Pielispakari Oy, based in Nurmes, is a traditional bakery company and the largest producer of Karelian pasties in Finland. The company has made long-term investments in leadership and staff development. Alongside business growth, the goal has been to support employee well-being and enhance the skills of supervisors.
Over the past five years, several initiatives have been implemented: a comprehensive well-being survey for all employees, the establishment of a multidisciplinary work ability management steering group, improved collaboration with occupational health services, and supervisor training focused on data-driven leadership and proactive risk management of work ability.
“In smaller towns, it’s important to take care of skilled employees. We’ve made strategic investments in our operations, and the results speak for themselves. Our key performance indicators are above the industry average, and both the costs of unperformed work and sickness absences have decreased,” says Heli Kuvaja, Deputy CEO of Pielispakari Oy.
“The collaboration between Pielispakari’s management, supervisors, occupational health care, pension insurance company, and accident insurance company has been effective. We’ve jointly defined the actions and ensured they are implemented. Success and cost savings result from multiple factors. You have to get the basic processes in order first,” explains Nuppu Forsman, career management expert at Freia Oy.
“There are no quick wins when it comes to changing leadership and organizational culture. Pielispakari started its efforts to raise the standard back in 2018. Since then, both the organization and individuals have developed tremendously,” summarizes Pekka Hämäläinen, coach and expert at Freia Oy.
Pielispakari Oy and Freia Oy continue their long-term collaboration. The next steps include providing individual support to supervisors and organizing a staff day in the autumn.
More information:
Heli Kuvaja, Deputy CEO
+358 50 476 1459
heli.kuvaja@pielispakari.fi
Antti Äikäs, CEO
+358 50 369 0908
antti.aikas@freialife.com
Pielispakari 30 Years – The Story of Your Local Karelian Baker