We have just completed our annual employee satisfaction survey, which shows continued high levels of job satisfaction within all companies in the BIRN Group. This includes the fettling shop at BIRN in Holstebro, where a mentoring program has strengthened professional development, teamwork, and productivity.
For the second year in a row, the BIRN Group has carried out an employee satisfaction survey among our seven companies and approximately 800 employees in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Italy.
The survey was carried out by the Danish research agency Ennova and measures two main parameters: job satisfaction and loyalty. Last year's survey showed a significant increase in both parameters, and according to this year's survey, the high level has been maintained throughout the group.
- It's always difficult to live up to such great results as last year's satisfaction survey showed. That's why I'm very pleased and, not least, proud that we at BIRN Group have maintained a high level of employee satisfaction, says our Group CEO Claus Beier.
In line with the rest of the group, a high level of employee satisfaction has also been maintained in the largest company in the group, BIRN in Holstebro - even with a slight increase compared to last year's survey.
- Based on last year's survey, several action plans have been drawn up and implemented over the past year, resulting in a continuously high level of employee satisfaction, as we can see in the latest survey. Now it's a matter of maintaining the positive development, says Claus Beier.
Mentoring boosts happiness and productivity
Several of BIRN's action plans have focused on developing employees' professional skills and increasing flexibility in departments. This has been the case in BIRN's fettling shop, where finished castings are cleaned and prepared prior to machining and surface treatment.
The department has successfully implemented a mentoring scheme, where employees are trained in several of the department's tasks to develop professional skills and increase the department's flexibility, explains Christian Dunker, one of the department's mentors. He is responsible for training in the department's robotic cells, where he has so far mentored more than 20 colleagues:
- I have a checklist with several milestones for what each employee must be able to do before they complete the program and are allowed to work independently in this part of the department. We mentors have developed the programs in collaboration with the department management. The programs are very structured and can take some time to ensure that people are properly prepared for the tasks, he says.
According to Christian Dunker, the mentoring programs also have other positive aspects, including collaboration and onboarding of new employees:
- We all get a better insight into the different tasks, and this has strengthened cooperation across the department because people are better equipped to help each other out. The programs also help to ensure that new employees are properly onboarded. This is both in terms of tasks and safety, but also socially, so that new employees feel welcome. As a mentor, I'm not only responsible for training in my part of the department, but I also make sure that new employees come to lunch, etc.
Involvement fosters ownership
Early involvement in the development and implementation of the action plans has been crucial to the success of the mentoring programs, says department manager Allan Andersen:
- We have encouraged our people to set new standards for how things should be done, both for themselves and for the department. After all, it's all about them. So, if we want to increase their job satisfaction and sense of ownership, it's crucial that they're part of the process from the start.
The high level of satisfaction is not only reflected in the employees' mood, but also in the productivity of the department:
- We can see from our KPIs that it has rubbed off on the productivity of the department. This motivates us in management and the employees themselves to build on the great results, concludes Allan Andersen.
For further information, please contact:
- Press service: Anders Bo Andersen, phone: +45 28 69 83 07 and email: anders@publicity.dk