Wärtsilä Industrial Operations
Teksti Pertti Suvanto Kuvat Esa Siltaloppi
Wärtsilä Industrial Operations Management and leadership assessment, a tool for strategic resourcing and developing key people 
Wärtsilä Industrial Operations assesses the management competence and potential of its key people. In a changing global business environment, managers and experts with excellent competencies are needed. The assessment will reveal hidden potentials.
To date, 74 key persons from the Industrial Operations division in several European countries have participated in the assessment. According to Kai Kamila, the division’s HR Director, management of the Industrial Operations division has decided to extend the assessment also to Asia and the key personnel of the Propulsion unit integrated in the division.
– We aim to assess the capabilities of our key people, revealing potential for development for the future needs of the division and finding out how to best develop everyone.
The assessment of people working in demanding managerial and expert positions is considered necessary due to the changes in the business environment and the strong growth of Wärtsilä. The operational environment continues to change into a more global and challenging – and complex – direction. More is thus required from the key personnel, and therefore their development must be invested in.
– Cultures meet at the company, organisations change due to growth if nothing else, and the large volume of orders create new challenges. These require efficient operational processes and seamless cooperation across national borders.
Wärtsilä has consolidated its production operations in a single unit, Wärtsilä Industrial Operations (WIO). WIO has 4,000 
employees around the world.
Also, the number of employees is predicted to increase due to the growing business of WIO. The merger will offer employees new possibilities: career development, greater variation of work and new learning opportunities.
– Change is present every day, which will set high requirements for our managers and team leaders on how to manage the change and how to involve employees in the adoption of changes and the improvement of efficiency.
Everyone has strengths
At the start of the management and leadership assessment the business and HR management of the WIO updated the management competency profile in cooperation with Psycon’s consultants. The objective was to uncover the expectations and requirements that will be set for the management
in the future. The profile defines factors related to management skills and personal characteristics in a concise form. Kamila brings out some of these. Strategic management includes strategic thinking, understanding external business trends, benchmarking, networking, identification of new business ideas and finding solutions for these. – Change management is an essential area: How to behave as a leader and driver for change. It is also very important that a manager has the ability to involve people in the change and promote the commitment to continuous renewal. Managers must be able to adjust their behavioural models in ways required by the new situation in order to be able to reach the desired result. – Team building and communication are on focus in people management skills. The team may be divided into more than one country. The right synergies must be found. The energy of the team and its members must be brought out efficiently, since the final outcome is always the result of cooperation. Leaders must be able to find the strengths of their teams and the potential of the people, and to support their development. Sounds demanding. Do such super-managers really exist? –Everyone has strengths. What’s important is that you recognise your own strengths and areas to develop. WIO will invest in developing the management capabilities of the potential key persons.
Bringing out hidden potential
Based on the management competency profile, Psycon customised assessment methods to be used in the assessment of the selected key people. One of the methods was the 360 survey, including a self-evaluation and an assessment of the management behaviour conducted by the subordinates, superiors and colleagues. The main method was the assessment center, a group assessment event lasting a full working day. At the assessment centre, group simulations, in-depth interviews, problem solving tasks and personality inventories were carried out by Psycon’s consultants. The results were reviewed individually with each participant in a 2–3-hour feedback and development meeting. The results of the assessment along with the strengths and areas in need of development were all open for discussion. Participants also received a written assessment report. According to the feedback from the participants, the review has been very valuable. It has strengthened the self-image and the perception by the individuals being assessed of their own strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, it has offered a neutral external view to help in the identification of the participant’s own potential for development. Many have seen the feedback meeting as the first development intervention.
HR Director Kai Kamila is very satisfied with the results. The assessment revealed the participants’ potential for various positions excellently.
With the permission of the participant, a summary of the assessment report is delivered to his or her direct superior. These summaries will be used in the individual development discussions as the basis of a personal development plan. Local HR professionals will support business managers and people being assessed in utilising the assessment results in the best possible way. The results will be integrated into the Wärtsilä performance management process. The assessment has also turned up a few positive surprises. People with potential for demanding international managerial positions or strategic expert positions have been found, and many perceptions and expectations have been reinforced. Kamila emphasises that the mere potential of a person is not enough.Daily business performance is at least as important. Being recognised as future potential does not automatically guarantee a wonderful future. Spontaneous effort and commitment as well as good outcomes are required from everyone. The assessment sends the participants an important message: they have been recognized and they will be invested in.
This is another benefit of the management and leadership assessment, helping to retain the talent in the organisation.
Business impact
Kamila appreciates the involvement of an external partner in the extensive assessment project.
– This will most likely open the eyes of the people assessed in a new way. When you’ve worked with someone for a long time, you might forget to look more closely into the potential he or she may have. Another strength of the process was the fact that everyone was assessed using identical methods. This ensures equality and evens out differences between cultures.
– There are several potential paths for development. Developing key personnel is not just about courses and training. Targeted on-the-job learning with new tasks, job rotation, international assignments and projects is increasingly important. Development can be supported with individual coaching.
– If we manage to put the right people into the right positions and to keep developing them as managers and experts, we expect to achieve great business benefits. The management group of the Industrial Operations division has seen that the assessments have yielded undeniable benefits. What is most important, however, is that the measures taken are based on the assessment. This means that there is still a lot of efforts to be done, Kamila says.
