A round figure – in a square shape

"The other day, I spoke to another colleague who described how she felt that Nordea expects ‘us as employees to fit into the boxes that are defined in advance from the top'. It is perceived as a desire to get the employees to slide into the exact goals of the funds," says Vice President of Finansforbundet in Nordea (FiN) Mette Balck Mejlby. 

"I dream of turning the focus to making Nordea fit the people we are – and curiosity to create the conditions that make us thrive individually, so that we do not figuratively squeeze a round figure into a square shape. That would be humanly sustainable. There is a need for the long-term perspective in retaining and attracting new colleagues – we are in a market where competition for employees is increasing," she muses.

Speak out loud about dreams, doubts and mistakes
Focusing on what makes the individual colleague thrive and grow in the job does not come without the concept of psychological safety. In other words, a working environment where it is okay to talk out loud about your dreams, your doubts and the mistakes we all make from time to time – and where it is acknowledged that well-being comes in many forms. 

"For many years, we have probably all lived with the fact that the aforementioned boxes were simply a condition. But with the development and especially the entry of new generations into the labour market, it is no longer possible. There will be a much greater degree of questions being asked and spoken up if something does not feel good and meaningful. I welcome the new trends, because the good dialogue about how we organize everyday life benefits everyone, regardless of generation. I believe that human sustainability must have more focus in the years to come. With the new retirement ages, we know that we have to last a long time – we can only do that if we make room for both our heads and hearts with each other."

At this autumn's member meetings around the country, author, ethnologist and lifestyle expert Julia Lahme put words to the future. She emphasized that many people in the future will find new paths several times during their careers, and that loyalty will only be present when it feels just right.

"We have to take this seriously," says Mette. 

“Nordea's ambition to be the best workplace in the sector can only be achieved if psychological safety is present in all corners. But IF it is present, I have no doubt that it will bring loyalty, internal mobility, job satisfaction, innovative solutions and satisfied customers with it. Everyone wins!"

Well-being survey results with special focus
When Finansforbundet's well-being survey was published in early summer, Nordea's results were very much in line with the other companies. In particular, it was clear that there was a need to look at the well-being of colleagues who advise private customers.

"We took the results to the Danish Consultative Committee, where we had good conversations over several meetings about causes and possible solutions. The extra focus on credit in PeB was mentioned as one of the reasons for the well-being challenges – and here we talked both about the courage to use the rules and about the fear of reprisals, even when you stay within the lines. It has certainly taken up a lot of space, but we were also convinced that the management put all their efforts into ensuring relief and clear rules in everyday life," says FiN's president, Kasper Skovgaard Pedersen. 

"It's important that everyone is fully aware of what they can and can't do – so that you can say that everything that isn't clearly forbidden ... it is allowed. And then I think we should be inspired by Tivoli's '3-metre rule': In short, it means that all employees have a duty to solve a problem if it arises within three metres of them. It's wonderfully liberating, and sounds somewhat easier than the chains of command we sometimes have here with us."

But in addition to the credit rules, we know that something else has also taken up – and is taking up – quite a lot of space in PeB: The constant lack of colleagues. It's no fun when a branch lacks hands and heads to look after the portfolios for many months. And when the solutions are long in coming, there may be even more people looking for opportunities elsewhere. 

"It is clear that this spiral can quickly go the wrong way – and we are very aware of how we can help Nordea in terms of attracting and retaining all the good colleagues who are so necessary for everyday life to be coherent," Kasper assures.

Snack, chat and visibility
'Stop by, have a snack and a chat'. This has now been the message a few times in Hermes House and Metro. In short, the concept is that representatives from FiN's board of directors provide coffee and croissants one morning every month – and interested colleagues can stop by and ask questions, ease their hearts or just have a chat.

"It's a nice informal way to get in touch with the members, and even though there is a big difference in the number of guests, we always get something to take home ... we are visible, we gain new insights and sometimes also a specific task or case that needs to be followed up on," smiles Mette. 

As mentioned, the concept runs in the head offices, but the board is just as happy to reach out to other parts of the bank. 

"We find the form together – it can be a morning as just described – an evening meeting or maybe an online meeting. The important message here is that we are ready, so you just have to let us know."

Bridge builder, challenger and voice
In the first half of 2024, the flexibility agenda was still very much in place, and FiN, together with the other Nordic financial unions, was the voice for the members' challenges in the area. 

"The topic was on the agenda both here in Denmark and Nordic, and we made a great effort to build bridges between the many views that came from the members and the wishes and needs that Nordea had. Fortunately, I sense that it has gradually found a place with room for reason and team differences, – including that the very closest Excel follow-ups have slowly come to take up less space," says Mette.

Kasper says that this is exactly the role FiN has – to be the bridge builder, the challenger and the mouthpiece. 

"Of course, we have a 'Code of Conduct', which describes that we at Nordea say it out loud when there is something we need to talk about – but in practice, unfortunately, this happens far too rarely. Some of the challenges instead land with us in the union – and then we spend some time finding out whether the problem is isolated or it is shared by many colleagues. Is the latter the case... then Nordea will hear from us, as the voice for the members we are. They are not always happy – and that's how it should be. We do have that role, and we take it very seriously."