At Stera, we have selected six of the UN’s Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for particular attention. Quality education and good health and well-being, for example, are closely connected to our employees. We break these goals down into practical steps. In this article, we describe the workplace community and supervisor training we have organised for our employees in recent months to help us work towards these goals.
Workplace community training and supervisor training days at Kakola in Turku
Last summer, we organised workplace community training for employees at all our Finnish factories in cooperation with pension insurance company Varma, Mehiläinen occupational health services and protective equipment supplier Etra. The training covered psychological safety, occupational safety, noise exposure and hearing protection.
As a continuation of this training for all employees, we held supervisor training days in September for supervisors from all our Finnish factories. The theme was work ability management, and Varma, Mehiläinen and Stera’s HR team helped plan the programme. During the training days, we explored the current state of work ability and work disability in Finland, examined factors affecting work ability and discussed how supervisors can recognise signs of emerging workplace problems or an individual’s exhaustion. Varma’s and Mehiläinen’s expert trainers guided the programme professionally.
The training also examined hypothetical workplace problems, with groups considering ways to intervene. In every case, prompt intervention in response to even the smallest signs of potential problems was considered important.
The most valuable aspects of the supervisor training days, held in the impressive surroundings of Kakola in Turku, were exploring the early support model in greater depth, Stera’s inspiring, positive and open-minded group of supervisors, and the practical, solution-focused case exercises completed in small groups.
Not everyone who took part in the training is shown in the picture.
Specialist vocational qualifications in supervisory work
Stera also develops supervisory work through other training. For several years, our aim has been to enable employees, particularly those supervising production, to develop the skills required in their roles by completing, for example, a specialist vocational qualification in production supervision or first-line management. The latest programme, designed exclusively for Stera employees, began in late 2022 and will conclude in November. It is delivered by the Southwest Häme Joint Municipal Authority for Education, and Stera has also been able to contribute to the content of the training days. This qualification has been designed to emphasise well-being at work and personnel management from different perspectives. Some team leaders from the Tammela factory also took part in the early stages of the training.
Production supervisors Mirva Kantee and Kaisa Nikkanen are among those taking the qualification. They say the training has provided many new perspectives on modern supervisory work.
“You need to be able to understand employees and treat each person as a human being, while also being firm when necessary. Our workplace is also becoming increasingly international, which brings additional challenges to production and communication, as cultural differences inevitably arise,” Kaisa says.
In addition to personnel management, the qualification has included project work and group work.
“This has helped us identify potential problem areas in production and come up with development ideas and ways to manage production more efficiently,” Mirva explains.
“Another important skill for a production supervisor is adapting to change and being able to face and resolve challenges in production management,” Mirva continues.
Supervisors are indeed versatile professionals who need to balance the management of tasks, situations and people.
