Fiksuruoka–Foodello’s amazing HR Advisor, Tiina Hahtovirta is doing everything in her power to ensure the well-being and happiness of our employees, so that they can focus on the fight against food waste.
“People always come first. This is the most important guideline to me, both as a person and as an HR professional”, says Tiina.
Tiina joined Fiksuruoka in January 2022. She is a true HR superstar, a warm-hearted, bubbly personality who gives her very best to the people she works with.
In the last year, Tiina and her team rocked the boat and improved the work-life quality of all our employees on the most extensive scale we have ever had in the history of Fiksuruoka–Foodello.
In a year, Tiina and her other half of the HR duo, Jessica Salminen reorganized our employee lifecycle processes from recruitment to development, started piloting new career path and role clarity model to all employees, created a toolkit for all team leads to be able to shine in their important roles, introduced a new HR system, hosted events, and as a cherry on the top: got us brand new, shiny offices in Helsinki and Amsterdam. To mention a few.
“I just had feedback that said I’ve been a remarkable part of building our culture already after the first year. It warmed my heart because that is exactly what I have been aiming for”, Tiina says with happy tears in her eyes.
👉 Here’s what Tiina has done and is continuously doing so you will thrive, grow and enjoy working at Fiksuruoka–Foodello!
Today, every team member at Fiksuruoka–Foodello has a Personal Growth conversation with their Team Lead every two months. And once a year, there is a more in-depth Personal Growth conversation.
In general, Personal Growth conversation is a discussion that covers employee well-being, OKRs and goals, career growth wishes, and needs for support. It is also a great recurring feedback channel between the team lead and the team.
“We created a fixed concept to ensure that everyone gets an equal level of great leadership and support.”
“We wanted to help team leads and give guidelines on how to have these conversations. That’s why we created a fixed concept to ensure that everyone gets an equal level of great leadership and support”, Tiina explains.
In the bi-monthly meetings, the focus is more on the team member's needs – not ticking all the boxed on the suggested topics. And the yearly Personal Growth conversation includes feedback from three perspectives: your team lead and your peers.
And yourself. Self-assessment is a great tool to learn about your strengths and weaknesses, and then you can discuss them with your Team Lead.
“The value of feedback is so important to everyone, it is the only way to be able to develop and grow.”
“The value of feedback is so important to everyone, it is the only way to be able to develop and grow”, Tiina emphasizes.
An equal level of great leadership also applies to the Team Leads. This year, Tiina is planning to put more emphasis on figuring out how she could support the Team Leads even more.
“Leaders also need to be a part of a team so I want to offer them possibilities to get more support from each other and share their struggles and successes”, Tiina explains.
You get one hour each week to develop yourself in any way you want. People use it to read books, listen to podcasts, learn to use new software, or spend time with a mentor.
“People at Fiksuruoka–Foodello use one hour each week to read books, listen to podcasts, learn to use new software, or spend time with a mentor.”
Tiina also introduced a Frame of Growth model that shows you what is possible in the Fiksuruoka–Foodello.
“I want people to have growth opportunities within the company.”
“I want people to have growth opportunities within the company. The Frame of Growth works as a great conversation starter when you are wondering about your career steps for the future”, Tiina tells.
“After all the changes we made last year – developing personal growth conversations, chances in our learning model, and offering this benefit to develop yourself – the results were shown in the data right away: 77 % of the employees said that they were offered opportunities to further develop themselves professionally. Previously, the number was 52 % so that growth is meaningful to me”, Tiina says.
Everything Tiina does, starts with the employees and what they need right now, and in the future.
“My job is 100 % a service profession and I couldn’t do anything without our employees. I need to work together with them so that we can create the workplace they desire and thrive in”, she says in a determined way.
Last year, we grew with 25 new team members. Tiina, Jessica, and all the hiring managers were the ones recruiting them and now they are determined to keep each and every one of them happy with their choice.
“If we want to grow, we need our employees to be engaged, committed, and happy to work with us. It takes constant effort and observations from my side. I am always looking for ways to improve the well-being of my colleagues at work so that they can focus on doing their job in the best way”, she explains.
Tiina has truly taken the culture of caring to the next level.
“It is okay to answer the question of ‘how are you’, that I am honestly having a terrible time or that my kids are going crazy right now, and so am I.”
“It all starts with the question that I can’t emphasize enough: how are you?”, Tiina says.
“I love that it is okay to answer honestly that I am having a terrible time or that my kids are going crazy right now, and so am I. It gives more depth to professional relationships because we all understand that we are complex human beings and multiple things have an effect on us”, Tiina says and smiles warmly. 💚
Tiina Hahtovirta has been appointed as our HR Advisor from 1st of June 2023 onwards.