City of Vaasa invests in managerial skills, wellbeing, and employer brand image

At the end of 2022, the city had 3 381 staff, of whom 2 312 had permanent and 1 072 fixed-term positions. The average age of permanent staff was 48.2 years. The majority of staff, 71.8%, were women. There were 169 people in managerial positions, and 109 of those were women.

Remote work became an established element in all office and expert work, and hybrid meetings and trainings became the default mode of operation.

– The number of training days rose encouragingly to near-normal levels after the pandemic years. We were able to organise on-site events after a long time, such as a party for all city personnel,” says Human Resources Director Tuulikki Kruhse-Poutanen.

The pandemic continued to impact most operations, especially when it came to absences due to illness. They increased by 1.2 days per person/year.

The turnover of permanent staff was 274 persons. Altogether 67 people retired during the year. According to the respondents to the exit survey, career development was the main reason for leaving.

Staff wellbeing at work continued to be good. The biggest challenges to wellbeing at work were posed by occasionally inadequate resources and the pandemic.

– The wellbeing survey showed that the community’s workplace spirit, personal resources, and managerial activities remained good despite the exceptionally challenging year,” says Kruhse-Poutanen.

Rewards support wellbeing at work

As the pandemic continued, particular attention was paid to staff wellbeing. For example, the received work coaching and they were rewarded with a €100 benefit on Epassi.

The systematic development of management and managerial activities continued. Improving the skills of the people in managerial positions involved a training on business coaching and a course on practical skills and problem-solving (Esihenkilöpassi).

The development of an attractive employer brand image continued. The city launched an employee ambassador programme and created new employer brand videos, which also received national attention. During 2022, altogether 17 anonymous recruitments were carried out.

– In 2022, we also continued to work on developing our payroll systems and our system around staff initiatives based on a continuous improvement approach,” says Kruhse-Poutanen.

The aim of the HR report is to provide staff representatives, city management, personnel, and external stakeholders with an overall picture of the city’s staff.

Find out more about the City of Vaasa’s HR report here (in Finnish).