Personnel

As an employer, Finnfund acts responsibly and with a long-term view, encouraging its personnel in continuous learning and professional development.

Human resource management

The Management Team makes decisions concerning personnel policy, while operative responsibility lies with the Director of Administration.

The general guidelines for remuneration, the incentive scheme of the company and the remuneration of the members of the Executive Board are decided by the Board of Directors in accordance with the guidelines for the remuneration given by the State.

Management and supervisory work have been continuously developed and assessed for many years. As the organisation grows and the number of personnel increase, the company implements regular personnel surveys on the quality of supervisory work and management, for example. The company aims to react appropriately and quickly to any feedback from the personnel.

At the end of 2017, the organization was changed so that the preparation of investments and the management of existing investments were combined under the Chief Investment Officer, and risk management and impact under the Director, Risk Management and Impact.

Finnpartnership, the business partnership program was transferred under the management of the Director, Administration, in autumn 2017.

During the second half of the year, a coaching program for supervisors was planned and started with an external consultant. The aim of the program is to develop their management and leadership skills and to improve the quality of management and supervisory work. The program will continue in spring 2018.

Personnel goals

Every year, Finnfund carries out a cooperation procedure in order to prepare a personnel plan and training goals for the coming year. The company also engages in annual development and goal-setting discussions with all employees, identifying their training needs, following up on the achievement of the previous year’s goals and setting new goals for the coming year.

In addition, Personnel Development and Planning Days are held for the entire personnel with the aim of discussing current topics and promoting interaction between the company’s personnel and management. Job satisfaction and well-being are monitored regularly by the Pulssi surveys.

Finnfund regularly monitors the development of work satisfaction and sick leaves as well as the accident rate. The aim is to identify and eliminate the causes of possible negative changes, while the underlying causes of positive changes will be further strengthened.

Number and structure of personnel

At the end of 2017, the company employed 76 people. Over the entire year, the average number of employees was 71. The entire personnel of the company are located in Helsinki, Finland.

During 2017, four permanent employees resigned and nine permanent employees were hired by Finnfund. Therefore, exit turnover was 5.3 percent and entry turnover 11.8 percent.

The following shows permanent employees grouped according to years of service in the company: 

The average duration of employment is eight years for permanent employees.

In terms of age structure, permanent employsees fall into the following five-year age brackets:

The average age of employees is 45.

The company did not reduce the number of its employees or make any other adjustments in 2017. The number of employees increased over the course of the year.

In 2017, personnel expenses amounted to EUR 7.6 million, including pension expenses, other social security expenses and voluntary personnel expenses. The company paid wages and salaries totalling EUR 6.1 million in 2017. 

Equality

At the end of 2017, the company employed 52 women (43 at the end of 2016), accounting for approximately 68.4 (67.2) percent of all employees, and 24 (21) men, accounting for approximately 31.6 (32.8) percent of all employees.

Six (6) or 75 (75) percent of the members of the company’s Board of Directors were women, and two (2), accounting for approximately 25 (25) percent, were men.

Two (2) members or 40 (40) percent of the company’s internal Management Team were women and three (3) or 60 (60) percent were men.

Every year, Finnfund implements an equality survey covering all the employees. Based on the results, the company's equality plan is updated and practical measures to promote equality and equal opportunities are identified.

The main objective of the equality plan is to promote equality, to identify and eliminate structures that produce and maintain inequalities, and to create for men and women of different ages equal conditions of employment, working conditions, equal placement for different tasks, equal opportunities for education and career development as well as principles of equal salary.

Remuneration

Finnfund’s remuneration system consists of three parts: basic salary, fringe benefits and short-term incentives.

At Finnfund, wages primarily consist of fixed monthly salaries that are based on the complexity of the duties and the employees’ competence and performance. All duties are classified into job grades every few years, and a pay comparison is conducted annually with an external consultant in order to assess the market level.

The company uses an incentive system covering the entire personnel, with the exception of the Managing Director. Employees can receive an incentive bonus corresponding to, at most, one month’s salary if the annual targets are met. In 2017, the incentive system was based partly on the achievement of company-level goals and partly on function-specific goals.

In addition, an individual employee can receive an incentive bonus of up to 1.5 months’ salary for exceptional, above-target performance. The Board of Directors makes decisions on the incentive system and its key criteria on an annual basis.

The 2017 accounts include a provision for the cost impact of incentive bonuses that corresponds to around 8.2 percent of the payroll expenses.

Competence development and training

The entire personnel of Finnfund participates in development and goal-setting discussions every year.

These development discussions are carried out in spring using special forms developed for this purpose. The forms were updated in 2014 in connection with management and leadership development measures. The discussions focus on matters related to professional competence, work quality, development and motivation, and compliance with Finnfund’s values. They also involve assessing the achievement of the personal goals set in the previous year and setting new personal goals for the coming year.

During the development discussions, all employees have the opportunity to provide feedback on the behaviour and management skills of their superiors, either directly to the superior or to the Director of Administration or the Managing Director.

Finnfund perceives training as a means of implementing its personnel policy and achieving the set goals, and the company has therefore adopted a positive approach to training its employees and continuously developing their competence. The personnel of a development financier are required, among other things, versatile knowledge of international finance and development issues. Learning at work and working with experienced colleagues are essential in developing professional skills.

In 2017, a pilot training program was prepared, aiming to provide analysts opportunities to work a limited time at Finnfund funded companies which or at other partner companies in developing countries. The purpose of the program is to provide opportunities for professional development, gaining experience in working in developing countries and strengthening sectoral know-how. After the traineeship, experience and expertise will be shared with colleagues at Finnfund in Finland.

All new employees are inducted into the organisation and their duties as they begin working at Finnfund (induction training). During employment, the company aims to maintain and develop the competence of its personnel by offering different types of supplementary and language training as well as training related to current affairs. The training plan is reviewed annually as a part of the cooperation procedure and the preparation of the personnel and training plan. The training needs of individual employees are addressed by the employees and their supervisors in the annual development discussions, while also agreeing on personal training plans, if necessary.

Occupational wellbeing, health and safety

Finnfund always pays attention to its employees’ wellbeing and ability to cope at work as well as their job satisfaction. Job satisfaction and work atmosphere are evaluated from time to time, and the feedback is used in planning operational changes.

Finnfund carries out regular employee wellbeing and satisfaction surveys, in cooperation with an external expert whenever necessary. Since 2015, the opportunity to provide feedback has been increased by regularly asking employees for their responses to rapid questionnaires and other such methods. The company has a systematic approach to work in this area. The development is continuously monitored, and the company tries to respond quickly to any deviations.

Furthermore, the employees have an opportunity in development discussions to raise questions about occupational wellbeing and job satisfaction, and to provide anonymous feedback via the company’s intranet.

The ICT Manager, acting as a labour protection officer, is responsible for occupational health and safety management together with the Director of Administration and the rest of the company’s management. The labour protection committee convenes to deal with matters falling under its field of competence.

The labour protection organisation has assessed the risks of the workplace. It concluded that the most significant safety risks were related to the safety of travel, health risks associated with frequent travel and ergonomic issues. Agreements in order to manage and prevent these risks were made at the same time.

In 2017, special attention was paid to passenger safety in developing countries by discussing existing safety rules, associated procedures and training needs. External experts were used to provide training e.g. on health and data protection issues.

The company updates its workplace risk assessments from time to time, and aims to respond without delay to changes in risk levels as well as any new risks.

Ergonomics is reviewed periodically when new employees join the company or when changes are made to workstations. Each employee is offered an electrically adjustable desk so as to avoid the health problems caused by excessive sedentary work.

In 2017, two occupational accidents were reported to Finnfund.

Finnfund monitors the number of sick leaves, developments in the number of sick leaves and the identified reasons for sick leaves continuously in cooperation with the company providing occupational healthcare services. As a whole, the number of sick leaves is at a normal level and has not changed dramatically over the years.

Finnfund encourages its employees to look after their health and wellbeing by offering more comprehensive occupational health care services than required by law and by supporting its employees’ hobbies related to sports and culture.

The company has a work fitness model for early support and intervention and a programme for preventing and treating substance abuse.

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