Staffing and occupational safety at the heart of cooperation

Hartela, a Finnish family company, has been operating in the construction sector for 80 years. The company builds homes, investment properties, office and industrial buildings, as well as public buildings. In 2020, Hartela had over 60 projects under construction across six regions.

– Our clients are hugely important to us from the perspective of our company strategy alone, because without them, there would be no us either, notes Marko Cavén, Procurement Manager at Hartela.

However, the company’s own workforce has, as is typical in the construction sector, shrunk over time. A solution has been found in staffing, which has focused largely on auxiliary roles such as construction workers and construction cleaners.

– Even though situations and conditions on construction sites vary, with Barona being one of our significant partners, we can trust that the use of resources related to temporary staffing is planned and that no excess costs arise, Cavén says with satisfaction.

Occupational safety was taken into account from the very beginning

Systematic cooperation with Barona began to take shape around five years ago, when Marko Cavén also moved into his current role.

– At that time, we still had around 30 to 40 personnel leasing providers, which made that field fairly unmanageable. We ended up interviewing them more closely to find out which ones we wanted to continue working with, Cavén explains.

Following the negotiations, 12 partners were selected, with whom Hartela entered into cooperation agreements. One of these was Barona, and Cavén says the cooperation got off to a start on the right themes right from the beginning.

– Occupational safety and responsibility matters have been focused on ever since we set the first goals for the cooperation. We received expert responses from Barona on these topics, and questions were also actively raised towards us. Through that, the cooperation got off to a great start.

Partners keep hold of shared ground rules

Hartela wants to stick to shared ground rules and expects the same from the other party. Marko Cavén laughs that he has a habit of handing out warnings familiar from the football pitch to partners when the situation calls for it – with Barona, however, there has been no need for this.

– The people at Barona are professionals who handle things the way they should be handled. If something needs to be clarified, they are ready for it, Cavén praises.

A good foundation for the cooperation was established already in the early stages of the partnership negotiations, when Hartela’s own and the partners’ obligations and ways of working were reviewed.

– Barona knows our needs, our way of thinking and our philosophy, and equally we have come to know Barona. It is great that when needed, we can ‘give a friend a ring’ and trust that the right people will be sent our way, Cavén states.

Learn more about our solutions