“Diversity matters to our company’s success” – People are Ramboll’s key asset
At Ramboll, an architecture, engineering, and consultancy company, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been a central aspect of management and corporate culture for many years. The company views people as its key asset and diversity and inclusive work culture as key success factors.
“DEI work should not be thought of as separate from the business. It is a factor in the normal management of a specialist organisation, the well-being of personnel, the development of the company and the business,” emphasises Maija Jokela, CEO of Ramboll Finland.
- Ramboll Finland Oy is one of Finland’s leading engineering and consultancy companies. It is part of Ramboll Group, a Danish company.
- The company offers expert services in various areas, including infrastructure, real estate and construction, energy, environment and health, water, project management, and real estate consulting.
- Ramboll Finland employs around 2,500 people.
- The company operates in 35 countries.
- In 2023, the company’s net sales were approximately EUR 260 million.
Legislation already obligates companies to address DEI matters, but Jokela does not regard this as the primary driver.
“As a consultancy, we sell people’s expertise, ideas and solutions. Naturally, when the personnel and the team are doing well, the business will benefit.”
Rights for one person do not come at the expense of others
In recent times, news about companies disbanding their DEI programmes has crossed the Atlantic from the USA.
“I believe these kinds of reactions are linked to the polarisation of society and the misconception that DEI means granting someone rights at the expense of someone else,” says Jokela.
Ramboll’s DEI work is based on the company’s strategy, which emphasises the importance of corporate responsibility for the business. The company wants every employee to feel that they can be themselves, and it aims to build teams as diversely as possible.
“We do not want to miss out on talent because people feel that Ramboll is not the right workplace for them.”
“We want to recruit the best, and we do not want to miss out on talent because people feel that Ramboll is not the right workplace for them.”
She highlights practical examples of Ramboll taking into account the different life stages of employees.
“We encourage employees to use family leave regardless of their gender, we have paid school-starting leave for parents of children in their first year of school, and we offer people at retirement age the opportunity to work flexibly. We also encourage employees to combine work with studying,” Jokela says.
She says there are currently 70 theses or final-year projects taking place at Ramboll.
The company has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of harassment and invests in preventing it through measures such as training and appointing harassment contact persons to address incidents.
Publicised shortcomings provided new impetus
In Finland, Ramboll’s DEI work gained new impetus a year ago when a study of the construction sector highlighted issues of equality and harassment in the industry.
“The study sparked much debate and spread on social media. A few cases of inappropriate behaviour or harassment also emerged in our company. We realised that this is something we need to focus on even more,” Jokela says.
DEI themes were highlighted in the quarterly bulletin, supervisor training and personnel events. The aim was to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable discussing their problems.
“Even one incident of inappropriate behaviour or harassment is one too many. We are taking new action to emphasise that we want to know about inappropriate treatment and that we will put a stop to it.”
A second impetus was a debate on the Jodel platform about how young people can cope in working life. The comments revealed the pressures experienced by young consultants in the workplace, including at Ramboll.
“This opened our eyes to the possibility that we had failed to provide enough guidance to our young employees, even though the job satisfaction metrics had trended upwards,” says Jokela.
Diversity is good business
Diversity is also about increasing customer understanding.
“In design work, a diverse team with people from different educational backgrounds and cultures, for example, can often bring wider-ranging insight into the solutions and a better understanding of the customer’s needs,” Jokela describes.
“In design work, a diverse team can often better understand the customer’s needs.”
Jokela says that taking diversity into account in the design process does not mean that the team should contain representatives of every point of view.
“It is also about having the professional skill to include and consider different groups connected to the designs.”
Ramboll has also created services based on a diversity mindset. This concept is based on the Child Handprint, which measures how good a particular solution, such as an urban space or area, is for children.
“Research has shown that a solution that works for children is also good for other members of society. Given this, it is good for the team to have an expert on social impact,” says Jokela.
The result is well-being and a better employer image
Jokela says she believes Ramboll’s DEI investments are reflected in factors such as low staff turnover. In addition, absences due to mental illness have decreased in Ramboll for three consecutive years. In 2023, the decline was about 30 per cent year-on-year.
Employer image metrics often rank engineering and consulting companies among the most sought-after employers.
“We have invested in making our company a desirable employer among women – and we have succeeded in this regard,” Jokela says.
While the proportion of women working in the design and consulting sector overall averages 26 per cent, Ramboll’s figure is 36 per cent.
“The career path for women contains obstacles that are not easily seen.”
“We have noticed that we need to pay special attention to the career development of women. For some reason, women are still underrepresented in management and leadership roles, even at our company. The career path has obstacles that are not easily seen,” says Jokela.
She gives an example. At the end of last year, a survey conducted by RIL among technical students revealed that men earned nearly 10 per cent more than women in summer jobs.
“We discussed this with our management team and decided to check our trainee contracts from this perspective in an aggregated way, and supervisors were instructed to intervene.”
Finland may suffer from an illusion of equality
Ramboll also wants to be an attractive workplace for international professionals. In Jokela’s view, Finland has room for improvement, despite often being acclaimed as a good example of equality. Companies can do their part, but policymakers should also ensure that Finland is perceived as a place people want to come to.
“It is clear that we will need more international experts in Finland in the future. We still have a way to go on the question of how welcome foreigners feel in Finnish society and the work community.”
In Finland, Ramboll employs about 100 people who do not speak Finnish, and 35 different nationalities.
“We still have a way to go on the question of how welcome foreigners feel in Finnish society and the work community.”
“As employers, we can easily decide, for example, to have all our communication in English. However, it is also important that everyone feels they are a part of the team in less formal settings, such as coffee breaks,” emphasises Jokela.
“We all have unconscious barriers and prejudices that affect not only the acceptance of foreigners in the work community but also, for example, the use of family leave and the career development of women.”
Customers also have some influence over the design and consulting sector, as their procurement criteria may exclude employees who do not speak Finnish or who have less experience.
“In an ideal situation, a customer could even demand diverse teams that also include young members or international experts,” Jokela says.
Maija Jokela’s tips for starting DEI work in a company
- Analyse the company’s current state. Within the company, it is a good idea to discuss where the company’s strengths lie and what needs to be improved from the perspective of DEI themes. The entire personnel must be involved.
- Create a DEI plan. Every company should have a plan or programme that describes how to handle the identified development areas.
- Tackle unconscious prejudices. We all have these, and a good trainer can help everyone challenge their attitudes.
- Create an atmosphere that encourages people to discuss their problems. Discrimination or inappropriate behaviour affecting an individual or a small group of people may often go undetected in staff surveys. The manager’s job is to identify problems and address them.
- DEI work cannot be outsourced to the HR department, as it is largely a matter of the overall management of the company.