People in tech: Liljana Vall, AddSecure
Our 1,400 members range from small start-ups to large multinationals, and under the banner of "People in tech" we bring together their views on the tech industry as an employer, current employer issues and the industry's skills needs. Liljana Vall, Chief People & Culture Officer at AddSecure, sees the work on culture, leadership and skills development as crucial to retaining and developing the company's employees.
Our report "The tech industry as an employer 2023" shows that the tech industry is among the most attractive in the Swedish labor market. How do you view the report from AddSecure's perspective?
- It's no surprise to me that the tech industry is booming. It is shaping our society in many ways, and there is a lot going on in it. IT and tech play a crucial role in solving many of the major societal challenges, making it an attractive industry for those who want to make a difference. Our IoT solutions at AddSecure are not just about technology, but also about saving lives, reducing our environmental footprint and contributing to a safer, smarter and more sustainable world. This is something that many of our employees value highly and are proud of," says Liljana Vall.
- We are grateful for all our awards and it is difficult to prioritize them as they celebrate different positive aspects of our business. My main focus is to work with our staff to build a culture that makes us better and more joyful while increasing our competitiveness as a company," says Liljana Vall and continues
- We received a bronze in the Magnet Awards 2022 for our 'One Company, One Culture' program. We have been named an Attractive Employer for four consecutive years and received the 2023 Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces award for forward thinking and putting people first. The jury for Career Company 2024 highlighted our work on corporate culture, stating that our culture is characterized by collaboration and continuous development and that AddSecure is an attractive employer that gives employees the space to be themselves, grow and positively influence in an increasingly connected world.
What are you doing to be an attractive employer?
- As members of the Nyckeltalsinstitutet, we can continuously evaluate our organization's performance compared to other companies in the tech industry. This has enabled us to focus on relevant areas. We can boast market salaries, a good manager density, an acceptable staff turnover and low sick leave, to name just a few of our KPIs.
- Working on culture, leadership and skills development is crucial to retaining and developing our people. Our most significant strength, I would say, is our continuous and committed work on corporate culture. In a survey we conducted together with Novus in January 2024, we saw that important factors when choosing a potential new employer are precisely a healthy corporate culture, but also interesting work content, pleasant colleagues and good conditions.
Liljana Vall, Chief People & Culture Officer at AddSecure, AddSecure"The tech industry is generally gender segregated, which poses a challenge when recruiting for certain roles"
Tell us more about the work on corporate culture at AddSecure?
- For us at AddSecure, the corporate culture is the way we do things and what shapes our work environment. A clear basis for this is our core values and values, which create the conditions for each individual to contribute with their unique skills and be themselves. We work actively to engage our employees and strive together to create a workplace that is both inclusive and stimulating. One example of this is our work with ambassadors, our Culture Club. Their task is to collaborate across country and business area borders to initiate activities that promote our corporate culture. This can include Lunch & Learns, after works, competitions and more. We also organize onboarding days where we invite all new employees, regardless of country and role, to our headquarters in Stockholm. During these days, they have the opportunity to meet the management team, get a deeper insight into our business and connect with new colleagues. This helps create a stronger sense of community and a better understanding of our company and values.
How do you work towards a more gender balanced, diverse and inclusive workplace?
- An inclusive culture and diversity in the workplace are key to unlocking employee potential and increasing engagement, while also making it easier to recruit and retain the right talent. The tech industry is generally gender-segregated, which poses a challenge when recruiting for certain roles, especially in product development and coding. This is even more pronounced in the international environment in which we operate. Our aim is to achieve a more even gender balance, with a target of 40/60 women/men in the workforce at large, but also among leaders, the management team and the board. We monitor and report these figures to management and the Board on a monthly basis, including a gender equality index that indicates whether men and women have equal opportunities to reach senior positions.
- We train our managers on these issues and have increasingly moved to managing the recruitment process ourselves. This puts us in a better position to work towards gender balance already at candidate level. In recruitment, we use system support for competency-based selection processes such as structured interviews, screening and testing tools.
What do you see as the biggest challenges in the near future?
- Attracting and retaining key talent is a priority that we take very seriously. We are therefore investing in our work with employer branding to ensure that we are perceived as an attractive employer. We also know that it is a challenge to work effectively towards common goals with the high rate of acquisition that AddSecure has and the rapid technological development. Like many organizations, we strive to understand how AI affects us, both in terms of our working practices and in terms of product development and skill requirements.