Our competitive edge: Skilled and motivated personnel

The well-being of our employees is very important for us. All members of our organisation are offered opportunities for professional growth, development and career moves. Professionally skilled, inventive and enthusiastic employees are an essential driver in our operations.

The staff’s activity, initiative and internal entrepreneurship provide good support for developing the Group’s competence and strategy. We see competence development as a long-term activity that foresees future needs.

In keeping with this ideology, we offer our employees a wide range of language courses, vocational qualification, tailored training and joint network training opportunities.

Leadership training supports competitiveness

A good example of planned leadership development is our Future Leadership project. Launched in 2010, this leadership culture reform and internationalisation project aims at enhancing and unifying the international leadership culture and practices in our organisation. The pilot training was completed in August 2012, and it resulted in international networks and project assignments on the development of various functions and processes.

Production supervisors’ training courses were launched in Nokia and Vsevolozhsk last year, and they, together with the international 360 evaluations, also ensure competence and leadership growth in the future. Our revamped intranet, Insite, contains a Supervisor’s Toolkit forum for facilitating everyday work and increasing communication between supervisors.

Inventiveness programme supports well-being

In addition to training, the personnel’s well-being at work is supported by a wide range of sports offerings, versatile club activities, personnel events, inventiveness activities as well as individual and worktime arrangements. The workgroup for occupational well-being matters (TYHY) worked actively all year and brought up employees’ thoughts and development ideas about enhancing well-being in the work community.

Personnel well-being and collaboration between units are monitored with performance appraisals and annual surveys focusing on well-being at work and on customer satisfaction. Last year, an e-learning course was created on Hakkapeliitta eAcademy to support the performance appraisals, and an electronic tool for easier documentation and filing was introduced.

Inventiveness activities have long traditions at Nokian Tyres and are an important part of the company culture. They enable employees to influence their own work and working environment, in addition to supporting management and the work of supervisors. The goal of inventiveness activities is to encourage employees to actively participate in the company’s operations and in the development of their own work, while also making wide-ranging use of the staff’s potential for ideas. In 2012, a new electronic system was introduced for inventiveness activities, and it boosted the creation of many new, active inventiveness groups. Employees who are actively involved in company activities feel better about their work and, consequently, achieve good results for both themselves and the entire company.