Vestre Viken – Creating a Better Work Environment

The most important part of a work environment is the people, and how they together create a culture where each individual feels valued and involved. This was the foundation of Vestre Viken’s development process.

Due to the reorganisation in Vestre Viken‘s organisation, in addition to fragmented and distributed business areas, the department for organisational development wanted to implement actions that would benefit all parts of the organisation. The purpose was understand what creates a good working environment and a great organisational culture. The focus was placed on creating a common understanding of each unit’s working environment and culture, and identify areas for improvement and preservation.

Specifique conducted a analysis of the current situation of the organisation with selected individuals with various functions at Vestre Viken to gain broader insight into how culture and work environment were perceived. We further developed an initiative that emphasized a positive work environment and the importance of developing a culture that supported the organisation’s business goals.

The target group for the program was all managers and employees within the respective units (hospital, DPS, admin functions, maintenance etc) at Vestre Viken.

Specifique was responsible for the design and format of the development process, as well as the training for key personnel at Vestre Viken’s OU department. The main focus was to create good discussions between managers and employees, and ensure that every member of the staff was involved in creating a better working environment. For this purpose, we created an interactive Dialogue Mat that would assist workforce development. 

The engagement among staff has been exceptional and support for this way of working has been strong. The key has been to raise awareness around complex topics and making sure that each individual is seen and heard. The organisation was able to communicate a unified message to all units, and have managed to achieve a common understanding of the strengths and challenges of Vestre Viken’s various business units.