsibility of managers to keep a company consistently fit and healthy – and be fully aware that once the course of a company gets too far off track, it is very difficult and painful to correct it.

After nearly 2 years in this position, I was looking for an opportunity abroad and was offered a job at Germanischer Lloyd with an international assignment to Shanghai. It was not easy to take this step, as this meant: New job, new company, new industry, new country – on the other side of the world. The hiring APAC Regional Manager’s small joke did not make it easier: “Do you know that in Shanghai more people live in some single buildings than complete cities in South Germany?” I did not know much about China, but I said: “Yes, I guess.”

Fun fact: As my wife was invited to the 2nd job interview as well, all parties involved knew what they were buying in to.

I started as Assistant Manager to the APAC Regional Manager and soon took up the position as the Maritime Regional Finance Manager APAC. The 3 years in Asia were a wonderful adventure.

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Our first daughter Anna-Sophie was born during that time, and we got to know many interesting people from all over the world.

We enjoyed living in a vibrant city abroad but were also confronted with the challenges of expat life: far away from family and old friends, not knowing the language and even not being able to read Chinese characters, to name a few. Fukushima was one of these moments which we will not forget as Shanghai was not that far away from where the catastrophe happened.

After slightly more than 3 years, we moved to Hamburg as I got a new opportunity to work as Finance Business Partner for the Maritime Finance Director and the Maritime CTO, whose units contained the central classification units, plan approval and R&D. Shortly after we arrived back in Germany our 2nd daughter Catherina was born.

Then during the merger period between DNV and GL, I saw the opportunity to move into another unit to build up something from scratch. As GSS was formed out of the 2 differently organised support organisations of DNV and GL, there was a lot of room to create new processes and tools.

In 2021, I had the opportunity to take up the role as GSS Regional Finance Manager for Central Europe. Here I had the possibility to learn more about statutory accounting, external audits and tax. And here again – not surprisingly – I saw that the area of finance is so wide and deep that one will never be able to understand every part of it in detail.

Often you have no other chance but to rely on the well-qualified colleagues around you, to trust others and practice to delegate more.

This is one of the things which I appre­ ciate so much in DNV – you have the chance to work in many of the different facets of finance and in doing so you can develop yourself in so many ways.

A couple of months ago I took over my current role as GSS Finance Director.

Being part of the GSS Executive Leadership team, the Finance Director is responsible for the controlling, performance management, planning and ­strategic initiatives for GSS. In that role I have a great team of controllers and finance managers in different countries around me, mainly in GC Gdynia and Pune. In all these locations I have so many colleagues who still inspire me every day.

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Most of the time outside of the office I spend with my family, my wife and our 3 daughters. We love the outdoors, for example enjoying the flexibility our ­caravan gives us to discover new places.

My wife and I are regularly engaged in youth work. Currently we are running a soft skills training program for teenagers at our local church. Having both grown up with scouting, we benefited a lot from that program and on Friday evenings, you can usually find me out in the ­forests with the scouting group I lead, as I want to pass on something to the younger generation from what I have learned from coaches over the years.

I’ve always had a passion for cycling.

Whenever I find some free time, I spend it on my race or gravel bike. Also, cycling to work has become one of the best ­routines of my daily life. Inspired by the ‘We Do Program’ a couple of years ago, I realised if you get the logistics organised, cycling can be one of the most fantastic parts of the day. It is excellent for the body, the spirit and the soul and when I’m on the way to or back from work

I feel very grateful for these special moments.

to enjoying the food gives me a sense of real satisfaction.

I also like snowboarding and skiing, although in the last few years I had much fewer possibilities to enjoy these activities compared to when living in Norway or in the South of Germany where I originally come from.

I must say it is a special honour to work for DNV.

Another regular routine developed over the last 5 years is baking bread, and ­Italian or Swabian Pizza (Dinnetle).

The whole process from the preparation, to taking the end result out of the oven,

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You feel connected with very well qualified and inspiring people from across the globe. The company gives us the possibility to continuously develop ourselves, especially if we dare to jump into the unknown once in a while. As one of my colleagues quite rightly said recently: Growth happens when we operate at the edge of our comfort zones.

With our strong purpose, each employee, no matter in which role, contributes a bit to

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making the world a better place.

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Policy and Management, at the University of London. My first twelve years of working was all about development aid, working for organizations such as Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Assistance), the Asia Development Bank, with headquarters in Manila, ­Philippines, and Norplan, a Norwegian consultancy firm specializing in hydropower projects in developing countries.

These years brought me to some of the most exciting places I’ve been working in, including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Laos, and Bangladesh.

Anett Hollum DIRECTOR COMMUNICATION AND CUSTOMER CARE

I’m from Oslo, Norway. I was born and grew up in a suburb in the eastern part of the city. The area has changed quite a lot since my childhood years in the early 70s and 80s, with some suburbs having quite some challenges these days.

Despite a good suburban childhood and memories – I eventually moved to the other part of the city. Then followed years with travelling, studies in Norway and the US, work, marriage, more work, kids, then divorce. Pretty much in that order.

Today, I’m into my second marriage, with Eirik, whom I in fact met in DNV about 14 years ago. Together we have built a new family with four girls and two cats: one Norwegian Forest Cat and

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a street cat imported from Greece by one of our daughters. The last add-on to the family is Gin, our little teddy bear of a dog. Our girls are students now and all settled in new cities - so a new chapter has begun for Eirik and me.

As an eighth grader I dreamed about being an ambassador, strongly influenced by my grandpa and grandma who lived for ten years in Iran back in the 1930s.

Although I never became a diplomat, I pursued on an international path. ­Having family close to Seattle in the US brought me to Pacific Lutheran University where I finished my MBA. Then, after some years, I did my MSc in Public

A time I always remember is working in Kabul back in 2006-2007 for Norplan. I was responsible for assessing the social aspects of establishing a hydropower plant outside Kabul. The company policy at that time was to stay in guesthouses in the city center, rather than fancy hotels – as the first alternative was considered a lot safer. I had a great time – our office was an old hydropower station, simple, but at least we did not lack power. In my free time, I was out with colleagues and friends for dinner and drinks or visiting the local movie theater or buying carpets in Chicken Street. Sadly, all that has changed now.

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I’ve two passions – art and gardening!

I’ve always loved going to art galleries and wherever I travel I try to visit at least one or two. There is something about the peace and beauty of galleries, in addition to the exhibition of course.

And I always bring with me my favorite proverb or saying which is “l’art est la decouverte de l’autre” (Yves Klein). Art is the discovery of the other, to me that sentence captures the whole purpose of art – to discover something totally different. Being an art lover explains also why I picked up painting five years back.

So nowadays, paining on large canvases is my thing – with a lot of colors!

Then to gardening. We put up a greenhouse in our garden some years ago – and from May to October I’m pretty much spending my time preparing for and growing vegetables such as tomatoes, chili, cucumber, or sunflowers. To me it’s a dream come true.

Serving family and friends caprese salad with homegrown tomatoes from sees bought in Southern France is pure joy!

I started in DNV in 2005. Fun fact: My application to DNV was a common application with a colleague. We worked so well together in Norplan and argued that DNV should hire both of us – saying that 1+1=3. Although, both of us where interviewed, I was the one offered a job.

And the rest is history.

Given my experience, the plan was to develop further DNV’s Development Assistance Section. However, things changed, and instead I started heading up a consulting team focusing on Food Safety. That was a great moment in my career. Being able to build a team for growth, celebrating each new win we got with a customer or hunting for projects after a media scandal. Some of those colleagues are still in DNV – and in fact one of them in my team today – so things also go in circles in DNV! Since then, I have worked in different

business areas in various positions such as consultant, project manager, head of section, head of department, HR advisor and finally to GSS as Communication Manager and now Director Communications and Customer Care.

GSS is an exciting place to work – and has had quite a journey since 2017 when I joined. I’ve part of building a new global delivery model, with the latest new kid on the block which is our Global Centre in Pune, India.

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I’ve been with DNV for 17 years now. It’s a great company with a strong purpose, vision and values. And to me there are three main reasons for still working here: professional development opportunities, a sharing culture among great ­colleagues and the fact that DNV is an international company. Looking back - I never planned for the various positions in DNV. Rather, I was open for change when there was an opportunity.

And that will be my advice - when you see an opening and think that might be interesting, go for it, or at least raise your

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hand. You will be noticed, for sure!

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Xander van der Meijden DIRECTOR GSS FINANCE OPERATIONS

I’m 46 years old and together with my wife Monique we share 5 kids, Lotte (21), Olivier (19), Sophie (17), Tijl (14) and Ties (11) and I’ve been with the company for more than 10 years. As you can imagine family is important and they joined me in the DNV adventure when we spent 5 years in the USA (Boston & San Francisco) between 2013 and 2017 where they also developed together with me in an international environment and where English is still our main language at home.

I’m globally responsible for the GSS Finance Operations and I’ve been with the DNV Group since 2011 and had several roles in Energy Systems as BA Controller and Regional Finance Manager Americas as well as in GSS as Regional

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Manager GSS FI West, South and East Europe. I’m a qualified Dutch CPA and hold a master and post-master degree in Accounting at the Nyenrode Business University, the Netherlands.

With my professional background with a bachelor, master and post-master in Accounting it was obvious that I would end up in working with numbers. I’ve started my career working for EY, one of the Big 4 Accounting Firms and had a variety of multinational clients mainly in the Technology & Entertainment segments, listed either in the US or locally in the Netherlands and engaged in some really challenging projects such as the IPO of Endemol (entertainment company known for Big Brother) as well as a Spyker (a Dutch luxury handmade car

manufacturer) who bought and sold a Formula 1 team as well as SAAB before eventually going bankrupt, but that’s more a story at the coffee machine or at the bar when we meet in person. Via my network the at the time CFO of KEMA approached me for help in professionalizing their management reporting and closing process and making it trans­ action ready. After a few meetings he convinced me in leaving EY after 10 years and it hasn’t been dull at DNV ever since.

Within Energy (now: Energy Systems) I had several roles and I’ve seen some integrations, first DNV and KEMA and later DNV and GL which kept on changing the environment, structure and responsibilities in the job.

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“

After spending 5 years in the USA, it was time to go home and back to the core, when I joined GSS as the regional manager of GSS FI for West South and East Europe,

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a challenging region with 21 countries!

That mix and variety of scope made it a fun adventure until the opportunity came along to become the global director for GSS FI operations. During these years I’ve always been around numbers and kept one motto: there is nothing that a journal entry cannot fix!

A FEW STORIES HERE AROUND THE CHANGES I MADE IN MY CAREER The biggest life changing moment, both professionally and personally was the decision to move abroad together with the family. It was a tough decision, impacting not just my life but that of my family, but even with hindsight I would recommend it to all who are giving the opportunity. Professionally I learned a lot of adapting to a new culture, bringing my own experience and at the same time enriching my own skillset. Personally, as a family we enjoyed the time abroad, strengthened together and when living on both the East & West coast of the USA really got the know the country very well. In the future my kids will benefit from this international experience and being fluent in the ­English language!

As mentioned in the intro, we have 5 kids and although they’re getting older, I spend most of my time being an UBER driving all of them to and from sports, initially helping them with homework now more chasing them and be a proud supporter of them with all the various activities they undertake. When I have the time, I enjoy reading books, preferably in the sun outside, when ­possible, with Corona opening up the world and allowing TEAMS to have a sneak peak inside everybody’s homes, you can see a library behind me when on video!

Currently as Global Director of GSS Finance Operations I’m working with a team of almost 600 really enthusiastic and highly capable Finance, Tax and compliance professionals and together we’re responsible for all global accounting, both for management and local ­statutory reporting and financial compliance matters in over 80 countries across the world and with more than 200 legal entities.

We are the link between the Group ­Strategy, DMSG and local compliance regulations whilst enabling the Business Areas to do business in all the countries we operate in. Despite being in Finance and producing the numbers, working with people is really important and ­energizing, because we need all of us to get the job done and love to interact with local teams across the globe.

Two things that are top of my mind right now is “get clean, stay clean” and the Oracle implementation. The first project relates to catching up on the backlog of statutory compliance in some countries and starting in 2021 we made good progress with the ambition to be fully up to par by the end of the year

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(“get clean”) whilst for all the other countries make sure all our filings are done within all the statutory deadlines (‘stay clean’). This is an example of a global project, but we need all the local expertise and working together to get this job done.

The other big project we’re working on is the Oracle roll-out. Following the DNV & GL merger it was decided to move the entire company onto one accounting platform and with some hickups over time we’re finally planning the last country to go live per January 1st, 2023. To reach this goal will be a great achievement for DNV, not too many global companies have this uniformity realized!

Working for DNV has been a very rewarding and exciting journey so far and with all the ambitious growth plans ahead of us and working with great colleagues looking forward to

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a challenging and fun future!

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Sam Wallis DIRECTOR GSS HR OPERATIONS

Originally hailing from Australia, I would now consider myself a global nomad, having spent almost half of my life living abroad. Not that it was always work that took me places, having met my American wife in Galway, Ireland some 15 years ago.

Even so work has been a large component of it having in the past 20 years spent time working in Japan, United States and now Norway.

My wife and I have 2 boys who were born in Texas where we settled for a number of years and where I started my career with DNV. Of course, my wife would have also loved a daughter, but she and family had to settle for a dog as an almost equal substitute. So, between the boys and the dog our home life is quite demanding but also very rewarding.

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My path to Human Resources and DNV was not necessarily a traditional one.

Having graduated with a Degree in ­Marketing for Queensland University of Technology (QUT), my career actually started out for a brief period of time working as a Global Procurement Officer for a French engineering and manufacturing company. From there I worked in various operational capacities before landing a position in the United States working on the operational integration of a company that we had acquired.

This was really the starting point that lead me to focus my career as a human resources professional, and for the past 15 years I have held various HR management roles with either a strong tactical or strategic operational focus, primarily in the technical and engineering services field.

I would say that my family and I have been very fortunate these past few years to be based in Norway during the pandemic. Despite the severity of the situation, my family and I were still able to spend a lot of quality time exploring and learning about Norway, its culture and pursuing our interests of the great outdoors.

We try to spend as much time as possible hiking, camping in the warmer months

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and have a real love of skiing in the ­winter (though by local standards I’m sure we are still true novices).

While at home and will whatever little time I have, I also have a passion for cooking which I picked up from my mother. This has led me to develop a keen interest in barbequing and more particularly smoking (of meats) which has become something of a weekend ritual for us.

Having worked with DNV now for almost 8 years, I am currently on assignment in Høvik, as Director of GSS HR Operations.

Prior to this I had worked in our U.S. operations for GSS HR North America, most recently as the Regional Manager.

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It is a real privilege to be in a role working and supporting our Business Areas and Group, through a fantastic team of over 300 HR

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Professionals.

Since coming into the role there have been a lot of major initiatives and it’s been great to see how well the team has responded and supported DNV and each other, most notably on one hand the efforts through the global pandemic and the build up of our 2nd global center in Pune, India.

Now I look forward to continuing the focus on building a strong and robust service organization between our Global Centers and Regions, to support the 2025 strategy with particular focus on achieving DNV’s growth ambitions.

Now all the attention for GSS HR is building up and reshaping our Talent Acquisition services and the delivery model to support the organic growth ­target of 20 % by 2025.

This is an opportunity for GSS HR to work closely with the BAs on an area that has very real and visible impact on their success and bottom line and establishing us as a true business partner to the organization.

Additionally, there is a need to continue the development of our new Global Center in India and now that we have a truly global organization, working with the regions and centers to build a strong, collaborative, and robust GSS HR operations.

Working at DNV is a very rich and rewarding experience and I can never complain of being bored or that my work is routine.

There remains a lot of challenges, but these are really just opportunities to be involved in a lot of exciting projects and work to support our colleagues.

For now, I’m really looking forward to getting out and connecting more in ­person with the team and our colleagues globally and see how we can contribute more to the success of DNV.

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Jakub Olik QUALITY MANAGER, GSS GLOBAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

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“

I like to think of myself as funny, hard-working

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and passionate.

However, I am probably just a regular guy who tends to look at the positive side and seize opportunities whenever possible. So far this has led me to a satisfactory professional and social life, happy fatherhood and more!

As GSS Quality Manager, I am responsible for strengthening the GSS organization on quality, compliance, risk and business continuity.

The range of my activities span from planning, risk identification and assessment, reviews and audits, reporting, case handling and training.

Awareness of quality and its’ impact on how GSS services are being delivered and perceived by our customers.

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We need to support the DNV growth through highest-quality work, which comes down to the collective contribution of all our employees and

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the solid quality framework in place.

Recently, I was asked about a special moment that mattered to me in DNV. The reason why I found it difficult to answer, is that I experience such moments on a regular basis. I have a great relationship with the company, based on the mutual respect and giving your best.

So, whether it is more trust that I am granted with more serious assignments, coaching from experienced colleagues, or just nice atmosphere on a regular day in the office – these all matter to me, so thanks, DNV!

My professional competence and work experience 10-YEAR EXPERIENCE: Shared Service and Business Process Outsourcing, in the areas of Finance, IT, Banking, HR. Different roles: Analyst, Trainer, Team Leader, Section manager, Service manager.

CERTIFIED IN: Lean Six Sigma, Project and Change management, IT Service management, Global Business Services and more.­ SPORTS-WISE, I have been playing ­tennis (since I was 4 years old) and I am a pretty good wakeboarder.

FUN-WISE, I am into the American pop culture and music, while in the cinema I prefer to see the European movies.

FOOD-WISE, I am a great proven cook of nutritional cuisine, and even a greater foodie when eating outside home.

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“

My main ambition is to help DNV stay secure in this new landscape and help the Business Areas manage the solutions without slowing down the important innovation and digitalization which happens around in

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the BAs.

Mona Olander Kristoffersen CLOUD ARCHITECTURE

I am 51 years old and live in Vollen, Asker together with my partner, Lars, my 13-year-old son, Filip, and our 1,5year- old labradoodle, Clara. I am one of many who have worked in DNV in (almost) all my working life, now 26,5 years.

I am educated with a master’s degree within mechanical engineering (with

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focus on thermal and fluid engineering), but never got around to work with that.

I started in DNV in the Strategic Research department as it was called at the time, but quickly found interest within IT and have since then worked with many different areas within IT, mainly related to IT infrastructure, both within support, operation and development.

As I did not learn much about IT in school (except for a half-year course in Turbo Pascal programming), I have

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learnt all I know as part of my job.

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Currently I am working in GSS IT in a section called Cloud Architecture where my focus is Identity Management, which can be summarized in a few words as making sure we as DNV employees and our customers (through the Veracity platform) can log in to our system in a smooth and secure manner. As part of this, I work closely also with the Veracity Identity team which fits well into GSS IT’s strategy of being a global business partner to our Business Areas.

During my 20+ time working with IT in DNV, the IT landscape has had an enormous shift. The VerIT platform has been a great success with high degree of standardization, we could more easily keep a solid overview of the various bits

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and pieces. In addition, you could have a notion of having a bit of knowledge of all the important main parts. Up to 2015, IT services in DNV were mainly hosted on-premises and were under the “control” of the GSS IT department with full lifecycle management of the platform (support, operations, innovation) end to end.

With the introduction of public cloud, the operating models are changing. The Business Areas are much closer to the development of the services, while GSS IT will manage some key capabilities like security, identity, connectivity, and monitoring services. This shift is challenging, but also creates new opportunities for the Business Areas and for GSS IT, we can work closer together, and develop our competencies.

When I am not working, like many other Norwegians, I like to be active outside, doing exercise or going for a walk in the forest or in the mountains. My favorite place in Norway (for now at least – have not been much to northern Norway yet) is the north-western part, and I am very much looking forward to summer where we will go to Ålesund doing both cityand mountain hiking. My partner has a house in Sweden on the west coast, so we also go there a lot. I also use the training facilities we have at DNV Høvik which I think are great, many different sports activities to choose from.

As I have been working in DNV for so long, it goes without saying that I am very happy with my place of work.

Have you noticed the magnificent trees located at the Høvik campus? I feel so lucky to have such a beautiful place to work, in the summer you can enjoy your lunch at the pier, or you can go for a swim (some people do that all year, but that is not for me:-).

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We have a very good working environment in GSS IT, and we have many opportunities if you want to change your job. I feel that DNV really cares for its employees, and I really like to work for a company which has a vision of making the

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world a better place.

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Anna Juhanila GLOBAL PEOPLE MANAGER, GDYNIA, POLAND

I like and embrace change – this is the only constant part in my life.

I even admire their patience for my ideas).

But how it all began: I’m Polish coming from the small town at seaside – Ustka.

My parents taught me and my sister 1 very important and fundamental thing in life which is being curious.

This curiosity has led me to explore ­different activities, areas in my life and has introduced me to amazing people and countries.

At the end they’ve let me to do it, and this was the most important time in my life as it shaped my attitude and gave me different perspectives. During this time, I’ve played over 15 years in the Polish Table Tennis National Team.

When I was 7, I started to play table ­tennis. As I was learning fast how to play and use different tactics – I started to have fun and first achievements and in the age of 10 I’ve informed my parents that I want to move to Cracow where the National Table Tennis Center was located (city 700 km away from my hometown). You can imagine their first reactions (actually now as a mother of 2

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Most importantly I had a possibility to visit amazing countries across the globe and meet people who similarly to me shared a passion of being better every day. This motivation along with deter­ mination, discipline and self-sacrifice taught me respect for my work and ­colleagues and to be humble as the sport world is like a kaleidoscope – today

I’ve learned about the better side of professional sport: I was multiple medalist in the Polish Championships and in the European Academic Championships in various categories. I’ve spent 3 years in Germany playing as the first Polish woman

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in the Bundesliga and won ETTU cup.

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you’re on the top, tomorrow you start from the beginning.

So, I took my lesson in the age of 22 when I was seriously injured and had to decide what to with my growth further.

I couldn’t play anymore and decided to use my skillset in the business, sharing with other the experience and passion.

After graduating my studies in Economics and German Philology I started my professional career in shared service business sector. First years I worked in Customer Service Department for ­German Speaking clients for such companies like Capgemini, Farnell Element 14. In 2014 I moved closer to my family and settled down in Gdansk. During this time, I started a 6-year journey with the company Thomson Reuters as a Team Manager for German Data & Application Team. I learnt inside out about the financial markets and products that ­support trading decisions and

analysis of financial instruments. After stabilizing the local management team and delivering great customer experience it was offered to me to lead the whole Customer Service Department for Europe with support of the Global and Regional Centers.

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I always believed that the success is a state of mind, and the right approach plays a big role in building high

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performing teams.

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Therefore, I shared with my teams the coaching way of working – which I’ve absorbed during my sport career and broadened it afterwards while applying for international ICF certifications and working with clients. It allowed us to build deeper relationships, raise awareness around our needs and modus ­operandi and ultimately supported the communication and decision-making processes.

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As a Global People Manager in GSS HR I’ve a possibility to work with amazing people who are passionate about growth and community we create – this empowers me to create an even more engaging place to work for them, where they can feel valued and supported in their

In the year of 2019, I’ve joined the PwC Poland due the restructuring strategy of Thomson Reuters. I took an operational lead for anti-money laundering and cyberterrorism project for one of the worlds-leading investment banks.

As I was always passionate about people and employee engagement during my career, I launched dozens of international projects aimed to strengthen their workplace experience and address development needs. My projects were mostly related to targeted development programs for leaders and specialists’ roles, Diverse and Inclusive working place, Life integration (Wellbeing), coaching frameworks, feedback and mindfulness.

So once the opportunity came to work directly with PwC People Partner on designing and executing people strategy, I took it without considering. I moved to HR division and started to work on analysis of employee engagement survey results, supporting business and HR ­processes and initiatives to strengthen the culture.

In 2022 with the whole spectrum of ­personal and professional experiences I decided to join DNV, the company that I strongly believe has a great impact on society we live in and is driven by the people centric values. What I like about DNV is that it gives you the possibility to bring your true authentic self and make it as strength of an organization.

It provides freedom and an inclusive space to act and to make something good for the society/people around.

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professional path.

I have 10 years of global project and team management experience in various business areas. Over the years I developed a right balance between analytical skills (analysis of people data) and soft skills. The fact that I’ve started my journey in the business is an added value as I can easily evaluate needs of the stakeholders and come up with joint efforts to desired solutions. My strengths are related to: design and execution of ­holistic learning & leadership programs, conflict mediation and team coaching, employee engagement programs.

Strengthening Employee engagement and people centric culture are topics I feel passionate about. You can ask me about holistic design and imple­ mentation of learning and engagement programs, high impact coaching & ­mentoring frameworks, team and conflict mediations, leadership trainings.

As I mentioned change is something what I enjoy so change management frameworks and communication are also high on my agenda.

I can speak Polish, German, English and a bit of Russian and Finnish.

I’m a mum of 2 so my free time activities are mostly related to the interests of my kids. As you can imagine I like sporty lifestyle, and this is how I mostly spend my free time. I love running on the beach, family orienteering with my kids, cycling trips and exploring different places in Tricity area. Together with my daughter we like to do various clay figures. Apart from that I enjoy travelling and good books.

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Currently I’m responsible for driving people strategy in GSS HR and act as a trusted voice for

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our global HR network.

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Rupali Bodke FINANCE MANAGER GSS FI & HOS PUNE CONTROLLERS’ TEAM

I am born and brought up in Chalisgaon a small town in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, which is famous for historical Ellora Caves. The place is also known for its high temperatures, especially during summers while winters are quite pleasant.

It is a wonderful neighborhood I grew up in, and while being amongst nature, I inculcated sensitivity towards environment.

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Having two sisters, one elder and another younger than me, it was always a Woman Empowered family, and my father also encouraged us to take and own our decisions.

I always had an inclination toward ­Mathematics as a subject and it was my favorite subject in school. I used to participate in various Mathematics Competitive Exams and enjoyed gathering as

I am a Chartered Accountant by profession, and I feel, looking up to my parents as I grew up, had a great impact on my career choice. My father has been a Professor in Accounts and my mother was teaching

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Political Science.

much information as I could on this topic.

Right after I completed my schooling, my father got an opportunity as a professor in one of the renowned colleges in a City near Mumbai. This resulted in us as a family, shifting to a new place and the opportunity to meet and make new friends, excited us, especially me.

I started my Graduation in the same ­c­­ollege where my father was a professor, and in the same field, but he ensured that I do not get any special advantages being his daughter. I was treated almost the same way as other students, except for the fact that I used to be continuously under the watchful eyes of my dad’s colleagues.

I pursued my Professional qualification (including internship) simultaneously with my graduation, and this ensured

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helped me to recognize my strengths, i.e., empathy, integrity, compassion, and a strong passion for my purpose, and also encouraged me to take on more senior leadership roles in the next phase of my career.

I joined DNV as part of the Global Center Pune in the first batch. Being responsible for setting up Pune Center as part of Site Leadership has been an enriching experience. Most of my experience is in the Shared Services industry, which continues to help me in this current role.

In today’s virtual world full of technology, though we believe the world has come closer, I feel we are missing the human touch, which I lookout for when I am not at work. I like to spend time with my family and relatives, go on vacations, hang out with friends as well as celebrate different festivals throughout the year.

I also enjoy cooking and preparing new dishes for my foodie daughter. I try to innovate them with healthy ingredients.

I love to go on a drive or ride which helps me relax, by allowing myself some “ME” time.

that I am proudly one of the youngest Chartered Accountants. This was my father’s career aspiration, and I am glad that I was able to give him satisfaction by fulfilling his dream.

I got married to an AI engineer (Mathematician), which shows that I have not lost interest in Mathematically related fields and have an adorable daughter who is turning 10 years in Jun’22. We have now settled in Pune city of Maharashtra for the last 5 years.

Apart from being a Chartered Accountant, I have completed my graduation in Accounts and Finance and have done my diploma in IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). Currently, I am pursuing US CPA (Certified Public

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Accountant) course to enhance my knowledge further.

The long-awaited vacation plan is to visit Ladakh in the Himalayan Mountain ranges, which is known as “Heaven on Earth”. The plan went on hold due to the Covid Pandemic couple of years ago, and I look forward to it in near future.

On the work front, I started my career with an Indian Pharmaceutical Company in the Accounts division and then have worked with various shared services in Banking and Finance industry in India.

In DNV, I am a part of the Global Center Pune Leadership team, responsible for building and smooth functioning of the Center.

So far, I have gained experience in ­various fields of finance like Statutory Reporting, Compliance, Management Reporting, Planning & Analysis, and Controllership.

Further, I am GSS Global Finance ­Controller in my individual capacity, monitoring and reviewing the GSS Finance results globally and ensuring high Management Accounting standards and compliance with internal reporting guidelines.

I got the first opportunity to prove my potential as a Leader in 2011, when I was responsible for managing a team of finance professionals. This further

I am also leading a team of 9 high-performing individuals, who are controllers for different regions/businesses.

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My team is responsible for keeping track of respective financials against the plan, providing value add analysis for decision making as well as getting involved in the annual planning (AOP) process.

The most important part of our role is to control the costs and we as a team ensure that we walk the talk by demonstrating it through our behavior.

After successfully setting up the team in Pune, the next phase for all of us in Global Center Pune is to drive Standard-

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ization and Best Practice Sharing, ­allowing us to provide more value-added services to our stakeholders.

We continue to identify opportunities to make the best use of technology in our processes, without compromising on Compliance. We need to make ourselves prepared to contribute to DNV’s growth plan via Mergers & Acquisitions and also a wider strategy of Digitisation & Innovation.

My Success Mantra has been: ‘Always stand for what you believe is right, never shy away from taking the responsibility and accountability for your actions, its always

Integrity towards my work has always been a guiding principle throughout my career journey. My ability to be compassionate pushes me to strive every day to win with purpose and fuels my passion for work.

good to break the bad news as early as possible and keep working on a resolution, value and respect your colleagues including

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your subordinates’.

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While growing up in the north I really loved fishing! and hunting! and I guess football and crosscountry skiing as

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well!

Remi Kristoffersen VERIT SERVER MANAGEMENT TEAM

My name is Remi Kristoffersen and I live in a small and cozy community called Son, approx 60 km outside of the Oslo area, together with my 2 lovely daughters and girlfriend. Born and raised on the north-pole, or Salangen in Troms County if you like, love eventually got hold of me and dragged me south after meeting my girlfriend at a crazy party close to my parent’s house.

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I even had a dip within wind surfing and diving as well to fill the gaps, which are awesome activities as well. Looking back at it, I think the open water and elements represented by the mysterious sea really had me and tickled some nerve ends in me. And that was probably one of the reasons to me serving a year on the coastguard later, travelling around the Barents Sea, as a mini Jack Sparrow,

hunting for illegalities within the fishing industry.

As I was a huge sports fan, football – or soccer for you non-English speaking – ended up being my favorite one, and I had a couple of seasons in 2nd division in Norway and some more in 3rd division, unfortunately didn’t end up very wealthy on this career but we sure had a lot of fun doing it.

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I started my career with DNV in the DNV Software department before moving over to IT

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after some years.

After some nice years in my beautiful homeplace I moved to the biggest city in the North, Tromsø, to start my “grown up” period of my life. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and then of course started my work career as a carpenter in my father’s ­company after graduation! I have to say creating stuff with your own hands really gives you something else. After a year or three as a carpenter I moved on towards the maritime industry, becoming a shipping agent in Tromsø where I served as agent only for a lot of different foreign cruise, military, and fishing vessels at port in Tromsø. This was also the first time I heard about DNV and the reputation they had abroad.

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Martyna Stolinska PEOPLE MANAGER GSS IT AND GSS HR GDYNIA, POLAND

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I am a positive person, full of energy to act, motivated by the effects. I’ve always dreamed of becoming a simultaneous interpreter, but my studies guided me differently, I chose HR. Out of passion and distinction, so I enjoy my work. I am a supporter of looking for solutions and motivating action, rather than wringing hands.

– Matilda, who every day reveals the first new world to us and shows her present ­character. Every free moment of reading and sightseeing. I also like swimming, cycling and walking by the sea, which I luckily not far away.

Privately, 7 years ago I got married to my high school love, at the beginning of the pandemic he was the first mother

I like to support leaders in developing their teams, employers in being the best place to work and HR in development.

I have been dealing with HR for 10 years, which is also my passion.

I gathered my previous experience as an assistant HR manager in a chain of DIY stores, then as an HR and HRBP specialist in a production company on the outskirts of Gdynia, and just before joining DNV, I had the pleasure of creating a new branch of one of the Scandinavian companies from scratch. In the meantime, I was involved in various projects, conducted lectures, trainings, consultations, organized industry meetings and many others. It all adds up to where I am today. My curiosity about HR,

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e­ specially the local one, helps me keep up with the requirements of the labor ­market. Recently, one of my relatives reminded me that she remembers how not long ago, 10 years ago, I came to Warsaw as a volunteer to help organize HR conferences in exchange for the opportunity to listen to lectures and I promised that one day I would come to such meetings myself and sit down as an expert.

The areas of HR closest to me are the so-called soft HR focused on people and their development, effective management, implementation of new solutions or building an attractive image of the employer. I try to work with my top 5 Gallup talents of activator, gathering, closeness, respect and learning.

I will support my stakeholders in effectively managing their teams, supporting them in people-oriented work and making DNV a place where we want to work together.

For me, an important aspect is that women gain equal rights on the labor market, in terms of promotions, development, remuneration, and the fulfillment of professional ambitions. Unfortunately, currently in Poland it is something that requires continued hard work and awareness building.

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When I’m not at work, I like to actively rest or devour another book from those waiting in the line on my shelf. I also like to change the surroundings and visit, so it is the best form of relaxation for me. What’s more, apart from working at DNV, I participate in additional projects that develop my competences but also allow me to share my knowledge, which is why, for example, I conduct postgraduate courses or recently tried my hand as a business mentor for secondary school teachers. People who know me very well know that I don’t like stagnation.

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Work according to your talents and look for a place to work where you will feel understood. Realize yourself

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and be authentic.

On February 1, 2022, I took the role of a People Manager dedicated to GSS IT and GSS HR in the office in Gdynia. It is a great honor for me that I was able to join an organization that has always been on my dream

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employer list.

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Ivar Magnus Næsset VERIT SERVER MNGT TEAM, WINDOWS SERVICES DATABASE

I am now currently 44 years and counting. I live in Heggedal outside of Asker with my wife and soulmate, Solveig. We are the proud parents of two wonderful kids.

I completed the examen philosophicum in 1997 at Universitet in Oslo. Upon completion I changed my initial plan on studying political science to go all in on information technology, which at the time was not a bad idea. I graduated from Den Polytekniske Høyskolen in the year 2000. Among the topics were programming in C++, database programming in PL/SQL.

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Being a Senior System Engineer, I have more than 20 years of experience ­managing a multitude of corporate IT systems.

I came to DNV and IT Solutions in 2001 after spending some time in the Merkantil­data ASA system. I have stayed with DNV ever since. My work has solely been related to information technology within IT operations or IT projects.

My oldest child suffers from a severe case of cerebral palsy which happened a result of a system failure at Bærum Sykehus. Assisting him and supporting my

Being with my family is my

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greatest joy in life.

family takes about every hour of the day besides work.

If I do find the time, I really enjoy music.

I am a hobby musician. I master the ­guitar, but also other instruments. I have performed in several bands and have appeared on different stages in and around Oslo.

I am fortunate to work with many highly skilled IT specialists in different virtual teams around the globe. As an Infrastructure specialist my area of expertise is within collaboration systems, customer portals and web-based systems, database administration and IT security. We work on everything from our corporate web pages to NPS.

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One important thing in life is to be seen and heard.

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People are important!

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First and foremost, my main role is

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to make IT work.

As voluntarily work, I act as the head of the user council for Asker Kommune.

We are trying to influence politicians on making everyday life easier for people with disabilities. We still have a long way to go before people with disabilities are fully included in society. One example: My son communicates using a computer in which he controls with his eyes. This is not approved as a language in schools as of today.

I am also a board member of VEFF.

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Stress at work can lead to burnout

Lunch and Learn – preventing too much stress and recovering from burnout arranged at Høvik 22.3.

TEXT: LIN B. KASTEN

What is burnout? Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It can be a consequence of too much stress and too little restitution, causing longer term anxiety, lack of sleep, fatigue and an increasingly cynical perspective on work and life. (Quote from intranet article by Fenna van de Merwe).

Employees say, it was lack of time that caused stress. Although there are different causes and reactions to stress, one third answered in the recent survey by Simployer & Frankly that they experienced negative stress. This is harmless in the short term but can be harmful if last over a longer period.

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What can you do to reduce negative

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stress at work?

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POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STRESS Stress affects our ability to perform, and we see that performance increases under a certain amount of stress. At the same time, we see that there is a breaking point and that at higher stress levels, performance is reduced. We also see that the more cognitively demanding the tasks are, the earlier you reach the breaking point. Research shows that a moderate level of stress provides the best performance.

There are, of course, individual differences how people deal with stress. Stress only becomes dangerous if it becomes chronic and you do not manage to get down from the peaks. At the same time, we know that short-term stressful situa-

tions followed by a rest period are ­perceived as positive.

DIFFERENT CAUSES OF STRESS "Employee Engagement 2022" shows that the most important cause of stress in the workplace is time pressure. Being able to perform their work tasks within the allotted time is a prerequisite for doing a good job, and thus avoiding ­negative stress. In second place is "lack of control", which can be explained by the fact that our ability to cooperate deteriorated during the pandemic.

Research on stress in the workplace shows that high workload and time ­pressure are important causes. Another reason is the combination of high

© iStock

Most of us experience stress at work from time to time. A positive thing is that most people do not go as far as a burnout.

demands with a low degree of control.

Employees want to perform as good as they can, but may lack the resources, time, or mandate to do so. In addition, poor relations with one's own manager are also a recurring theme among the factors that create stress in the workplace.

Bad psychosocial working environment is another important cause of stress. If we take our prehistory as our starting point, we see that not belonging to a group entailed danger to life. Lack of belonging and social insecurity is something most of us still experience, but over time it can become very stressful.

One should also not forget that there are many conditions outside the workplace that create stress. The balance between work and private life is a challenge for everyone.

Many people have a vision that every­ thing must be perfect in life, but that is not the reality.

It is instead about being conscious of stress-related behavior. If you run to work, eat fast, skip breaks, have problems prioritizing, forget things, drink alcohol to relax or think about work all the time, you should sit down to reflect on the cause.

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For a manager, it is first and foremost important to monitor the well-being of employees. It's about not giving those who are most efficient more work because you know it's done well. These are often employees who show that they are happy at work, but a manager should rather look for signals from employees who are overloaded or burnt out.

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN STRESS TO AVOID BURNOUT The first thing we skip when we have too much to do, is to stop doing everything that is fun.

We drop training, socializing, friends and what really matters to us. This puts us in a situation where we are less equipped to deal with stress. This makes it important to plan how to recover after a period of stress.

What is not good and what stresses us, we should do something about, but there is a lot we cannot do something about. Then it becomes important to be able to handle adversity from something that is outside what we can do something about. Avoid secondary thoughts about why it happened, it can trigger a spiral of thoughts that amplify the stress. One should rather practice accepting that unfortunate things can happen.

To prevent stress, we recommend that the manager listens to the employees,

There will always be more factors than those related to work that can generate stress. These can be phases in life where you get less sleep, little time for exercise and poor diet. Such phases can be the life with small children, a break-up or illness / death of someone close to you.

During such periods, you become less resistant to stress-related health problems. In such phases of life, it is important to try to be aware of this and take responsibility for your own health and consider that you must try to slow down.

MEASURES AGAINST STRESS A good tip is to help employees find tools to prioritize work tasks.

You may also want to sit down in groups, or with the individual employee, to talk about the balance between work and ­private life and what creates problems in the current situation. It can also be something as simple as not having meetings early in the morning, so that you have time to get an overview of the day and how to prioritize the work tasks.

Sometimes the simple solutions are the best.

Proactive measures can range from ­having several informal meetings while walking, helping employees adapt training programs or conducting relaxation ­exercises together. To avoid negative stress at work. It is important that you as a manager must have a genuine interest in how employees feel at work. With that said it is also important that we care for each other as colleagues.

creates room for emotions, encourages

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social breaks and takes stress seriously.

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Work may be defined as “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.”

TEXT: ELLEN MARGRETHE PIHL KONSTAD

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For most of us, the agreement with DNV in Norway is that we do work for DNV 37 ½ hours a week and get paid our salary for doing that work.

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The number 37 ½ hours a week is a result of more than 100 years of nego­ tiations, strikes and lock downs. It all started in 1880 and was part of the unions work to improve the workers ­conditions. The demand for 8 hours workday may be found as early as the 1890s. In 1919, 8 hours a day and 84 hours a week became part of the work act.

The length of a working day has not changed much the last 100 years, but Saturday is no longer considered a

© iStock

OVERTIME Our normal work tasks should be done within our normal work week. But sometimes unforeseen things happen, and there might be more work than we are able to complete within the 37 ½ hours.

This work is overtime (and must not be mixed with time we work to have flexibility (e.g., to work some extra hours one day to have a shorter day at a later stage). AML sets boundaries on how much overtime you may work, and it is possible to work more than the standard hours if the union(s) and the company sign an agreement.

There are some variations on how to ­calculate overtime, but the general rules are: • 20 hours in a 7-day period • 50 hours in 4 consecutive weeks • 300 hours within 52 weeks.

­ orking day, and the number of weeks’ w vacation has more than tripled during this time.

Overtime shall be specially compensated.

This is both governed by the Tariff agreement and the AML.

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The AML only governs work done onshore in Norway.

Work within EU is governed by

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EU legislation.

AML is there for our protection. Some of us may handle a larger workload over a long period, while others do not. We also know that there is a link between high work pressure and burn out. Therefore the AML is also known as “law of protection”. It protects us from an employer who would like us to work too much, but it also protects us from our self’s. We need the time in-between work to rest and catch up before a new work period.

The latest change concerning working from home, will be set in force on July 1st. The rules for when you may work will then be the same at home as it is in the office. The rules up until now, did not have any restriction on when you worked at home.

In DNV we have a core working time from 9am-3pm, Monday to Friday, where we are expected to be available for DNV (This is stated in the Tariff agreement between DNV and the Unions). The additional 2 hours a day, we may flex, for instance working 6 hours one day and 10 hours another day the same week.

The work environment act (AML) has though, some clear boundaries for how much and when we may work our regular hours, that we must comply with within the flexibility the tariff agreement gives us (10 hours a week).

We must have minimum: • 8 consecutive hours off work in 24 hours • 28 consecutive hours off work in 7 days

During the second world war, and due to shortage of manpower, the employees volunteered to work longer days in some factories. But even though they put in more and more hours, the production did not increase in proportion. In fact, the production went down, more errors were made, and the workers were worn-out. The learning point from this is that even if we want to work long days, our body and mind need a break to deliver.

(The photo is from Høvik Verk, showing production of glass / ceramics) Råger, Wilhelm 1951

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WORK AND PLAY HARD AND ENJOY EVERY DAY!

Hvordan bli medlem av VEFF

How to become a VEFF member

• Kontakt veff-kontoret: VEFF@DNV.com • Du finner også informasjon på www.veff.no

• Contact the VEFF office: VEFF@dnv.com • You will also find useful information on www.veff.no

Editor: Nina Ivarsen. Design and layout: Bodoni, 125875

VEFF