Value for employees

Vaisala offers versatile opportunities for talented and motivated professionals who value work with a purpose and learning opportunities. We support the well-being of our employees and want to make sure they have the chance to develop at work.

Purposeful work

Vaisala’s products and solutions have a true positive influence on the environment, societies, businesses, and individuals, and our employees are motivated by the opportunity to solve some of the challenges of our time. Sustainable and ethical behavior is an integral part of the values of both Vaisala and our employees. We invest significantly in research and development, which guarantees that we can continue to respond to global issues also in the future as well as grow our business sustainably. This increases the meaningfulness of working at Vaisala.

Our annual employee survey was conducted in November 2021. The survey shows that Vaisala’s employees were engaged and proud of their work even during changes and remote work. The Engagement Index in the survey remained on a good level and was 4.14 on a scale of 1–5. The survey had a response rate of 83%, with answers from 1,559 employees.

We focus on good and motivating leadership, and we support managers and experts systematically in developing their leadership skills by organizing different training programs and courses. In 2021, we focused especially on training managers on change management and coaching skills. Also the Leadership Index remained on a good level and was 4.16 on a scale of 1–5. The key strengths of Vaisala managers are fairness and objectivity, ability to listen, as well as positive attitude towards initiatives.

To ensure work with a purpose also in the future, we founded a project team focusing on the future of work. In 2021, this Future of Work project planned the transition to hybrid work after the pandemic. To support the work, we conducted qualitative interviews as well as sent a survey to the whole personnel. The survey and interviews revealed that the majority of employees want to continue in a hybrid model, switching between remote and office work. Trust, flexibility, and meeting colleagues are important for all employees. Based on these results, experiences, and discussions, developing work and culture continues also in 2022.

Well-being

At Vaisala, well-being at work is regarded as a whole, including the work community, leadership, the company, and the individuals themselves. Thus, well-being consists of good leadership, motivating work community, balanced workload, meaningful work, as well as a safe working environment. As preventive measures, Vaisala supports well-being and energy at work by supporting sports and recovery, providing occupational healthcare, and preventing problems early on.

With these preventive measures, we aim to support our professionals in managing their work, ensuring recovery, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In Finland, we provide our personnel with sports and recreational clubs, sport and cultural benefit, company bike benefit, trainings on time management and recovery, as well as the opportunity to participate in a well-being analysis on stress and quality of sleep. In 2021, we continued offering virtual break exercises to support ergonomics and well-being both in remote and office work. In the United States, Vaisala FIT program supports the well-being of employees.

Employee well-being is measured regularly in Vaisala employee surveys. The results show that Vaisala employees find their work meaningful and are proud to work for Vaisala. There is some room for development in ensuring that workloads are manageable. In November 2021, Vaisala Well-Being Index score was 3.98 on a scale of 1–5.

In 2021, the survey was expanded with questions regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion in Vaisala. These questions help to analyze whether all have the same career opportunities regardless of gender, age, ethnic background, or other non-professional attributes as well as whether employees feel well in their work community. The Diversity and Equity Index in the survey was on a good level: 4.12 on a scale of 1–5, which shows that Vaisala is an appreciative and professional environment. However, the survey also gives a good indication of our development needs as well as forms a basis for developing our culture further so that all our employees feel valued in Vaisala.

Learning and development

Vaisala’s competitive strength stems from our talented, motivated, and engaged personnel. Changes in the business environment, technologies, working methods, and tools require our employees to learn and take in new things continuously. We support and encourage the whole personnel to actively develop and keep up their knowledge and expertise. In 2021, we organized customized trainings on artificial intelligence (AI) for all employees to make sure that everyone in Vaisala understands the opportunities AI offers in their work. Mastering the latest technologies helps us to develop our products and services to meet our customers’ needs even better.

Managers play a key role in enabling and supporting learning, and it is the responsibility of all managers to plan development and learning activities together with their teams. Developing expertise and knowledge is always in line with Vaisala’s values as well as our business needs and objectives. Defining competence development needs is part of the annual People Forum process.

In November 2021, Vaisala Learning Index, derived from the personnel survey, was 3.79 on a scale of 1–5. Employee training costs amounted to 1.23 MEUR and averaged 623 EUR per employee in 2021.