“In my leadership playbook, people are always at the center. Everyone has the right to good leadership.” – Marko Orpana, CEO, Mäkelä Alu Oy
"In Mäkelä Alu's strategy, people are at the center, and the goals are ambitious. Leadership is key to ensuring that we have the opportunity to achieve our goals." – Tero Suomalainen, Production Director
When a staff survey revealed that the appreciation of supervisor work had begun to decline, it was time to act. “I have been talking about the need for supervisor coaching for years, but previously the time was not right. Now the results of the work community survey gave a clear signal – we needed development and a common direction,” says the HR director Jenni Hautakangas.
The idea became clear in the management team: if they wanted to achieve ambitious goals, they had to ensure that their superiors had the necessary skills to lead people. “We have really competent supervisors, but managing people in everyday life – how to resolve situations, how to manage emotions and actions – needed to be improved. I wanted to bring positive demandingness to leadership instead of giving orders,” managing director Marko Orphan describes the background to the decision.
The right partner to support change
More Than Training Company and trainers Janne Kolehmainen and Jaakko Lintunen were chosen to implement the supervisor coaching program. The choice was influenced by one thing in particular: the way MTTC approached collaboration.
“MTTC was the best listener. They had a genuine desire to understand who we are and what we do. In addition, the choice was influenced by small details: already at the bidding stage, Janne came on site and wanted to get to know the production. He was wearing street-worthy clothes and his own safety shoes for this purpose. Such nuances made an impression.”
– Marko Orphan
“The decisive factor was the coaches' personality and ability to listen at every moment.”
– Jenni Gravecloth
MTTC's coaches got to know Mäkelä Alu's operating environment even before the actual program started. They got to know the production on a practical level, talked to key people, and created a program that was not just a concept brought in from outside, but a whole built specifically for Mäkelä Alu.
A common language and a common direction
The coaching program had ambitious goals: to provide supervisors with support in leading people, ways to influence the atmosphere of the organization and the emotions of individuals, and a common language and understanding of what supervisor work is at Mäkelä Alu. In addition, the idea of the coaching program was that supervisors' sense of community grows when they spend time together on a common cause.
“We had a diverse approach to leadership. We wanted to make sure everyone had the same tools and understanding of leadership,” Tero says.
Building a sense of community was equally central. “After the corona period, many people had retreated into their own bubble. We wanted to strengthen trust and community. When superiors get to know each other better, everyday conversations become easier,” Jenny adds.
The collaboration began with a management team workshop, where a vision was created that unites the entire organization – Together for the Betterment of the Planet. During the program, supervisors were coached both in groups and individually, and the effectiveness of the program was measured with the pension insurance company's employee satisfaction survey and a 360-degree survey of supervisors both before and after the coaching program. In addition, during the program, a Mäkelä Alu supervisor work manual was developed for supervisors, which gathered the coached content into one cover.
“The shared vision came to life immediately. It really quickly became part of everyday conversations after the supervisor training. This was a really big deal for us – we now have a shared, inspiring goal that we talk about and refer to in everyday conversations.”
– Marko Orpana
“The coaching of the supervisors became part of everyday life. They now talk about the same things, use the same operating models and trust working together on a whole new level.”
– Jenni Hautakangas
“We often refer to coaching and tools in everyday life. We return to lessons learned, and our superiors actively practice moving teams forward. Our way of working has also changed – for example, now we often draw on the board with a marker when we think about things together. We also think about things more through people. That is a big change that has happened to us in production.”
– Tero Suomalainen
Overall, Marko, Jenni and Tero are satisfied with the collaboration so far. Janne and Jaakko's ability to be flexible was particularly praised – it was clear that there was careful preparation behind them, but they were able to adjust the activities on the fly as the situation required, if necessary. In addition, the activities developed continuously during the collaboration.
In addition, MTTC's way of steering the collaboration was praised. Through steering group work, we monitored together where we were going and what was coming next, and adjusted the implementation if necessary.
"I would also like to thank Johanna, who acted as project manager, for her excellent support of the program throughout. The surveys were sent out at the right time, the right people were in the right place at the right time, and the project was kept under control at all times. We were guided effectively, which gave both us and certainly the coaches the opportunity to focus on our own work."
– Marko Orphan
Result: Supervisor work strengthened and organizational culture develops
The goals set for the program were met commendably. Overall, Marko, Jenni and Tero are satisfied with the cooperation so far. The change did not just remain a topic of discussion during the training days, but the operating models became a permanent part of everyday life:
- The results of the employee satisfaction survey increased significantly in terms of supervisory work.
- Supervisors actively refer to the lessons learned from training in everyday conversations.
- The mission "Together for the Betterment of the Planet" created by the management team is alive and well and is part of everyday activities.
- The toolbox of supervisors has expanded, and they are better able to face challenging situations.
“Leadership development is a journey that never ends, but now we are firmly on the right track.”
– Tero Suomalainen
Would you recommend MTTC?
“If you were asked if you would buy the same program in hindsight, I would definitely say yes.”
– Tero Suomalainen
“I’ll say it straight: people buy from people. It’s worth buying from Kolehmainen and Lintunen.”
– Marko Orpana
MTTC's way of meeting the customer, building a personalized program, and getting involved in the company's everyday life was impressive. This has not been just training - this is a shared development journey.
Do you want to take your organization's leadership culture to the next level? Contact MTTC - truly impactful coaching that leaves a lasting impression.
