Description of the project funded by the European Social Fund (ESF)

1 Project

Project code: S22655

Project name: Thriving people, flourishing workplaces - Positive organizing and leadership enhancing well-being, efficiency and productivity

Policy: 3. Employment and labour mobility

Specific objective: 7.1. Improving productivity and wellbeing at work

Planned completion time: Start 1.10.2021 and end 31.12.2023

Operational status: Ended

Responsible authority: Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment North Ostrobothnia

2 Basic applicant information

Official name of the applicant: Oulun Ammattikorkeakoulu Oy

Organisation type: University of applied sciences

Business ID: 2509747-8

Street: PL 222

Telephone number: 020 611 0200

Postal code: 90101

City/town: Oulu

Website: http://www.oamk.fi

Project contact person's name: Erja Kotimäki

Contact person's position in the organisation: Tki-päällikkö

Contact person’s email address: erja.kotimaki(at)oamk.fi

Contact person's phone number: 050 5884871

Number of applicants or subsidy transfer:

3 Plan-specified summary of the project completion

Research shows that positive leadership and management can contribute to the well-being and productivity of organizations in a socially sustainable way. This project uses the PRIDE model (Cheung, 2014; Wenström, Uusiautti, & Määttä, 2018) to promote the leadership and management of SMEs and micro-enterprises as well as public organizations with a view to promoting wellbeing at work, work efficiency, productivity and quality.

The project will use open startup days to allow participants to familiarize themselves with the PRIDE model and the principles of a positive organization, followed by a tailor-made training, mentoring and expert services in the areas of Positive practices, Relationship enhancement, Individual attributes, Dynamic or positively deviant leadership, and finally, Emotional well-being.

Another area of activity of the project is to use training to strengthen the skills of professionals providing employment, guidance and business services in the use of the PRIDE model. In this way, the ideas and practices of a positive organization will spread and become a staple in the experts’ work. Organizers' own actors, such as HR, are also trained to be experts in the positive organization, so the project-initiated development will continue after the termination project.

Fourth, the project will bring together a network of positive leadership from the actors involved (including the leaders of participating organizations, managers, HR; tutor trainees and others interested in the subject) and disseminate it nationwide. The network also will include experienced positive leadership experts as mentors and sparring partners. Consequently, the latest research on positive organization and leadership will be disseminated and embedded in the practice of companies and organizations, and a peer and mentoring network will be created around the theme. Finally, the well-being, work engagement and productivity of the participating organizations will be improved.

4 Project target groups

4.1 Actual target groups

Hankkeen varsinaisina kohderyhminä ovat pääasiassa Kainuun alueen mikro- ja pk-yritysten henkilöstö ja johto, ml yrittäjät. Lisäksi kohderyhminä ovat julkisorganisaatiot (mm. oppilaitokset, ammatillisen koulutuksen järjestäjät, kuntaorganisaatiot). Hankkeen kohderyhmiä ovat myös em. kohderyhmille palveluja tarjoavat tahot; erilaisten työvoima- ja yrityspalvelujen kehittäjät ja tarjoajat sekä opetus-ja ohjaushenkilöstö. Osa kohderyhmästä on sitoutunut hankkeen hakuvaiheessa hankkeen kehittämiskumppaniverkostoon. Hankkeen rahoituksen varmistuttua, hankkeeseen kutsutaan uusia kumppaneita mukanaolevin kuntien yrittäjistä sekä mukanaolevien oppilaitosten työelämäkumppaneista. Hankkeeseen kutsutaan osallistujia myös mm. sosiaalisen median kanavien kautta sekä järjestämällä avoimia info- ja starttiwebinaareja. Hanketta kohtaan on ilmaistu suurta tarvetta ja kiinnostusta jo hankkeen hakuvaiheessa ja kehittämiskumppaneita on tulossa mukaan kiitettävästi. Tavoitteenamme on saada mukaan yhteensä vähintään 14 yritystä ja 5 julkisorganisaatiota.

Hankkeen toimenpiteisiin ja kehittämisohjelmaan ovat osoittaneet kiinnostuksensa seuraavat tahot (sähköpostit liitteenä). Muun muassa näiden tahojen kautta mukaan kutsutaan mikro- ja pk-yrityksiä (ko. kuntien yrityksiä ja ko. oppilaitosten työelämäkumppaneita).

Arffman
Infrasuunnittelu Oy
Hoivapalvelut Kotikoivu Oy
Hotelli Kajaani
Hyvän Olon Puoti Vuokatti Oy
Kajaanin Ammattikorkeakoulu Oy
Kajaanin kaupunki
Kainuun ammattiopisto
Kainuun Yrittäjät
Paltamon kunta

4.2 Indirect target groups

- Oppilaitosten oppilaat ja opiskelijat 
- Organisaatioiden/yritysten asiakkaat ja verkostot
- Kuntien ja maakunnan asukkaat

5 Public funding of the project (EUR)

EU and State funding granted: 202 947

EU and State funding used: 202 947

Planned public funding (total): 253 684

Planned public funding used (total): 253 684

6 Geographical target area

Regions: Kainuu

Subregions: Kajaani, Kehys-Kainuu

Municipalities: Ristijärvi, Paltamo, Suomussalmi, Puolanka, Kajaani, Sotkamo, Hyrynsalmi, Kuhmo

Address of the project site, if the project is carried out in one place

Street:

Postal code:

City/town:

7 Estimates of project-specific monitoring information reported during the application phase

7.1 Number of participating companies

Planned: 14

Completed according to monitoring information: 9

7.2 Number of participating persons

Planned: 135

8 Horizontal principles

8.1 Gender equality

8.2 Sustainable development

9 Final report summary

The aim of the project was to promote well-being and productivity through positive management and organization. The project promoted the application of positive management and organization in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and public organizations in the Kainuu region. In addition, regional and organization-specific training, coaching and other expert services were provided, and developers and providers of employment and business services were trained in the application of positive organization and management. The project was based on the definition of positive leadership based on Wenström's (2020) doctoral thesis and the PRIDE theory of positive leadership, which served as a framework for structuring the project's activities and services.

The key intervention areas and related outcomes of the project were:
1. in the first phase, information and kick-off days were organized for the target groups of the project to provide a comprehensive introduction to the project's content and objectives. A total of 63 people participated in the kick-off days, who also shared project and theoretical information within their own organizations.

The first phase measures also included inviting actors in the Kainuu region to join the national network for positive leadership, which operates in the form of peer learning, mentoring and peer mentoring. The network includes positive leadership practitioners and experts in the role of mentors. The network included the organizations and companies involved in the project and the people being coached as coaches. The aim of the network is to encourage participants to use positive leadership practices, to share knowledge and to support network members in a variety of challenging leadership situations. Throughout the project, the network organized thematic events, training, services and coaching with the help of nationally renowned experts in the field (mentor developers). The network grew steadily throughout the project (4,830 members at the end of the project) and will continue to operate after the end of the project.

2. In the second phase of the project, an intensive training course on positive leadership was organized in the spring of 2022, which served as both a pre-personal and expert training on the project themes. The aim of the training was to enable participants to assimilate the theory and practice of positive leadership and organization and to strengthen their own development skills on the subject. The content of the training was structured around the PRIDE theory of positive organization. The training was attended by 47 participants.

3. In the third phase of the project, tailor-made positive leadership training and development packages were designed and implemented for the participating organizations, and the possibility was also offered to participate in the project's open positive leadership training sessions. Examples of the rich organizational services provided by the project include various types of pre-employee coaching, positive leadership themed work coaching (D-groups), work community coaching and team coaching. Regional open services included, for example, the following coaching: emotional skills coaching, facilitation coaching, open D-groups for different target groups and positive psychology themed classes.

4. The fourth key intervention area of the project was the development and piloting of a positive leadership and organizational assessment tool and indicator. The aim was to provide tools for evaluating positive management in order to design development measures that are as appropriate as possible (initial measurements and baseline surveys) and to make visible and evaluate the effectiveness of the development measures taken (final measurements and evaluations). This was more successful than expected, with more than 2000 responses to the project's pilot measurement exercises. The pilots also provided information for a study to be used as a basis for future generalization and dissemination of the indicator in organizations. The project's piloted indicators and evaluations provided both user feedback and statistical evaluation data that can be further developed and rolled out to organizations.

5. The final area of action was communication, information and dissemination. The final seminar of the project took place in September 2023 and was attended by 99 participants. The final seminar included presentations and contributions from staff of the organizations involved in the project and feedback indicated that the final seminar was very useful and rewarding in terms of lessons learned and concrete actions taken. The project has been actively promoted throughout the project, in particular through social media channels, and presented in various regional and national forums, as well as at events and seminars organized by other projects. Steering group members also gave positive feedback on the visibility of the project.

As a result of the project, positive management and organization has been widely disseminated nationally. In the participating organizations, research on positive organization and management has spread and taken root in the strategic and operational practices and principles of the companies and organizations, which, according to the feedback and experiences, has had a positive impact on the well-being at work, enthusiasm at work and, consequently, performance of the participating organizations. The project has developed both positive leadership and organizational practices and different ways of developing positive leadership. The project has generated new knowledge for both practice and research. The themes of the project have been the basis for studies, publications and theses in various higher education institutions around Finland.