OP Financial Group: “Firstbeat Life is Supporting Management in Strategic Corporate Well-Being and Company Personnel”

When an organization the size of OP Financial Group, one of the largest financial companies in Finland, invests strategically in workplace well-being, it affects the lives of thousands of people. The Firstbeat Life service has supported the management of more than 3,000 OP Bank Group members’ well-being and workload, providing management with valuable information for the company’s development.

The co-operation between OP Financial Group and Firstbeat began several years ago with smaller pilots and individual well-being analyzes. The services naturally expanded as the added value and benefits to staff were seen.

Last fall, the company introduced the Firstbeat Life corporate well-being solution, which allows employees to take well-being measurements continuously and supports them in managing their daily workload. Now, the service has already been introduced to more than 3,000 OP employees in various work communities, including retail banking, corporate banking and insurance.

According to Pia Donoghue, OP’s senior specialist in workplace well-being, the company wanted to be among the first to introduce a new continuous well-being service. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, an exceptionally large number of employees simultaneously switched to remote working, which emphasized the need for a solution that flexibly supported well-being at work.

“The rapidly changing world brings new challenges to our work,” Donoghue explains. “That’s why we want to ensure the well-being of our own staff and bring in effective tools to support it.

“Firstbeat Life worked  insanely well as a support during this Covid-19 and remote working time. It acts as everyone’s own tool to balance stress and recovery. It is also easier as a company to bring up issues that require common attention, even if the work is physically carried-out in different places.”

Information to support corporate well-being strategy and management

Excellent employee experience is one of OP Financial Group’s five strategic priorities. Its most important aspect is staff well-being, which is systematically developed. There’s a common goal, but each business area can decide which measures best support their particular well-being plan and business.

Pohjola Insurance was one of the first companies to introduce Firstbeat Life, and its CEO, Olli Lehtilä, believes the service will bring many benefits in the long run. The service is used by about 1,200 employees.

According to Olli Lehtilä, President and CEO of Pohjola Insurance, Firstbeat helps observe one’s balance of life and find workable solutions for recovery.

“Our staff has experienced that this year has been more burdensome than before due to Covid-19 and the lack of social encounters,” Lehtilä says. “Monitoring your own load and well-being is an important skill in self-directed teamwork. Firstbeat helps to observe one’s own endurance and find workable solutions for recovery.”

“The well-being of our employees is also naturally reflected in customer encounters and thus in business. We want to be the most attractive financial group for both staff and customers, and that is why we have actively sought new, modern ways to support and manage well-being. We have received commendable feedback from our staff on the introduction of the service.”

This year, OP Financial Group’s main themes for well-being at work are load management and better utilization of data. There is already a lot of information about well-being at work from various sources, which is supplemented by Firstbeat Life’s proactive data and insights.

“Firstbeat Life’s group reporting brings a forward-looking perspective to metrics and corporate well-being,” continues Pia Donoghue. “Instead of looking back, we can anticipate risk factors and prioritize areas for improvement. We can also identify our strengths.”

In OP Kymenlaakso, well-being is a common matter for the work community

In everyday life, Firstbeat Life is closely linked to the themes of OP Financial Group’s annual well-being at work. One work community that has actively used the service is OP Kymenlaakso, where the most of the personnel has been using the solution.

“The employer can encourage employees to take care of their own health and performance, but cannot force anyone to join. It is important that each employee realizes the importance of well-being,” emphasizes Susanne Vesala, HR and Communications Director at OP Kymenlaakso. “We only have this one life, and there should be enough energy at work and for outside things that are important to us.”

Vesala gets information from Firstbeat Life reports to support company experts. In addition, anonymous group data helps to understand what staff needs and develop policies.

According to Vesala, the increase in remote working in the autumn also challenged them. Particular attention was paid to remote management and resilience, but data was needed to support everyday observations, especially how rapidly changing operating methods or increased workload affect staff well-being.

“Firstbeat Life concretely awakens self-care and encourages everyone to make small changes,” Vesala says. “The workload of the days and the recovery from them will not change if nothing in your daily life changes. It is good to offer different support, what gives or takes energy is individual.”

From the Firstbeat Life measurement results, you can see your body’s reactions over the day. Even a short recovery moment supports well-being and helps maintain good performance.

In OP Kymenlaakso, well-being is also promoted as a community. For example, group measurements have been taken together and the results have been shared to learn from. Additional motivation is brought about by, for example, various challenges and activities, corporate well-being discussions and Firstbeat’s expert webinars.

In April, company and group results were reviewed with all personnel. The importance of work breaks emerged strongly from the data, something Vesala intends to continue to pay attention to.

“Especially on remote working days, lunch may be enjoyed by the computer or, at worst, a lunch break may be missed,” Vesala says. “This is the first thing to fix, which, according to Firstbeat measurements, has a very large impact on working day recovery.

“We get backing from Firstbeat Life’s reports on how to support our employees. I want to understand from the data what exactly our staff needs and further develop our practices.”

Do you want to help your employees find a better balance between stress and recovery and lead well-being at work with knowledge? Read more about Firstbeat Life and contact us. You can also find Firstbeat Life plans online.