Finding and recruiting exactly the right new employee is always a challenge. If a company handles recruitment entirely on its own, it takes time and money.
Staffing is a way to outsource this process, making it as simple and smooth as possible for the client. When you need workers quickly, Hansavest has a proven process that moves forward step by step. Here we explain in detail how the process works.
Division of work at Hansavest
Hansavest has a clear division of work. The recruitment team is responsible for finding the worker and for the bureaucracy related to their employment. The training centre is responsible for testing knowledge and skills.
The worker's personal project manager helps solve everyday and work-related questions and makes arriving at the workplace and settling into the job as easy as possible. At the same time, they act as a mentor and career adviser, helping the worker find the occupation that best suits their experience and personal qualities.
The starting point: what the client needs
At the start of the process, Hansavest's account manager goes through with the company exactly what kind of worker is being sought and what kind of person is to be recruited. We map the client's needs and agree together on what work the worker will be doing. Together we list the requirements, areas of expertise and necessary certificates, such as the welding classes required of the workers.
We do not search for or recruit workers who are merely close enough – we want exactly the right professionals. If, for example, someone is needed for frame welding of steel halls, we know that this is a different matter from welding pressure vessels. If the worker is a welder, our own welding engineer checks the worker's welding qualifications at our training centre in Pärnu and makes sure they match the WPS (Welding Procedure Specification) for the job.
Staffing is a multi-stage process. We are in control of the details. If we do not know something, we ask and find out. Hansavest's process also includes developing the workers' professional skills, which is in the interest of all parties. Workers also often actively tell us how they want to develop their own professional skills. Our corporate clients are always welcome to visit Pärnu to see on site how we train our workforce.
Let's look at an example: a Finnish company needs a welder
Once Hansavest's account manager has visited a client who needs a new welder and the client's requirements have been reviewed, the account manager takes photos on site and writes a description of the workplace.
Hansavest begins recruiting on the basis of this specification. The Latvian office checks the availability of suitable workers in Hansavest's own HR management system, and at the same time the search is launched, i.e. recruitment campaigns on Facebook and Google.
Potential workers ask for details about the vacancy, and those who seem suitable are asked to send their details to Hansavest. The CV shows what kind of welder the candidate is and exactly what kind of welding work they have done.
A worker who appears to be the right fit is tested at Hansavest's training centre in Pärnu. Are they a plate welder or a workshop welder, how thick a metal are they used to welding, have they welded overhead or on vertical surfaces, for example? There are also many kinds of welding machines, and although not every possible case can be covered in Pärnu, Hansavest aims to identify and test in practical work as many details of its future workers' skills as possible in advance.
Workers are always given training when needed. If their qualities are not sufficient for a more demanding task, a suitable job is arranged for them. Once the worker has been tested, the client company is sent a description of the worker and their abilities, together with a proposed start date.
Occupational health care is arranged, and tax matters are handled online in advance.
At the port in Helsinki, the worker is usually met by Hansavest's account manager. Before starting work, the worker completes an occupational safety course and a hot work course.
Next, the worker is shown their accommodation. Then it is off to the workplace, where on the first day the worker gets to know the routines, always together with a Hansavest representative and the team leader. Once the company's representatives have met the new worker and the occupational safety and other briefings have been completed, it is time to start work.
Hansavest checks regularly after the first working day, week and month that everything is in order for the worker. It is only natural that workers arriving from abroad need a little more care at the beginning than Finnish workers.
This is communicated openly to all parties in advance. To avoid unnecessary shyness, Hansavest's advice to its workers is: ask, ask, ask.
Hansavest finds, selects, recruits, tests and trains the worker so that, on arrival at the workplace, they are as ready as possible to get straight to work.
“Even if the boss doesn't shout in Finland, they are still the boss”
Our training centre provides basic information on how a Finnish work community operates. We explain to our workers how workplace hierarchy, supervision, the use and storage of tools at the workplace, zero tolerance for working under the influence, pay, taxation, collective agreements and many other things work in Finland.
There are differences compared with Eastern Europe, for example, but when these are explained clearly to the workers in advance, many unnecessary misunderstandings are avoided. We have years of experience of which topics are worth covering with workers from different countries so that they adapt smoothly. We recruit workers from Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine. New recruitment areas are also being added to our map.
All kinds of matters concerning Finnish society are discussed with the workers, as some may be working abroad for the first time. These include, among other things, the registration of EU citizens in Finland after three months of residence, the worker's right to health care and a Kela card, and the various rights and obligations of employees.
Staffing from abroad is an area that involves many obligations and requirements that our client companies would rather not take on: dealings with various authorities, the required permits and other documents, health insurance, tax details, occupational safety cards… We take care of these details on the company's behalf.
“What about the language?”
Right at the start, we define with our corporate clients what kind of language skills are needed. This is typically a command of Finnish or English. In some jobs, language skills do not matter.
Workers for whom language skills are essential take language tests. If they wish, clients can call the worker themselves in advance to test the required language skills. The supervisors, or team leaders, of the workers recruited by Hansavest always have good language skills.
Life isn't just work – it's fishing too
Hansavest wants the workers it employs not only to do their jobs properly and on time, but also to enjoy life in Finland. Life is made up of many small things, and all of them matter.
When Hansavest's representatives look for accommodation for the workers, the principle is simple: if a home would be good enough for us, it is good enough for others too. Usually two people share a two- or three-room flat in an apartment building. Terraced and detached houses are also used. A working internet connection is an absolute basic requirement these days. It allows workers to keep in touch with their families cheaply and easily.
We have not forgotten leisure activities. A surprising number of the workers who come to Finland to work enjoy fishing. Hansavest's own staff can advise on obtaining fishing permits and on good fishing spots. Gyms and swimming pools are also in frequent use.
When needed, Hansavest provides guidance on just about any everyday matter, starting with how to use a Finnish-style coffee maker.
At Hansavest, we prevent tensions and challenges in advance as much as possible. Years of experience help us in this. Our long-standing partners know that working with us simply works.
