How we started to collaborate with Human Resource unit? 10 ideas
When we started to work in inland, there were many projects already that related to the IT unit (digital services — Säpa). It was clear to them that inland is part of this team and we will provide visions and concepts to develop in collaboration. However, it was not clear to other teams in Migri how we could help them improve their work.
What have we done to better communicate what are the topics and challenges in which inland works?
Firstly, we wrote intensively about our ways of working, and updated our website (links here). We also wrote several articles for our internal communication platform (Mintra).
Secondly, we provided a package of 10 ideas to further develop with inland to HR and communications units. In this article we will describe how we proceed to work with the Human Resource unit.
The ten idea package was not only an initiative to kick-start the collaboration with the unit, but also a way to research on what things already exist in Migri. Inland can support with new ideas that could provide a positive change. Some of these ten ideas are not specially original or do not have a design approach, but they are seeds for understanding the reasoning and the prioritisation in the unit.
For example, we realised that there are already some clubs in our organisation, but as newcomers we did not hear about them. So, we suggested to person in charge of our internal communication platform Mintra to make the clubs more visible. We also discussed how to integrate this information into the orientation package that workers receive when they start working in Migri.
We presented this package of ten ideas to the head of the HR unit and the head of operations in Migri. Together we prioritised them into “let’s do it, now!”, “it’s complicated” and “let’s do it later”. Some of the ideas were scheduled to later because they needed to be developed in collaboration with units that have tight deadlines at the moment.
The ideas classified as “let’s do it now” were assigned to different working teams. We had a workshop to develop two of the ideas with KePa (service development) team: Peer-to-peer development discussions and Migri Buddies.
Peer-to-peer development discussions are meetings with colleagues to discuss about own performance and career development. Each worker can choose their own colleague for this conversation. The peer-to-peer discussions are a step to prepare for the development discussions with the superior.
Migri Buddies is a new program where co-workers support new workers in the first steps for their smooth integration into the organization. Buddies will be in charge of introducing new employees to Migri culture: going to have a lunch with the new worker from time to time, give a little bit of the tacit knowledge on the organisation, or direct questions towards the right people.
Inland has provided documentation for starting these initiatives and now it is in the work queue of the service development team (called KePa) working as part of HR.
The Design trip is an idea that inland will be following. We would like to co-design some solutions together with the Swedish Migration Agency. Workers of substance units in Finland will meet workers in substance units in Sweden and we will together come up with new development ideas for the future. We have been in touch with the designers from the Swedish Migration Agency and plan to advance with this idea during 2018.
Skill exchange sessions were classified as “let’s do it now!”. These are sessions in which Migri workers exchange skills. For example, someone can teach how to have standing meetings and learn how to use Kieku (our hour-tracking software). Inland is working on some posters to get to know what people want to learn and what people could teach to others. After we gather these skills, it will be probably the service development group (KePa) that will continue to implement this idea.
