Visma Consulting turned to Auntie in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic as many employees struggled to strike a balance between work and family life. Knowledge work is demanding and requires good time management, and the ability to withstand pressure and to unwind outside work and enjoy life. According to Visma talent acquisition and HR manager Marko Paldanius, people are the company’s most important resource, which is why they chose to invest in Auntie’s services.
Staff feedback about Auntie has been positive: stress levels have decreased and work efficiency has improved.
Visma Consulting is a service company focusing on IT consulting and software solutions. It is part of Visma Group, which consists of over 200 companies in more than 20 countries.
“We are a highly experienced partner for demanding digitalisation projects and complex information system projects. At present we have about 500 employees, but our strategic goal is to expand, especially through acquisitions and organic recruitment,” says Paldanius, who has worked for Visma Consulting for a year and a half. He came to the company with about 17 years of human resources experience in technology companies.
|
Reconciling work and family life
Remote working has been familiar to many in the IT sector for years, but the pandemic brought about an upheaval. “We did a lot of hybrid work even before the pandemic, because our teams are partly international and flexibility has always been an integral part of our corporate culture. However, the pandemic forced everyone to work remotely, regardless of their home situation. Many employees have children, and schools had also gone remote. Determining and maintaining the boundary between work and family life proved difficult, and many staff were left wondering how to keep everyday life running as smoothly as possible.”
This is where Auntie stepped in. Visma Consulting CEO Petri Lillberg suggested Auntie to Marko about six months into the pandemic.
“He asked if this might be what we needed. We thought Auntie could be a great low-threshold service to support physically dispersed teams and individual employees. We wasted no time in giving it a try. It was surprisingly easy to adopt, and we had it up and running in practically no time. This was a huge help, as we had an acute need,” Marko says.
Need help? Don’t delay.
Everyone at Visma Consulting can use Auntie, and feedback has been very positive.
“I was itching to hear what people thought of Auntie, whether they found it useful. Staff were very satisfied – according to self-assessments, they had become less stressed and could work more efficiently.”
He is also impressed that Auntie professionals are on hand to help employees reflect on their own situation.
“It’s important to have someone on the other end who knows how to ask the right questions. Visma staff were clearly pleased with Auntie’s concrete, solution-oriented approach. We emphasise to our staff that they shouldn’t hesitate in exploring what Auntie has to offer if something is weighing on their minds. They certainly shouldn’t wait until something really becomes a problem. A stitch in time saves nine, as they say.”
Auntie’s there for you
Auntie has become an important part of Visma Consulting’s resources for promoting well-being at work. According to Marko, there are also other means of ensuring well-being at work before it may be necessary to turn to psychological services. Although no direct correlation between the use of Auntie’s services and reductions in sick leave have yet been measured, it already seems that longer periods of sick leave in particular have dropped since the system was introduced.
“This cuts costs, but of course the human aspect is most important. We want to do everything we can to ensure that our employees are in good shape. This benefits us and our customers as well. It’s also a really positive development that there is greater openness about mental health in society in general nowadays. We also tell job applicants about Auntie, as it may be an additional factor in making Visma Consulting even more attractive as an employer.”
Marko encourages HR departments in other companies to give Auntie a try. “Over two years into the pandemic, many people are really starting to feel the strain, and the war in Ukraine may well add to the stress. Companies should definitely be willing to consider a service that could further support staff well-being.”
Visma Consulting
Visma Consulting is part of Visma Group, an international leader in cloud software. Visma Consulting is a service company focusing on IT consulting and software solutions, specialising in service design, digital services, customised IT solutions and information management for large Finnish companies and the public sector. The company has approximately 500 staff.
Share article
