Ensto Ensek awarded its first Golden Label of Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship
Ensto Ensek, our company operating in Estonia with nearly 500 employees, has received its first Golden Label for Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship.
According to Peeter Mõrd, director of the Ensto Ensek Lasnamäe plant, last year the company just missed out on the Golden Label, motivating it to contribute even more to improving the welfare of its employees. "Like the Republic of Estonia, Ensto is also celebrating an anniversary, and the Golden Label is a worthy gift for Ensto Ensek's 25th anniversary year," Mõrd said. According to him, the Ensto Group is a family-owned company, where responsible entrepreneurship has been a significant asset throughout its 60-year history.
The responsible leadership at Ensto Ensek is expressed in several areas. "For environmental reasons, we adopted a smart heating solution at our Keila factory, where a computer is responsible for optimum heating management," explained Kaarel Suuk, director of the Ensto Ensek Keila plant. Regarding community projects, the company has actively sought ways to contribute to the goals of the local people, both in Keila and in the Lasnamäe district. "So, this year we asked our employees to contribute proposals that Ensto could realise locally ‒ be it new outdoor lighting for a children's playground or the renovation of technology items for a youth centre," Suuk added.
With its decreasing working age population, Estonia's biggest challenge is associated with the working environment itself. "We are constantly monitoring our salary levels, the comfort of the working environment and the additional bonuses that we are offering ‒ every employee is extremely important to us, which is also reflected in our satisfaction surveys," Mõrd explained. According to him, more than 100 Ensto Ensek specialists underwent a multi-stage self-development training programme last year; and at least once a month, every employee can learn about all the developments in the company by attending a large meeting.
Ensto Ensek has also been an active partner for the employees' trade union, whose activities have been a great support in improving employee satisfaction. "While years ago, it seemed that employers that claimed to value their employees did not practice what they preached, they have come to realize that a successful business can only be based on a long-term, partnership-based, respectful employee-employer relationship," says Suuk. This must therefore be expressed in the management culture, internal communication, the relationship with the trade union, in career planning for the employees and everything related to it.
The NGO Responsible Business Forum Estonia (MTÜ Vastutustundliku Ettevõtluse Foorum) issues quality labels in gold, silver and bronze categories. The competition allows businesses to analyse how positive their impact is on their surroundings, in order to find ways to improve this, as well as to profit from it as a company.
More Information
See also a TV interview where Kaarel Suuk is interviewed for the Estonian Television ETV.
Text: Norbert Kaareste