Good Leadership Is a Strategic Choice for Maarla Group

Good people leadership is a factor in competing for the best talent, keeping them in the company, and creating an employee experience that helps people commit to succeeding even better. For Maarla Group, employee experience is, alongside customer experience, the most important area of development and part of the company’s vision.



“Good people leadership is a key way to influence employee satisfaction and productivity,” says CEO Jari Puukilainen. “People create the results, and good people leadership is a prerequisite for goal-oriented operations,” continues COO Sofia Stark. “Responsible people leadership is an important value for us, and the professional competence of frontline leaders is a significant capability for the company’s productivity and competitiveness,” says HR Manager Anne Puukilainen.

Starting Points for Leadership Development

A key starting point for the development work was to build a shared leadership culture and align leadership practices. The employee wellbeing survey had also highlighted a need to develop feedback, support for work, and consistency in communication in particular.

“I had previously participated in Educo’s open leadership training, and based on that experience, I knew that their expertise and concepts were an excellent fit for our development challenge,” says CEO Jari Puukilainen.

Leadership Training Focused on What Matters Most

Based on the development goals, an approximately six-month frontline leadership learning journey was built. At its core was Blanchard’s SLII®, the world’s most widely taught leadership model, which helps managers learn to use the right leadership style in each situation.

The SLII training was deepened with two themes that are essential to good people leadership and results: trust and coaching skills. The program made use of Blanchard’s impactful Luottamuksen rakentaminen (Building Trust) and Käytännön coaching™ (Coaching Essentials®) trainings.

The training program also included a separate application phase, in which the SLII leadership model was brought into everyday leadership in guided, manageable steps.

A Real Change in Leadership Culture

“SLII has given us a clear and shared way to practice frontline leadership. It is now our common language for leadership,” say Anne Puukilainen and Sofia Stark.

The real change in leadership culture is clearly reflected in the fact that, four months after the training, 100% of the participants still feel that their commitment to the role of frontline leader and to the organization has increased.

The change in leadership culture is also clearly visible in everyday work. One significant change has been the increase in the number of one-to-one discussions and the improvement in their quality. “One-to-one discussions are now regular and planned,” says COO Sofia Stark. Another clear change has been the way goals are discussed. “We discuss goals and goal setting in a completely different way than before,” continues HR Manager Anne Puukilainen.

Measurable Results Right from the Start of the Training Program

During the training program, impact was measured several times and in several different ways according to a separate plan. The first impact results were obtained immediately after the first training session.

Immediate results observed right after the trainings included, for example, a 32% improvement in competence and commitment in building trust, a 48% improvement in key coaching skills and the coaching process, an 80% improvement in setting goals, a 70% improvement in diagnosing goal- and task-specific development levels based on competence and commitment, and a 70% improvement in selecting and using the right leadership style.

Four months after the SLII training, 86% of the participants estimated that they had been able to improve, for example, their listening skills significantly or very significantly. In addition, 72% estimated that they had been able to adapt their leadership style better, hold one-to-one discussions more often, and improve their impact.

Frontline leaders estimated that their team’s performance had improved by an average of 34%. Employees, in turn, estimated that their own performance had improved by an average of 30% thanks to better leadership.

“This has certainly been a worthwhile project for us, and I can recommend cooperation with Educo both to manufacturing companies and to other organizations,” says CEO Jari Puukilainen.