What did we learn from 2020?
Practical implications
The year 2020 was exceptional for all of us and will remain in the history books. The global pandemic has significantly changed the way we think and act.
The pandemic has greatly increased the use of technology in communication. We used to fly to meetings to take care of things face to face, whereas now we take care of things online, whenever possible - and we have found out that online meetings work. People-to-people interaction cannot be a substitute for virtual encounters in every situation, but we have opened up our thinking and ways of doing things. The different approach to communication is not necessarily bad. On a larger scale, the pandemic has opened our minds to place-independent work and opened up new opportunities for both leisure and living.
In our industry most of what we do requires a physical presence. The pandemic has brought challenges in terms of labor mobility, changes in the requirements for construction sites and, in general, in terms of cleanliness, breaks and other arrangements. So far, there is no end to the pandemic, with new practices still being applied and refined in 2021. Some or all of these changes may eventually be the normal practice.
Despite the pandemic, we have been spared from the virus on our sites. Our employees and partners have remained largely healthy and construction sites have progressed on schedule. We are particularly grateful for this.
Economic effects
We have not fully escaped the effects of the pandemic, as the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus has been reflected in a few investment decisions. However, we have been lucky to have landed some replacement projects, and our turnover increased by about 40% in 2020 from 22.9 million euros to 32.0 million euros.
The size of the company has grown - not just in 2020, but significantly every year throughout its relatively short existence. The number of employees increased by ten new experts in 2020. Growth has brought its own challenges as is usual. We have noticed that the company's operating methods are not always clear to new employees, and we have taken steps to tow a more unified line. What has been a clear and effective way for a small group to function might not be as effective as the company grows. We have implemented different practices which are better suited for reaching our goals as a bigger company. This has an effect to which practices will continue as before, and which will need to change so that we can remain competitive in the future. We have already taken up this challenge in the autumn of 2020, when we began to describe the company's processes, operating models and clarification of the responsibilities for each role. By drawing and perceiving a clear image, we strive to do smoother and more efficient work, and we hope that the results of this work will also be visible to our partners in the future.
Thank you and goodbye to the year 2020, despite everything you treated us well.
