People in tech: Mimmi Cromberger, Hogia

The Hogia Group consists of a large number of independent companies that develop, sell and support software and IT systems. Hogia was recently named Sweden's healthiest tech company and this is just one of several nominations and awards that their HR and sustainability strategist Mimmi Cromberger can be happy about.

How would you describe Hogia's corporate culture?

- Our corporate culture is characterized by an unpretentiousness and a warmth that is usually tangible even if you are here as a customer or visitor. When HR worked on developing and clarifying our EVP (employee offer), we asked a large number of employees questions as part of the process. In free-text responses, a striking number of people said that "it feels like Hogia really cares about me". Many concrete examples were given of how this is felt in our culture and how it is reflected in concrete phenomena. I thought that felt very nice, says Mimmi Cromberger and continues:

- Since we cover so many industries and areas of expertise through our product range, we ourselves have a lot of specialist expertise through our employees both in tech and in other areas such as finance, transport and payroll / HR. How generously everyone shares knowledge between each other but also with others outside Hogia is also very characteristic of our corporate culture.

Hogia has received several awards and nominations. Can you tell us about some?

- We'd love to, because we're obviously very happy about all the great awards and nominations we've received over the years! Recently, we have become a Career Company for several years in a row when, among other things, the development opportunities and health initiatives that we offer our employees have been highlighted. Most recently, the award focused on technology and we were pleased to be recognized for being "innovative in IT and technology" and that "technical excellence and innovation are key elements". Another award where innovation was in focus was when we received the "Most Innovative Transport Project" for Hogia's efforts related to public transport at EU level.

- Recently, we also received a final place as "Sweden's healthiest company" and noted that we were ranked highest of all employers in IT / tech. Like everyone else in the industry, we have long been aware of TechSverige's and others' reports on the lack of skills in IT and realized that we want and can take greater responsibility for the supply of skills in the industry. Thus, in addition to short-term efforts linked to our own recruitment, we have made larger and more long-term efforts to influence the interest and attitude to technology among young people. We have also been involved in influencing existing training programs to ensure that the right skills will be available in IT in the future. A fine acknowledgment that we have succeeded well in this is that we have been awarded the Best Collaboration Company for our collaboration with Teknikcollege Nösnäs in Stenungsund.

What does Hogia do to be an attractive employer?

- Since we have our head office in a small town, Stenungsund, and need cutting-edge expertise not only in IT/tech, but also, for example, finance and payroll, we need to work continuously to develop as an attractive employer. We closely follow developments in what is in demand in the labor market so that we can check how we are doing with what we offer as an employer. Something that often emerges as a wish is development opportunities, which we can offer in several different ways. Our organizational structure with many smaller companies creates the conditions for many to take responsibility and be involved and influence. In addition to the opportunity to develop by changing roles, we offer many opportunities for development through learning, for example through both teacher-led and digital courses. We have also invested a lot in our employees' health.

How do you work towards a more gender balanced, diverse and inclusive workplace?

- We are fortunate to have a founder who decided right from the start that we would have a completely equal gender distribution, so we have had that since the start in 1980. We are proud to have achieved this even in management positions. We even have a preponderance of women in management, which is unusual in our industry. On diversity more broadly, we are aware of the impact it has on innovation, for example, and are doing what we can to ensure that we are as open and inclusive a workplace as possible. We are also aware that representation matters and we bring it into many different contexts. Over the years, we have, for example, adapted our recruitment process and we have also developed training for hiring managers to make everyone aware of how we can reduce the risk of conscious or unconscious bias influencing who we choose to hire. In my experience, the warm and welcoming atmosphere that is part of our culture is a good prerequisite for inclusion, and here we all colleagues together help to keep it alive by being both caring and curious about each other. At the same time, we still have room to develop to achieve greater diversity, so it is important that we continue to work for it and keep the issue relevant. For some years now, I have been working not only in HR but also in sustainability, leading our efforts to prepare for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). I think CSRD and the move towards measuring, evaluating and following up more will have a positive impact, for example on diversity.

What do you see as the biggest HR-related challenges at the moment?

- One is definitely linked to skills supply, from several perspectives. As I mentioned earlier, we now and in the future have a need for skills in several areas where the supply does not seem to be large enough. In parallel with that, we have the whole technological development, also more specifically linked to AI, which means that it is a challenge to assess exactly what our employees will need to know and work with in the longer term. I think it raises a lot of interesting questions about what we as humans should focus on learning, both during our education and later on during our careers. Through my role on the board of the HR Association, I know that these are challenges we share with others, and I can see that there are common challenges across industries around how to adapt at an organizational level and ensure that you have employees with the right kind of skills in the long term.

More from TechSweden's People in tech series:

People in tech: Tommy Hallén, Visma Enterprise
People in tech: Kristian Randel, Fellowmind
People in tech: Liljana Vall, AddSecure