At VTT, we want to be pioneers of work and in the ways of working. Work has been in a major transformation in recent years. At the end of last year, we launched the New Work @VTT programme with a purpose of ensuring that VTTers are doing well and are able to think beyond the obvious and find solutions in a changing world. The first experiments helping us to better focus on what is important were launched at the beginning of January.
The world, and with it, work, are undergoing great changes. The coronavirus pandemic has given this change a powerful boost in the past year. The way we work and our operating environment has already changed and the change will continue to be strong in the future.
“We at VTT want to be in the forefront and to embrace this change as an opportunity. The change in our operating environment brings companies new business opportunities. In practice, it can be seen in the everyday lives of people in the form of changes to the nature of work and the tools used at work, for example. It is important for us to be able to conduct research and to work flexibly with our partners and our customers, producing strong added value also in the future”, says Antti Vasara, President and CEO of VTT.
What is the focus of the programme and how does it operate in practice?
In the first phase five themes have been selected for the programme, and they are:
- Leadership
- Technology and digital solutions
- Ways of working
- Learning
- Wellbeing
In addition to these themes, we will also clarify our corporate culture, which will help to turn the new practices into a permanent part of everyday life.
“VTT's goal is to solve the biggest challenges of our time, such as climate change, together with our customers and to create a sustainable business. It will only be successful if we take care of our top professionals and their well-being. Digitalisation has disrupted work, and we will not go back to the way things were. We need to find ways to ensure brainstorming, learning, interacting, the way we do research and the best way to lead. Here, too, our level of ambition is high”, says the head of the programme, Jenni Santalo, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at VTT.
VTTers with different backgrounds and from different parts of the organisation are working in the program. The progress of the program and the work done on the themes will be visible to all VTTers through practical experiments. These experiments help us to test new ways of working and operating models.
First practical experiments: a 45-minute meeting and an off-line hour
The first two experiments in the programme were launched at the beginning of the year and they will help us focus better on the essential.
The first experiment is called 45 minutes is the new hour and it helps us to improve meeting practices. The aim is to get everyone at VTT to cut the duration of the meetings from hour to 45 minutes.
“Shorter meetings encourage us to think about meeting practices and to focus our attention in meetings on the right things. The practice frees up time for short breaks and other tasks, and supports time management”, says Jussi Manninen, Executive Vice President, and the head of the Ways of Working theme.
The second experiment is Offline hour. Everyone at VTT has received a calendar invitation, which reserves one hour of uninterrupted working time every day. During the hour, the aim is to focus on work that requires concentration - the telephone, e-mail, and other applications may be ignored.
We will carry out both small-scale and large experiments throughout the year, as we want to change the way we do things and find the best way to work. We also want to find the best way to produce results in this new time.
