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Human Resources Manager Marina Olsson. Portrait: Catharina Fyrberg.
January 1st marked the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Västra Götaland Region (VGR). One person who has been there since the beginning is human resources manager Marina Olsson, who started as a nurse with a union contract. Here she talks about the development of the region and a fantastic effort in Angered.
Marina Olsson worked as both a health assistant and a nurse, but when VGR was founded in January 1998 she was a nurse.
– I had my position at Sahlgrenska and was active in the health association. There, at the same time as the region was formed, four local departments were merged, and I was elected chairman of the new department, says Marina Olsson.
As a result, she became a representative in the MBL group of the regional board and dealt with work environment issues from a union perspective.
“All flowers should bloom”
Marina Olsson remembers that there was a lot of activity on all sides – from officials, politicians and the union – to deal with all the new things about how it would work in one region, rather than in several smaller contexts.
– There was a lot of dialogue about “how should we deal with this” and there was also a lot of understanding for each other. The will to work together was strong.
But in the early days there was no question that all parts of the region would function in the same way. Instead, processes were managed in different ways, with their own solutions and in their own systems.
– All flowers should bloom. There was no need to centralize, but each company could work on its own specifics.
More coherent today
There has been a big change in this area compared to today, says Marina Olsson. Over the last 25 years, VGR has evolved into a more cohesive region that operates more similarly across the organization. This work is not yet complete, but it is the right path forward, she believes.
– Sometimes we have to do things differently because we have very different types of operations and different geographical conditions. But you have to strive to do as much as possible. This is how it should feel In Organization. A closed group and a closed health system.
Became hospital director
After almost ten years as local chairwoman of Vårdförbundet, Marina Olsson thought it was time to do something different. After completing a report on leadership training, she was encouraged to apply for the position of hospital director at Angered’s local hospital.
Marina Olsson considers being part of this process – from the decision to the finished hospital – one of her most beautiful tasks at VGR.
– The fact that I got to be there for a few years was fantastic. I don’t think it’s possible to build something from the ground up often – maybe just once or rarely – in your life.
Committed people
The brief made it clear that the Angered Community Hospital would be created based on the region’s existing needs, both in terms of healthcare and public health.
For Marina Olsson, who comes from a nursing background, it was great to be able to be involved in the planning and founding of such a company. To be able to start from scratch and not have to deal with the thought “We’ve always done it this way.”
– I met so many people who were involved: local organizations of various kinds, sports organizations, religious organizations, housing associations, and there was close cooperation with the city of Gothenburg. It was so incredibly clear that it was an important mission. There was an incredible energy and settler spirit and committed politicians who invested and followed the whole thing with great interest. It was very funny.
The need for care is increasing
Today, Marina Olsson has been HR Director for nine years and leads, develops and coordinates work on human resources issues.
She sees a clear challenge for the future in the provision of skilled workers: There are more and more older people in society, which means the need for care is increasing – even though the residents are becoming healthier and have better health later in life. At the same time, there will be fewer people of working age.
– We have to use our common resources, but also look at how we can develop them further. We also have to work on being an attractive employer. In recent years we have worked a lot on developing and retaining employees – focusing not only on recruiting, but also on what makes people stay. We must have opportunities to develop, develop new ways of working and use new technologies that exist and are coming.
Text: Elin Widfeldt
[email protected]
According to Marina Olsson, three important milestones in VGR’s 25-year history
- The national accounts now have long-term, politically determined strategies in various areas of responsibility.
“One lesson we’ve learned over these 25 years is how important it is to have long-term strategies that you agree on politically, so that when there’s a change in political leadership you don’t change direction.” I think that is important.”
- The decision that a manager should have no more than 35 employees.
“It was a decision made by a regional director in 2015. We have seen during the pandemic that if managers are to be present, it is important not to have groups that are too large.”
- The founding of the Institute for Stress Medicine, in which researchers examine different perspectives on work environment issues.
“I think in hindsight that turned out to be very, very important. This means we can continually track research findings and incorporate them into the way we work with our systematic work on the work environment, such as: B. our employee surveys and other parts, but can also help with advice on questions about the working environment.”
National accounts 25 years
- On January 1, 1999, the Västra Götaland region was founded. A year earlier, Västra Götaland County was created (a merger of Älvsborg, Göteborg and Bohu counties and Skaraborg county, apart from the municipalities of Mullsjö and Habo).
- The VGR district council was formed in autumn 1998 and the district council celebrated its 25th anniversary in October.
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