Broad recruitment a key to Modul's success

Language barriers, social codes or other circumstances should not constitute unnecessary obstacles to recruitment. This is the starting point for Region Norrbotten's new business support Recruitment support for diversity. One company that has worked to broaden its recruitment base is the sheet metal manufacturer Modul in Kalix. “I think it is a must for companies in Norrbotten, with the increasing competition for employees,” says Niclas Tidström, CEO of Modul.

It is a sunny spring and winter day and at Modul work is underway to manufacture sheet metal parts for the construction industry, the electronics industry and the furniture industry, among other things. The company served as one of the pilots when the Norrbotten Region designed Recruitment support for diversity.

– We are 40 percent women. We are different ages, different lengths of employment, different nationalities and also people with different disabilities and different physical conditions. But it's going well! As long as we ensure that the workplaces are adapted and the work elements are adapted, everyone can deliver on it, says CEO Niclas Tidström about the business.

Niclas Tidström tells how the journey to today's Modul began with a small decision by the owners in 2015: to build equally sized changing rooms for men and women. "It was kind of the starting point, a snowball effect," he says.

Recruitment support for diversity is aimed at companies that want to recruit from the small job pool of unemployed immigrants. In many cases, it is from this group that the potential and skills for those who want to recruit locally exist.

– We have seven or eight different nationalities with us. We work in Swedish, so our company language is Swedish. But we can still simplify things for people and show increased understanding. Guidance and coaching when you start working. Illustrations and instructions that are more photos and images than text. But it won't come easy, you will need to get involved as an employer, says Tidström.

The new company support is intended to facilitate adaptation. The support has two mandatory parts, both of which the company must work with. One concerns additional costs for supervision. Perhaps you need to find ways of working that overcome language barriers? Spend a little extra time explaining the cultural codes in the workplace? The second part is about developing the company's diversity work. This could, for example, involve carrying out an analysis of the current situation and the need to develop supervision.

Big profits with broad recruitment

Niclas Tidström sees great benefits in making an effort to recruit more broadly, especially in the face of a future where large investments coincide with large retirements. This will put pressure on all employers, he believes.

– The benefit is that you get employees who are loyal and want to work for you, that you find the employees you want to recruit, and that you get a dynamic in the workplace. In our case, it is also enriching in our contacts with customers, how we see the market and potentially increasing our exports in the future.

Kaewta Prathumthong works as a team leader on the assembly. 

He highlights the ever-increasing competition for employees and the need to rethink your employer brand, both to find and retain staff. An employee who was recruited many years ago is Kaewta Prathumthong.

– I'm a team leader here at the assembly. I've worked here for almost ten years and I really enjoy it, we have a great team here, she says.

“Pictures are easier than words”

In the Bipack department, we see examples of adaptations that have been made to be able to recruit broadly. Employee Ulrika Rutberg Andersson shows work materials in the form of pictures that show what should be included in the bags.

– Pictures are easier than words, especially if we work with newly arrived Swedes or people who have dyslexia. If you see a picture, you understand better than with text, says Ulrika.

Example of the image-based work material developed for the Bipack department. With the help of this adaptation, everyone can work at the workstation. "As long as we ensure that the workstation is good and correct, there are always conditions for everyone to work," says Niclas Tidström.

With this work material, Modul can offer employment to people with intellectual disabilities, people who simply have difficulty reading, who don't speak Swedish very well - or simply don't know the technical language.

– What we have learned is that this makes it easier for everyone, you don't have to think that it should be about language, for example. That instruction makes it easier for me to work too. Reduce this body text with instructions. Then there are a lot of new terms when you come in, you may have been working with something completely different. What is a blind plug? It's not exactly easy to know, says Annica Enström, head of business development at Modul.

“It is welcome”

However, these adjustments require some initial work. Here, Niclas Tidström believes that the new recruitment support can be of help.

– Many small and medium-sized companies are very busy with their everyday operations, and it can be difficult to put this extra effort into hiring people with a foreign background who need extra training or extra time. Getting support for production losses but also to gain increased knowledge yourself, as an employer, and understanding the different needs that new employees of different nationalities may have – I think that is welcome.

Text and photo: Sara Stylbäck Vesa

Who can benefit from Recruitment Support for Diversity? Read here!
Articles: New support will help companies recruit more broadly