Building a sense of inclusion and strong relationships at Alimak Group, Skellefteå – Sweden
Learn more about how our HR Manager Anna Eriksson-Ek builds inclusion and facilitates relationships among employees who recently joined Alimak Group’s largest factory in Skellefteå – Sweden.
Hi Anna, thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us about your recent initiative to enhance the onboarding experience for new employees?
Absolutely! A well-planned introduction is important for both the employee and the company. I believe it is key to the new hire’s success and satisfaction, as well as to the company’s progress. A strong introduction allows new employees to quickly take on their tasks and become part of the company culture. Creating a clear understanding of the company’s vision, the department’s mission, and individual targets fosters engagement and motivation, which in turn leads to more productive employees. It also helps them understand the corporate culture and make them feel they are part of it. I also try to create a good work environment by raising awareness of the company’s values, safety focus, and expectations. I think if we make the new colleagues feel welcomed and cared for, this should increase their well-being and reduces the risk of us losing employees.
That sounds like a thoughtful approach, sometimes easier said than done. Could you explain what led to this new initiative and what you did?
We strive to be an attractive employer. But, we realized, based on feedback from employee surveys, that while new hires initially feel engaged, their engagement level and motivation tend to decline over time. To address this, we decided to create a special day for “almost new” employees in addition to the existing onboarding process. We invited 30 employees who had joined us throughout the past year, so anyone with up to a year of employment time, was invited to the special day.
What was the focus of the event?
Our target was to ensure a sense of inclusion for them and to build stronger internal relationships. We wanted to instil pride in being part of a world-leading company where employees have great opportunities to influence and make a difference. Together, we are developing as a strong and stable company, and we wanted to highlight that, for them to see the bigger picture. At the end of the event, we took them on an elevator tour and enjoyed a shared lunch—it was really nice! We’re already planning the next event, which will include workshops and perhaps also a tour of the factory.
That sounds exciting for them! Tell me more how you organized this initiative?
A workgroup was formed, and we set the agenda together. We prepared a presentation with contributions from members of the management team, this should give the participants a better overview. A so, we wanted to allow some informal lunch discussions and time for questions, as we expected different questions after some time in the role, than they might have had their very first day. We communicated the initiative through each manager and all participants received a personal invitation.
Did you run the event internally?
Yes, I think it’s important we walk the talk as leaders. It starts with management. If we are not good ambassadors and carriers of our brand, we will not succeed in becoming a successful company. Therefore, it was important to keep this internal, we show our employees matter and how we together create value.
What was the overall response from the participants?
We felt that the response was overwhelmingly positive! The majority of the participants were active and showed great interest throughout the day.
Did you gather any feedback during or after the event?
Yes, we got both verbal and online feedback and we aim to continuously improve the event for the future.
Like what, is there anything you’d like to improve for the next event?
For the next gathering, we’ll allocate more time. The event was great, but we ran out of time and would have loved to spend more time together.
How do you plan to measure the long-term impact of this initiative?
We will continue to track long term engagement over time through our engagement surveys and other feedback channels.
What’s your long-term vision for this Employee Day initiative?
Our long-term vision is to build a strong culture of engagement and satisfaction among employees. This is just one initiative among many different actions leading to that vision.