Hello CEO: Åse Holmberg, Sentor

Among our approximately 1350 membersmembers include everything from small start-up companies with few employees, to large multinational companies with thousands of employees around the world. Under the banner "Hello CEO", we gather their views on the past yeartheir thoughts on the future, but also lessons and experiences from a time that is unlike anyr unlike anyn othern. First up is Åse Holmberg, CEO of Sentor.

How would you sum up the past year, largely marked by the coronavirus pandemic?

- 2020 began, for us as for many others, with many changes. Initially, we noticed an uncertainty from our consultant-buying customers in terms of starting up completely new assignments but also completing existing ones. In the first part of 2020, we were therefore in a short layoff mode, but when homework began around the country, IT attacks also increased, which meant a turn from waiting customers to the need for our services increased strongly. In the second half of the year, we instead had the challenge of having too few consultants and thus ended up in a huge recruitment need.

What lessons have you learned from the period we went through and what will you take with you?

- We have learned a lot! A first lesson was that running a business remotely is possible, but that there are downsides that are easily overlooked. Corporate culture and knowledge transfer are what we have found most difficult to translate to the digital space. For example, we have noticed that it is more difficult for new employees to become part of the community. At Sentor, social exchange, collaboration and knowledge transfer have previously taken place mainly in smaller informal meetings and contexts of just working side by side. It has been more difficult to transfer and make this interaction work in the digital spaces.

- Initially, we took a lot of help from Almega and IT&Telekomföretagen to get a better understanding of the work and regulations regarding layoffs. We made quick decisions with canceled staff activities, conferences and kick-offs. Sentor's main focus was to get consultants out on assignments, retain our employees and keep sales up. Shortly afterwards, when demand increased again, the focus shifted to questions about how we could get closer cooperation and how we could ensure that managers function well in the very special situation that had arisen. Through Almega, all managers were also given a course in labor law, which helped many in how they could think in the digital world.

- But all in all, 2020 gave us a better result than we ever had before. We didn't have to resort to layoffs for an extended period of time, unlike many other companies. Our people have really shown themselves to be driven, resilient and flexible. They have taken on new types of assignments and developed their skills. We look back on 2020 as a year of learning.

Recruitment - was it successful?

- Yes, we now see completely different opportunities here. In the past, we focused more on a new employee living near one of the offices in the country. Now the recruitment base is much larger and the labor market has opened up in a completely different way. In the past, we had many assignments at customer sites, but now we can also work remotely because many customers themselves have had to switch to working from home.

- Sentor has been operating for 22 years in the cyber security market. We have probably found it easier than others to attract people both on the client side and from our competitors because we are perceived as a safe and stable company. We were also re-certified by Great Place to Work as a good employer. We have not fallen in any figures but are holding steady or even increasing in some areas. One example that is really worth highlighting is that our employees are proud to say that they work at Sentor, something that we link to good crisis management during the pandemic year.

Looking ahead, how do you see the immediate future?

- The pandemic is not over and we still have many uncertainties. But society has strong development opportunities; cybercriminals are more active than ever and we are recruiting like never before. Still, we look forward to a time when we can once again meet in person and have that much-needed social interaction. But business-wise, we are doing incredibly well and we look to the future with confidence.

- The biggest challenge we face is finding people with the right skills. That's why, over the past six years, we have implemented and developed our own trainee program to train future cybersecurity talent. We believe in the saying "hire for attitude, train for skills". Ethical hackers need to have specific interests, rather than formal backgrounds. Sometimes a recent university graduate is a good fit, someone has previously done research in medical device development, and another comes straight from high school. We look in special forums for people with this interest and bring them in for an interview. If it's a good match, we bring them in for training.

- Sentor also trains municipalities and authorities in cyber security. One example of social responsibility is our collaboration with the Swedish Women's Shelters in the Digital Women's Peace project. Over the past three years, we have trained the shelters to protect women from digital violence.

What benefits have you seen from membership of IT&Telecom during the crisis?

- It has been valuable to be able to access information about rapid changes and rules via the Employer Guide (Almega's digital support for you as an employer), but also to have the opportunity to talk directly to experts. The templates for, for example, the layoff process, the existence of collection pages and educational webinars have been appreciated by both the HR manager and individual employees. Having a collective agreement has given us a great opportunity to make quick decisions regarding layoffs, for example.

- As an industry, we have many common challenges. We are grateful that our trade association acted so quickly and was supportive. Our industry received the support we needed in time and we have thus felt safe throughout the pandemic year.