#WorkingAtHoltab: Michael Fohlin enjoys being a manager. It allows him to support and engage his employees - the essence of the Holtab spirit.
What do you do at Holtab?
”We have divided the company into two divisions, I am responsible for the one called Projects. That means I’m in charge of the entire flow, from the time we’ve sold a project up to delivery to the customer. As we are constantly growing, we’re constantly facing new challenges, and it’s important to simultaneously relate to the whole picture and work with details at an individual level.”
You’ve mentioned that you work with operational management within in the company, what does that entail?
”It’s a method of managing and leading the business through a daily routine. We hold status meetings each morning, at which we discuss current issues and/or any problems and come up with ways to solve them. It’s provided an effective and direct forum instead of having questions popping up at different points in time, and bouncing around amongst different people for several days. The aim is to ensure that all our efforts are directed to where they will achieve maximum effect at that particular moment. Nowadays, a lot of the operational management is digitised, which allows us to communicate quickly and effectively within the organisation.”
What’s the most fun thing you usually get to do during a working day?
”I like when there’s a lot to do and I’m very happy in my role as a manager. It’s fun to see my colleagues grow in their roles, gain more experience and mature as individuals. As a divisional manager, you are responsible for the results, not just for delivering a product. You have a budget and an overall business plan with long-term and short-term goals to stick to, and in the end everything must come together. I enjoy that responsibility and like my colleagues a lot. By colleagues, I mean everyone at Holtab, not just those in the management team or in my department. We have something called the Holtab spirit and I think it’s fantastic.”
How would you describe the Holtab spirit to someone who doesn’t work there?
”It’s a genuine feeling of respecting each other and wanting to be helpful. Many people talk about coming from impersonal, large companies, where they work in clearly-defined roles and don’t communicate with each other. Holtab is very open-minded and we help each other out. It’s quite simply a familial and genuine feeling.”
FACTS:
Name: Michael Fohlin, 40
Lives in: Växjö
Professional Role: Manager of the Project Division
Before Holtab: Michael has worked at Holtab for 20 years. Among other things, he has been a fitter in the low and high voltage departments, designer, salesperson, project manager as well as the manager for Holtab’s business support and projects department.
This article is part of the #WorkingAtHoltab series – read more articles here.
