In today’s constantly changing operating environment, it is important to ensure that leadership competence is consistent with the demands set by our strategic goals and by rapid advancements in our field.
Improving supervisor performance and leadership competence comprised one of our strategic projects for 2020. Its purpose was to produce tools to support improved consistency in leadership. High-quality leadership is the cornerstone that allows employees to perform their work in the best possible way.
The project resulted in a comprehensive description of leadership that formed the basis for leadership improvement tools. These tools are: HUS 360° evaluation and HUS Leadership Pulse, created for continuous evaluation of leadership.
360° evaluation helps improve leadership
The principal goal of HUS 360° evaluation is to support supervisors and others in leadership positions in self-improvement of their leadership skills. It helps supervisors identify the strengths and development points of their leadership skills and style. A comprehensive profile created through feedback given by other employees helps supervisors make conscious choices to improve their leadership.
Our aim is for those in supervisor roles to be subjected to a HUS 360° evaluation every two or three years, and for new supervisors to have one about one year after their appointment.
Leadership Pulse provides instant feedback
HUS Leadership Pulse is an instant leadership feedback indicator, polled four times a year. The questions in this evaluation are based on the HUS 360° evaluation, and thus it also provides participants with feedback on how they are doing.
In 2021, we will also be using HUS Leadership Pulse as a measurement tool for the strategic indicator of leadership.
Evaluations make leadership trends visible
The purpose of both HUS 360 evaluations and the HUS Leadership Pulse is to gain information at the level of HUS as a whole and at the level of its component organizations about the quality of leadership vis-à-vis the strategic goals and values of HUS. Specifically, our purpose is to make visible how leadership is evolving and to support a systematic change in leadership at HUS.
Based on the results of the Working Life Barometer, the supervisor index has remained virtually unchanged at 3.65 (on a scale of 1 to 5) for years. We can use the information from the survey to provide training to meet the identified needs and to provide support for improving leadership.
In 2021, we will continue to leverage our new evaluation tools in creating leadership and management training and in providing other forms of support for improvement. We will also improve the usability of the development discussion function in the Harppi system and leverage this in setting goals for supervisors at the HUS level.