Goodbye HR, welcome People & Culture!

Meet Malin Cullin, EVP People & Culture and Sustainability, Duni Group.

Why did you and your organization decide to change name to People & Culture?
There were many reasons that influenced the name change. First, we believe that HR and the work we are doing in our department is so much more than managing human resources. Our people are people and not merely resources. Empowering our co-workers is the top priority, which ultimately improves the work environment and benefits the company. People & Culture revolves around both the team and the environment and is much more than what HR historically has been associated with, such as policies, procedures, and paperwork. Although this is of course still extremely important, the People & Culture name shift lifts the negative stigma held against the HR name and brings us into the future with a progressive approach on how to manage people and the work environment that is people based instead of policy based.

The company culture has become increasingly important for employees as well as for job seekers. About a year ago we initiated a Culture and Values project to explore our current culture and a preferred culture for the future. Together with the organization we are about to decide on a new set of value words that will reflect the people and the purpose of Duni Group. To succeed, it takes collaborative efforts between all departments and levels. Leaders that are empowered in a supportive environment for growth and development can take the lead and move the organization towards becoming truly purpose and value driven. This is what People & Culture is all about.

We have only started our journey but YES(!)we are beyond excited!

What are the focus areas in People & Culture during 2021?
In 2021 we will continue working with our culture and values. All willing to participate are involved in surveys and cross functional workshops to really get a better understanding of our culture today, the desired culture of tomorrow and the values of our people. The project is long-term and will span over several years, but in 2021 the aim is to start creating a foundation for the years to come and building internal awareness of the importance of our culture and values.

Another prioritized area is that of Diversity & Inclusion. It is proven that more diverse organizations tend to outperform less diverse in several areas. Being an international company, we are already today diverse in many aspects, but there are still many improvements to be made. One of our People & Culture managers has been assigned to lead this important work to identify key areas to take action on to create a long-lasting inclusive, equal and diverse culture.

In Duni Group we value transparency. However, the lack of digital tools across the organization is making it difficult to be as transparent as we would like. We are therefore now focusing on implementing new digital tools to enable us to gather all statistics, numbers and information from all countries and sites in to one place to truly live as we learn. By then, we can share even more facts both internally and externally.

What is the best thing with working at Duni Group?
That’s an easy one – the people of course! There are so many talented, experienced, fun and curious colleagues at Duni Group that it is difficult to not get inspired everyday. I personally also love working in an international setting with people from all parts of the world. It truly sparks my creativity and creates a dynamic atmosphere where I get a great amount of inspiration.