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17

PEOPLE FLOW |

Open dialogue is essential and people

need feedback on a daily basis, says

Kerttu Tuomas (center).

“formal milestones”. The best leaders

provide coaching and feedback as a

continuous process, on a daily basis.

KONE also uses other formal tools for

gauging engagement levels.

“We look at our attrition rate, our

absenteeism and the engagement

ratings we receive. We are performing

well on all scales. Many of our employ-

ees have stayed with us for decades.”

KONE’s most informative measure of

employee engagement and well-being is

the Pulse survey. Launched in 2004, this

aptly named survey is an annual “pulse

check” measuring how satisfied em-

ployees are with KONE as a workplace.

Respondents are invited to offer their

input for various issues such as strategy,

leadership and values. The results are

then analyzed and used as a basis for

team-level improvement targets.

“The response rate itself is very re-

vealing. It has gone up steadily from

year to year, showing that our employ-

ees sincerely feel that we listen to them

and their opinions count. We have

achieved consistently good results on

the employee engagement index, but

we certainly aim to keep improving.”

LOST IN TRANSLATION?

What about the culture gap – is it dif-

ficult to bridge when you’re working

across so many geographical territories?

“Not really,” replies Tuomas. “Leader-

ship practices vary slightly in different

countries. Scandinavia, for instance, is

less hierarchical, but cultural differences

are often overemphasized. The same

themes are valid everywhere.”

KONE’s engagement practices are

identical worldwide, yet customized

locally. The Supervisor Development

Program, for example, is always adapted

for local relevance.

“Obviously you can’t take a Finnish

example and use it to illustrate a point

in China. You ‘translate’ it into Chinese.”

Whatever the cultural context, the

secret to a happier, engaged workforce

is uniformly simple, as Tuomas reveals:

“Pause often enough to ask two key

questions: What do your people want?

What is important to them?”

And, most importantly, listen to what

they answer.