Competencies and the future workplace

Must-win battle #1

The framework for our daily work is currently changing. At the same time, the battle for the right competencies will only intensify as fewer qualified graduates enter the labour market in future. Verdo is therefore committed to making the company an even more attractive workplace, and made this a strategic focus area in 2022.

The aim of MWB #1 is to ensure that Verdo continues to attract, develop and retain the right competencies in an appealing working environment – now and in the future –while supporting Verdo’s transition into a purpose-driven company by 2025.

The reason is that it is currently difficult to attract qualified labour, while it is easier than ever to change jobs. We are seeing this at Verdo, where we rely on highly specialised manpower – such as engineers, professional project managers and digital experts – who each contribute to the work of developing and implementing our products and solutions and thereby help make a difference in the green transition of society.

The above challenge was reflected, for example, in higher recruitment costs in 2022. This trend is expected to continue in the years ahead. We are therefore now working more persistently to create an attractive workplace, where we equip employees for the future labour market through individual development in continuing education, and create the framework – physically, mentally and socially – for a dedicated community that promotes growth with tangible values.

Rethinking the physical setting

We are also looking at how work will be organised in the future, and we therefore partnered with the Arkitema architectural firm in 2022 to find a holistic solution for our headquarters in Randers in the long term, that takes into account the future needs and desires for Verdo as a workplace. We will also continually optimise working conditions at our other sites, including Storvorde, which is lacking in space, like the head office. New premises are therefore planned in Aalborg, to gather employees from Storvorde and Aalborg in one office.

This requires an overview of necessary competencies in the business and among support staff – at present, and a forecast of expected future needs. We are therefore also working to create a coherent model and process matching the need for competencies and knowledge of opportunities and tasks, to ensure we always have the right employees to perform the necessary tasks.

But the battle is not won on the home front alone. We also need to praise Verdo’s strengths as a workplace externally. We therefore created a new digital career universe in 2022 that will help present Verdo as an attractive workplace, and thereby help us in the battle for talented new employees – both now and in the future.