Caverion’s Deputy CEO Thomas Hietto on COVID and sustainable buildings
Caverion’s Deputy CEO Thomas Hietto on COVID and sustainable buildings
As vast numbers of us are spending significantly more time in our homes than usual I would hazard a guess that many of us are paying way more attention to these buildings we call home. These buildings we literally spend most of our time in are of great importance to us and society at large. And thanks to increasing focus on sustainability, they (the buildings, whether they are our homes, offices or maybe the shops we go to) are gradually getting more of the attention they deserve.
Not too long ago I had the pleasure of conversing with Thomas Hietto, the deputy CEO of Caverion. He is very much at the epicenter of the development of smarter and more sustainable buildings. Now though, he and Caverion, are navigating not only these mega trends of sustainability and digitalisation, but also the whirlpool of a global pandemic. Thanks to decisive action and active leadership, Caverion has been able to manage the situation at hand remarkably well.
Naturally I wanted to know what we could learn from Hietto et al. In managing what Thomas calls the first phase of the pandemic and its effects, three distinct practices, all part of a longer-term development of Caverion leadership have played a crucial role.
A more agile working cadence – Especially in uncertain times, increasing the frequency of your checkpoints helps to react on time. With COVID-19 putting strain on available resources in the Service business Thomas leads, all the while certain services face a clear spike in demand, begs for nimble leadership. While some business areas face mounting demand, others are experiencing a slump. Also here, maintaining a higher cadence help in spotting changes and making minute changes, what Thomas calls “active workload management”, to operations minimising the risk of over- or under-reacting.
Following fewer metrics – It might be tempting to plough through each performance metric and prognosis available. That does however increase the risk of paralysis by analysis. Thomas and his management team has narrowed down and consolidated their key metrics to about five. That doesn’t decrease or discount the importance of basing business decisions on accurate data. On the contrary, by focusing on the truly strategically important metrics, the demands on quality of the underlying data increases and the road from insight to action is shorter.
An increased emphasis on local leadership – The above-mentioned increased clock speed and strategic height of the business unit leadership both enables and encourages an increased emphasis on local leadership, i.e. a stronger mandate and responsibility for each employee to take lead of their own and their teams’ work.
Armed with this, Caverion is able to tackle the short-term crisis but also move towards their strategic goals. Thomas reminds that “Sustainability is our purpose…” and “…now more than ever are we pulling in the same direction”
Consultant
E-mail
Perspectives
The Opportunity in Sustainable Business
Perspectives
How to create a culture of sustainability
Perspectives
Moving sustainability from the backroom to the boardroom