SOL Responsibility report 2017

www.sol.fi 

Responsibility report 2017 

Everyday acts

2 Responsibility 2017 | www.sol.fi

4 Responsibility – everyday acts 

10 Description of the organisation 

14 Management at SOL 

22 Financial responsibility 

24 Responsibilities to stakeholders 

28 Environmental responsibility 

38 Social responsibility 

www.sol.fi | Responsibility 2017 

3

1Responsibility 

– everyday acts 

This SOL Responsibility Guide is the seventh in 

this format. The guide is published in Finnish 

and in English every spring on the company’s 

website. There is clearly demand for this type 

of guide since it will enable us to better control 

the development and management of responsibility and 

to identify the state of responsibility in different areas. The 

guide contains an introduction to the subject, key figures 

regarding the actions implemented, and future goals. 

At SOL, responsible business operations mean spontaneous 

responsibility that supports the company’s business 

and that is determined by the company’s values and objectives, 

while also taking into account key stakeholders. 

Many practical issues related to responsibility are 

addressed in our everyday work. These issues include 

occupational safety, good managerial work, improvements 

in working methods, environmental issues, work ethics, a 

pleasant work community, caring about others and about 

customers, correct salary payments, the development of 

competence and many other minor aspects. Our goal is 

to be an excellent corporate citizen, focusing in particular 

on the continuity of operations, supply chain responsibility, 

our customers’ superior service experience, responsible 

environmental management, well-being at work, and 

continuous improvement and development. Responsible 

operations are essential and global. Ethical and responsible 

choices dictate more and more our procurement 

decisions and consumption. 

The figures reported below are those of the SOL 

Group, unless otherwise stated in the text. The segments 

are Finland and the foreign subsidiaries, and the services 

are the business lines of SOL Palvelut Oy: property services, 

cleaning and facility services and security services, 

the laundry services of SOL Pesulapalvelut Oy and the 

personnel services of SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy. 


International 

service locally. 

Net sales 

285 

MEUR 

€€€€€ 

Personnel 

13 500 

Customer 

satisfaction visits 

26 278 


5

1.1 Description of the 

operating environment 

in Finland 

Macroeconomic surveys indicate that the outlook for 

property services improved somewhat in 2016, as did the 

outlook for the service sector in general. Following a couple 

of weak years, the production of property services has increased 

since the start of 2014. The growth of other property 

maintenance services has outpaced that of cleaning 

services. 

The statistical growth of property services has been 

accelerated by outsourcing, as customer companies are 

focusing on their core operations and outsourcing cleaning 

and other maintenance and user services to external providers. 

The use of external services is also increasing in the 

municipal sector, albeit at a rate that is substantially slower 

than in the private sector. The outsourcing of operations 

remains relatively insignificant in Finnish municipalities. 

Work is usually performed by the municipalities’ own 

employees. Municipalities have outsourced 20–25% of 

their cleaning services, while the corresponding figure for 

property maintenance and technical services is approximately 

40%. The sector has a large potential market and the 

use of property services may well increase further in the 

coming years. 

In laundry services, increase in net sales has been slow 

during the past few years. The personnel services industry 

is in a period of growth, and SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut has 

achieved a result that substantially exceeds the industry 

averages. 

60 

40 

Saldo 

Business outlook and current situation in property services 

Business outlook 

Current situation 

20 

0 

-20 

-40 

-6+ 

Source: Confederation of Finnish Industries Business Tendency Survey 

05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 

At the sources of SOLar energy 

SOL 

Values 

• Sunny and satisfied customers 

• The joy of working 

• Everyday creativity 

• Enterprising spirit 

• Reliability 


Success factors 

• Customer satisfaction 

• Skilled and participating personnel 

• Continuous profitability 

• Good reputation as an employer 

• Good partnerships 


1.2 SOL Future 

SOL Future has endeavoured to forecast SOL’s prospects 

in the property services and temporary staffing markets 

up until the year 2025. SOL will be a strong contender 

in these future markets. 

Our Group-level growth target for net sales is MEUR 

1,001 by 2025. Of this total, operations in Finland will represent 

MEUR 755 and the foreign subsidiaries’ MEUR 246, 

the latter accounting for 25% of net sales. 

Correspondingly, the number of personnel in Finland is 

expected to grow to some 20,000 people and to increase 

significantly also in the foreign subsidiaries. 

We anticipate that as many as 60% of our employees will 

be of non-Finnish origin by 2030 compared to approximately 

30% at present. Employees are increasingly expected 

to have multi-expertise where different work tasks are 

combined. In addition to property maintenance, key jobs 

will be in the sectors of logistics, industry and commerce. 

The skills and development of the personnel are ensured 

by investing in training. Our age programme, in turn, 

takes into account the employment needs of different 

age groups. The programme connects the life situations 

of different groups with work tasks suited to those life 

situations. The rapid digital transformation of operating 

methods and procedures will continue. 

Net sales target (MEUR) 

Figure 4. Group net sales target for 2025 

1010 

1001 

808 

606 

404 

202 

0 

226,6 

51,4 

2015 

274 

404 

107 

2020 

512 

755 

246 

2025 

Total 

Abroad 

Finland 


Mission 

• We allow our customers to focus on their core 

business by providing our services 


Tulevaisuuden 

Visionmarkkinoilla SOL 

on vahva toimija. 

• We want to be the superior service partner 

for our customers in all of our services 


7

1.3 Risk management 

We have evaluated our key risks in cooperation with our 

insurance provider OP: 

• Profitability risks: effect of industry price competition on 

profitability 

• Work ability risks 

• Customer risks 

• Personnel availability risks 

• IT project risks 

Risks are prioritised according to the importance of the 

risk by evaluating the influence and likelihood of risks 

and the level of risk management. When evaluating the 

influence of risks, the effects on the well-being of people, 

the environment, and the reputation of SOL are taken 

into account in addition to the financial effects. Tools in 

accordance with the Operating System are used in SOL 

risk evaluations. 

There are appointed persons in charge of risk management 

at SOL, who are responsible for the planning, 

execution and monitoring of procedures. The defined 

procedures are attached to the action plans and monitoring 

systems. 

Risk management procedures are directed at the most 

significant risks in terms of influence with cost-efficient and 

purposeful procedures. 

The management at SOL regularly monitors the success 

of risk management and reports on the risks and the 

development of risk management procedures. The sufficiency 

and influence of procedures is evaluated as a part 

of business monitoring. Corrective action will be taken as 

necessary. 

Property 

price risk 

Currency risk 

Interest rate risk 

Climate change 

Groundwater 

contamination 

Commodity 

price risks 

Share price risk 

Recruitment risk 

Market risks 

Environmental 

risks 

Misconduct risk 

Financing and 

liquidity risks 

Personnel risks 

Personal 

injury risks 

Key personnel risk Occupational 

accidents 

Work-related 

illnesses 

Credit risk 

Settlement risk Counterparty risk 

Decline in 

Financing risk 

creditworthiness 

Collapse of market 

liquidity 

Cash management risk 

Credit risks 

Financial 

risks 

Liability risks 

Enterprise risk 

Risk of 

physical 

damage 

Planning risk 

Change in strategy 

Investment risk 

Management 

risks 

Market position 

risks 

Strategic 

risks 

Operational 

risks 

Process risks 

Property damage 

Fire 

Flood 

Power outage 

Vandalism 

Operational 

disruption risk 

Change risk 

Personnel 

management risks 

Ownership policy 

risks 

Operating 

environment risks 

Supply chain 

risks 

Legal risks 

Information 

system risks 

Tax risk 

Competitor risk 

Reputation risk 

Key customer risk 

Partnership risks 

Distribution channel 

risks 

Demand/supply risk 

Subcontractor risks 

Raw material 

supplier risks 

Outsourcing risks 

Contract risks 

Court cases 

Risk of tighter regulation 

Information security risks 

System risk 

Control risks Inadequate IT support 

Process management risks 

Quality risks 

Risk management 

1.4 Responsibility for service 

provision and services 

SOL’s responsibility is to ensure that the services it provides 

are safe, reliable and sustainable and that they meet 

quality standards, such as hygiene requirements. SOL 

prefers long-term relationships with selected suppliers, 

and expects from all its service providers commitment to 

the requirements set for security, the environment and 

employment relationships. 

SOL operates in the corporate and consumer markets, 

and the end-user is always an individual who requires 

reliability and safety. We require a picture ID from the 

personnel of our supplier partners as well as an attached 

tax number in order to prevent grey economy. 

SOL’s provision of services is well defined and mostly 

designed and developed by SOL. Development work is 

carried out in collaboration with all the suppliers to ensure 

accurate provision of the services. Development relies on 

safety, usability, functionality, durability and quality – all of 

which are factors needed for excellent customer satisfaction. 

In SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy, the customer, as the 

user company, is responsible for the safety of SOL’s 

service experts. SOL’s role is to recruit, train and provide 

orientation for service experts so that they are able to act 

according to customers’ needs, instructions and safety 

regulations. 


SOL Group is now 

under fourth-generation 

leadership in Peppi Kaira 

and Juha-Pekka Joronen. 

1.5 Managing 

Director’s review 

SOL’s strategy is based on sunny and satisfied customers, 

professionally competent and engaged personnel with a 

high level of well-being as well as productivity and profitable 

growth. Continuous development plays a central role 

in the strategy. In 2016, SOL achieved its growth targets 

quite well for the most part. 

We measure customer satisfaction on a monthly basis 

by conducting customer satisfaction visits. Last year, we 

conducted a total of 26,278 face-to-face customer satisfaction 

surveys and the feedback was excellent. The scores 

were 99.5% for SOL Palvelut, 98.7% for SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut 

and 99.8% for Sol Pesulapalvelut (on a scale of 

0–100%). We invest in the development of our personnel 

and our newly initiated training reforms have progressed 

according to our expectations. We have made particular 

investments in the development of areas such as online 

orientation, classroom training, on-the-job learning and 

apprenticeship training. We organised a total of 12,000 

training days last year. 

Our investments in the SOL Life wellbeing at work 

programme have produced good results: sickness and accident-related 

absences have begun to decline, disability 

pension expenses have been reduced and the Joy Barometer 

employee satisfaction indicator is at a good level. 

With regard to business performance, we were particularly 

delighted in 2016 by the rapid growth of SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut, 

which saw it become one of the largest 

companies in its industry operating nationwide in Finland. 

Net sales exceeded MEUR 41 and the year-on-year growth 

was more than 60 per cent. The industry is in a period of 

growth, but SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut achieved a result that 

substantially exceeds the industry averages. 

We are also growing at an annual rate of approximately 

10 per cent in our international operations. Our Swedish 

unit is making good progress and our Estonian operations 

have been successful right from the start. We have also 

achieved rapid growth in Russia, especially in Moscow, 

in spite of the Russian economy not yet showing signs of 

recovery. Our growth is the result of our strong efforts in 

that market. We have successfully acquired good large 

customers. 

SOL Group’s net sales amounted to MEUR 285 in 2016. 

Operating profit in 2016 totalled MEUR 5.2, or 1.8% of net 

sales. SOL’s investments amounted to MEUR 6.9 in 2016. 

SOL’s liquidity has remained good. 

SOL’s business continuity is also safeguarded by appropriate 

insurance cover. There are no significant risks 

related to business or financing on the horizon, but the 

Russian subsidiaries’ euro-denominated net sales and 

profitability are subject to risks arising from exchange rate 

fluctuations. We are confident that SOL, a strong player 

and trend-setter as well as a pioneering service provider 

and developer, will continue to prosper. Our assets are our 

flexible and agile operations, special care for our customers, 

personnel and partners, and our way of working in 

line with set plans. 

The year 2017 has got off to a good start in all sectors. 

The in-house logistics company Flexo Palvelut Oy, which 

we established as a joint venture with Posti Group Corporation, 

is well positioned to begin its operations. 

Juhapekka Joronen 


9

2Description of the 

organisation 

SOL is a business owned by a Finnish family. 

SOL’s management is guided by values emphasising 

economic, social and environmental 

responsibility. The SOL Group comprises the 

parent company SOLEMO Oy and its three 

wholly owned subsidiaries in Finland and five 

international subsidiaries. We offer cleaning and facility 

services in St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia and in Estonia, 

Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. Retail laundry services 

are offered in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Estonia as part 

of a cleaning and facility management company. 

The dry cleaning shop concept of laundries began in 

Finland in 2001. Last year, the Group had 58 laundry shops 

in service in Finland. The Citycenter and Haaga laundry 

shops were closed in 2016. One of the two laundry shops 

in Itäkeskus was discontinued. A laundry shop began operating 

on new premises at the Kaleva Prisma in Tampere. 

International laundry operations were launched in Estonia 

in 2008, St. Petersburg in 2010 and Moscow in 2011. In 

2009, we began to offer temporary staffing and recruitment 

services to our customers in Finland. In Russia, we 

were in the temporary staffing business from 2013 to 2015. 

2.1 The SOL companies 

Solemo’s Finnish subsidiaries include SOL Palvelut Oy, a 

provider of cleaning and facility services, property services 

and security services. SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut focuses on 

temporary staffing and direct recruitment services. SOL 

Pesulapalvelut Oy provides laundry services to private 

individuals, businesses and public sector entities. 

The Group’s foreign subsidiaries are: 

• OOO SOL 

• OOO SOL SP 

• OOO SOL DC 

• SOL Baltics OÜ 

• Solreneriet AB 

• Reneriet Estonia OÜ 

2.2 SOL is a Solar 

System – outstanding 

partnership and quality 

SOL is a Solar System consisting of the Solar Centre, 

personnel services, property services, laundry services, 

cleaning services, facility services and security services. We 

want each of the services to represent the absolute top in 

its field and provide our customers with positive experiences. 

We act responsibly, respecting the environment and 

providing the best customer service. We are quick and 

cost-efficient. We want to be a superior partner in all of 

our services and service solution packages. 

In addition to SOL’s Management Team and task-specific 

development groups, the entire personnel works for 

and towards SOL responsibility. The work of a responsible 

corporation involves us all. The operational organisation is 

structured so that all the services, marketing and sales as 

well as development and administrative operations support 

the operative activities throughout the Group. The 

backbone of the operations is the line organisation, which 

serves locally and with uniform quality in accordance with 

the SOL Operating System. The Group’s development 

activities focus on establishing and developing service 

concepts and processes. Procurement and logistics are 

also under development. 


2.3 Reporting 

Net sales (MEUR) 

Figure 1. Net sales 2012–2016, Finland and other countries 

25 

20 

205,7 

217,5 

221,5 

222,6 

230,8 

15 

Finland 

10 

Other countries 

5 

24,6 

44,6 

48,10 

51,4 

54,2 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Operating profit (MEUR) 

Figure 2. Operating profit 2012–2016 

14 

12 

10 

10,4 

8 

7,6 

6 

4,7 

5,2 

4 

2 

2,5 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Net sales of SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut, 2012–2016 (MEUR) 

50 

40 

41,6 

30 

26 

20 

16,9 

18,3 

20,1 

10 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 


11

Gross investments (MEUR) 

Figure 3. Gross investments 2010–2016 

16 

15,9 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

6,2 

4 

2 

0 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Number of personnel 2012–2016 

10000 

9000 

8000 

7000 

6000 

5000 

4000 

3000 

2000 

1000 

0 

8144 8200 

8692 

3101 3282 3339 

2012 2013 2014 

9050 

7484 

3606 3747 

2015 2016 

Finland 

Other countries 

2.4 Mission, vision 

and strategy 

Our mission is to strengthen our customers’ corporate 

image with the services we provide. Our services facilitate 

our customers’ everyday life and have the most cost-effective 

total cost in the market. We act in a responsible 

manner and we are a valued employer. 

All our activities and decision-making are based on 

shared values: sunny and satisfied customers, profitability, 

reliability, enterprising spirit, everyday creativity and the 

joy of working. We are here to serve our customers. 

Happy working clothes of red and yellow symbolise the 

SOL values and brand. The striking colours also improve 

occupational safety. 

We at SOL believe in a positive image of humankind, 

where everyone wants to work and succeed in their work 

and each of us is a different, creative, thinking, acting and 

feeling human being. We want to encourage and give 

feedback in order to develop in our work. Success and 

praise, in particular, are important to us and essential for 

work motivation. 

Our vision is to be a superior partner for our customers 

across all services. In line with our mission, we allow our 

customers to focus on their core business. 

We want to grow by utilising our service concepts and 

employing qualified personnel while developing cooperation 

with our customers. The end result is a profitable, 

financially-sound and excellently-managed SOL with sunny 

and satisfied customers and personnel. 

The SOL corporate image is projected to the market 

and to all our stakeholders. The cornerstones of our brand 

are cheerfulness, yellow sunniness, enthusiastic service, 

skilled professional personnel, flexibility and ease. 


Yellow and red work clothes 

symbolise the SOL values 

SOL Philosophy 

SOL’s image of humankind 

• People are responsible individuals and they want 

to do good work. 

• People have a need to succeed 

• People are different 

• People take initiative and are creative 

• People are thinking, acting and feeling human 

beings 

SOL freedom 

• Freedom of workplace: it is not it is not important 

where work is carried out; what is achieved is 

what matters 

• Freedom from status symbols: respect has to be 

earned 

• Freedom from working hours: the result counts 


13

3Management 

at SOL 

SOL’s management culture is established to allow 

trustworthy interaction and an atmosphere that 

encourages everyday creativity and to promote people’s 

respect and responsibility towards each other. 

At SOL, we aim towards servant leadership. 

Giving responsibility, trust, and supporting a 

functional work community are some of the 

essential mindsets. 

The parent company’s Board of Directors 

comprises Juhapekka Joronen, Chairman, and ordinary 

members Peppi Kaira and Anja Eronen. Juhapekka Joronen 

is the Managing Director of SOL Palvelut Oy. Peppi 

Kaira is the Managing Director of SOL Pesulapalvelut Oy. 

Niilo Kemppe is the Managing Director of SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut 

Oy, and Peppi Kaira is the Managing Director 

of SOLEMO Oy. Anja Eronen was the Managing Director 

of SOLEMO Oy and SOL Palvelut Oy until 31 August 2011 

and has been Chairman of the Board of SOL Palvelut Oy 

as of 1 September 2011. 

SOL’s Management Team comprises Anja Eronen, 

Chairman, the Managing Directors of the Finnish companies, 

Timo Sairanen, Director, HR and Legal Issues and 

Riitta Sirviö, Director, Development Group. The Management 

Team also includes representatives of senior salaried 

employees, salaried employees and other employees. 

The company’s auditor is KPMG Oy Ab, Authorised 

Public Accountants, with Toni Aaltonen as the lead auditor. 

The management organisation is as lean as possible 

in order to be close to the customer and personnel. The 

Development Group of each service sector is responsible 

for monitoring operational management and for development 

and improvement projects. All meeting practices are 

presented in the SOL Operating System. They are defined 

in the annual Action Plan and also scheduled according to 

it. 

The SOL Operating System is based on the ISO 

9000:2015 quality standard, the ISO 14001 environmental 

management standard, the OHSAS 18001 safety specification 

and the ISO 31000 risk management standard. Each 

company has its own operating system compliant with the 

Group’s core system. Our customers audit our operating 

system, which serves as a foundation for developing operations. 

SOL’s Estonian and Latvian companies have quality 

certificates. The well-being programme is integrated into 

the SOL Life programme. Documentation is saved centrally 

in the M-Files programme, which also includes the 

customer management system. The system utilises SOL’s 

in-house customer information system (Sirkkeli). 

Safety instructions are an integral part of the SOL 

Process Management System. They are easily available on 

the intranet or in separate folders at our full-service laundry 

shops. The Group and its companies have nominated 

people to be responsible for data security, environmental 

safety, occupational safety and other safety. Updating 

safety instructions, as well as early intervention and preventive 

measures, are important to SOL. We emphasise 

the personnel’s responsibility, and acting according to that 

responsibility, in all our communications. We never permit 

any form of corruption or bribery whatsoever. The guidelines 

for receiving gifts and for travel are documented in the 

SOL Operating System. 

The management 

organisation is as 

lean as possible in 

order to be close to 

the customer and 

personnel. 


Management principles, illustrating lean organisation and internal services. 

Leveraging shared 

resources 

Lean central management 

Clear outcomes, indicators 

and monitoring 

Selected group 

services 

Decentralised 

organisation, 

accountability as lean 

as possible 

Continuous 

improvement 

Individuals deliver 

results in cooperation 

with each other 

Increasing flexibility 


15

3.1 SOL’s ethical rules – 

principles of good business 

3.1.1. Introduction 

SOL’s operations are guided by values that emphasise 

economic, social and environmental responsibility. Each 

SOL employee must comply with our values in their work: 

Sunny and satisfied customers, the joy of working, everyday 

creativity, enterprising spirit and reliability. 

At SOL, we believe that everyone wants to do their job 

well and succeed in their work. We encourage independence 

and the acceptance of responsibility. Everyone at 

SOL must act responsibly with regard to our stakeholders. 

SOL’s responsibility covers all stakeholders: customers, 

personnel, shareholders, subcontractors, partners, authorities, 

the company’s own business sectors and their 

organisations, the media, and cooperation with non-profit 

organisations. 

These rules are part of the SOL Responsibility Report. 

The rules apply to all SOL’s subsidiaries in Finland and 

abroad. Each SOL employee is responsible for playing by 

the rules. 

3.1.2 Ethical rules and legislation 

SOL and its employees act legally and in accordance with 

current, generally accepted business practices. As a member 

of the Real Estate Employers, SOL and its employees 

develop the industry by complying with the ethical rules. 

Each SOL employee is responsible for acquiring the necessary 

information on the legislative regulations concerning 

their work. Supervisors must ensure the employees 

receive adequate orientation to these rules. If in doubt, 

SOL employees should always turn to their supervisor 

for help. SOL supervisors must ensure full compliance 

with laws, regulations and good business practices. If 

an employee notices any breaches of regulations, they 

must immediately notify their supervisor, who will take the 

necessary actions at once and report the matter to the 

Group management. 

3.1.3 Conflicts of interests, gifts and bribes 

SOL employees are expected to promote SOL’s interests 

and act in a responsible manner. SOL employees must 

avoid all situations that might result in a conflict of interests. 

We apply the ethical 

guidelines published by the 

Real Estate Employers and 

work to raise the profile of 

the property service sector. 

• We will act reliably and with high quality, in accordance 

with the promises and commitments given to customers. 

• We will act responsibly and also expect responsible 

operations from our partners. 

• We are bound by the duty of professional secrecy with 

regard to confidential information and we will not misuse 

any information obtained. 

• We will fulfil our social obligations and responsibilities, 

and we are familiar with the standards of the industry. 

• We undertake to maintain the skills and development 

of our personnel and we will promote employee wellbeing 

and the occupational safety of our personnel and 

customer companies. 

• We will respect other enterprises in the sector, compete 

fairly and work to abolish the grey labour market. 

• We will provide every employee with a photographic 

ID, displaying their personal details and tax ID and 

submit all company and subcontractor information 

required under the provision of the Act on the Contractor’s 

Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted 

Out, using the tilaajavastuu.fi online service 

• We are committed to promoting environmental values 

and awareness. 

• We will encourage equality at work and acceptance of 

individuality and diversity within the work community 


The corruption and bribery ban permeates all SOL 

operations. SOL and its employees may not make or offer 

bribes or unlawful payments to customers, managers, national 

of local authorities or other parties to gain or retain 

business, or for any other equivalent reason. 

SOL does not grant direct or indirect support to political 

parties, organisations or individual politicians. 

SOL employees may not accept personal benefits or 

gifts from stakeholders or suppliers which run contrary 

to applicable laws or local business practices. Gifts or 

benefits must only be accepted if they are offered in the 

context of regular business activities and they are ordinary, 

reasonable and low in monetary value. 

Gifts and hospitality may be acceptable if they are: 

• not offered on a regular basis, are given or received 

openly and without an obligation and/or expectation of 

a favour in return 

• approved by stakeholders and able to stand public 

scrutiny 

• legal, ordinary and of moderate monetary value. 

• Before offering a gift or benefit to a partner, employees 

must ensure that they are aware of the rules and ethical 

guidelines observed by the recipient to prevent bribery. 

In Finland, hospitality in the public sector is subject to 

guidance (1592/2010) issued by the Ministry of Finance, 

available (in Finnish) at: www.vm.fi/vm/fi/04_julkaisut_ja_ 

asiakirjat/02_henkilostohallinnon_asiakirjat/03_ohjeet/ 

20100825Vieraa/Vieraanvaraisuudesta__eduista.pdf 

Examples of acceptable hospitality include attendance 

at occasions such as birthday and retirement receptions 

organised by a partner. In these circumstances, gifts in 

keeping with convention are acceptable. Also acceptable 

are parties and cultural events in the context of meetings 

and training courses. 

Gifts or benefits exceeding a value of EUR 100 offered 

to a SOL employee must be authorised by a Service Director, 

Business Director or Managing Director. 

Benefits must not be accepted if: 

• The value of the benefit exceeds conventional business 

practices 

• The benefit is in conflict with SOL’s interests and values 

• The benefit may impair or be seen to impair the other 

party’s independence or impartiality 

• The benefit is likely to arouse suspicions regarding the 

giver’s motives or its impact on decision-making or 

outcomes of business 

• The benefit could generate negative publicity for SOL 

We will operate 

responsibly by providing 

fair temporary work. 

The SOL Group’s personnel services arm, SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut, 

is an authorised member of the Private Employment 

Agencies’ Association (HPL) and a member of 

Service Sector Employers Palta. As an authorised company, 

we commit to adhering to the authorisation rules and 

to responsible operations by offering fair temporary work. 

3.1.5 Fair temporary work 

The authorisation of personnel services companies ensures 

the fairness of temporary staffing for both employees 

and user companies. Authorised companies wish to 

highlight their commitment to legal, ethical procedures. 

As for customer companies and temporary staff, they wish 

to be able to identify the honest and reliable operators 

in the field. The authorisation rules are provided to both 

parties for information. Compliance with the authorisation 

rules is monitored. 

The Private Employment Agencies’ Association has prepared 

general terms and conditions for temporary staffing 

and recruitment to clarify the distribution of responsibilities 

and rules between the contractual parties. The terms 

and conditions also take into account the right of employees 

and job applicants. The general terms and conditions 

are intended to serve as an appendix to the contract 

between a personnel services company and its customer. 

The contractual terms and conditions specify the course of 

the process, the obligations of the contractual parties, the 

validity and termination of the contract, the making of reclamations, 

and indemnities. The parties may deviate from 

the terms and conditions by a separate, written customer 

agreement. 

As a general rule, SOL will cover the costs of any travel 

related to events and travels organised by external parties. 

In the event of confusion regarding the appropriateness/legality 

of giving or receiving a gift, it must be 

declined. 

3.1.4. Responsible personnel services 


17

3.2 Stakeholders 

SOL’s social responsibility covers all stakeholders: customers, 

personnel, subcontractors, partners, shareholders, 

authorities, the company’s own business sectors and their 

organisations, the media, and cooperation with non-profit 


We comply with the laws, regulations and guidelines 

of local authorities in all our operating countries. We 

diligently take care of our taxes and payments, which are 

further used for maintaining social services and public 

infrastructure. 

3.2.1 Personnel 

We currently employ over 13,500 people, to whom we 

are committed to paying wages and salaries according 

to agreements and for whom we pay employers’ contributions. 

We serve our customers with and through our 

personnel. Our key value is the joy of working. 

SOL aims for a fair personnel policy, which enables the 

company to safeguard employment and guarantee high 

job satisfaction. Investment in the continuous development 

of employees’ skills provides maximum benefits for 

customers, employees and SOL. 

The well-being of personnel is fully addressed. Employees 

are encouraged and trained to participate in the 

planning and development of their own tasks in everyday 

work, as well as in long-term planning and development. 

For instance, the annual action plan and budget are built 

from the bottom upwards, thus involving as many employees 

as possible. In Finland, the personnel working at least 

15 hours per week are provided with general practitioner-level 

healthcare after six months of employment, and 

SOL has adopted SOL Life as an “Ongoing Care Model”. 

High priority is systematically given to occupational 

safety, risk management and pro-activeness throughout 

our operations. Rapid communications and interaction 

commensurate with the situation have been further strengthened. 

Personnel competence is improved by short-term and 

long-term in-house coaching and training sessions, and 

by apprenticeship training. SOL offers active tutoring and 

mentoring for all personnel groups and conducts a continuous 

Ilopuntari job satisfaction survey. “From goals to 

results” discussions help in setting goals, achieving results, 

developing operations and they also facilitate the personnel’s 

self-development. A scorecard is used for monitoring 

and controlling the achievement of the goals. The Quality 

Passport has been in use at SOL for a long time now as a 

tool to reward employees for good performance. 

SOL has a good and effective relationship with labour 


3.2.2 Responsible owners with a face 

In a family business, the owners of SOL have a key role 

and long traditions of developing the company and its 

operations. The owners expect from the employees responsible 

operations in accordance with the company’s values. 

SOL is an active member of the Finnish Family Firms 

Association, which promotes an operational framework for 

and responsible ownership of family enterprises. 

Customer satisfaction 

Figure 5. Customer satisfaction 2012–2016 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2013 2014 2015 2016 

Laughter 

Smile 

SOL Palvelut Oy 


Pesulapalvelut Oy 


Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy 


3.2.3 Our priority is a sunny, satisfied and 

loyal customer 

SOL’s operations are divided into local service districts, 

which are responsible for their own customers and are as 

close to the customer as possible. SOL has nearly 10,000 

registered customers and fulfilling contractual obligations 

with them is a matter of honour to SOL. SOL likewise 

expects the same from its contracting parties. 

In line with our operating system, we aim to prevent 

problematic situations and to rectify and continuously 

improve our services. 

Customer satisfaction and customer retention are 

monitored in all our activities every month. A continuous 

customer feedback and questionnaire procedure is in use 

and it is conducted monthly with some of the customers. 

This procedure is based on the SOLE guidelines and on 

an annual plan. SOL’s customer satisfaction has been at an 

excellent level for many years. 

The end-user of SOL’s services is a private customer 

whom we serve to the best of our ability. Our goal is to 

have customers who want to do business with companies 

and communities using our services or with our own 

full-service laundries also in the future. 

3.2.4 We select our partners carefully 

SOL’s partners include a number of suppliers of services 

and goods. Our partners are expected to be reliable, professional 

and responsible, and SOL invests in cooperation 

with them. For further information, please see the section 

on Social Responsibility. Our aim of cost effectiveness will 

also challenge SOL’s partners. 

3.2.5 Developer of the business sector 

SOL’s roots in Finland’s business community run deep. 

The first operations are considered to have started in 1848 

when dye master C.A. Lindström founded a textile dye 

house and laundry on the hill where Finland’s Parliament 

House currently stands. 

SOL has significantly improved the sector’s image with 

its reputation as a good employer and provider of quality 

services. SOL is well-known for transforming the property 

business into a service sector. 

SOL is an active opinion leader in the Confederation 

of Finnish Industries, Real Estate Employers and Private 

Employment Agencies Association. Juhapekka Joronen, 

the Managing Director of SOL Palvelut, is a member of the 

Board of the Confederation of Finnish Industries and the 

Chairman of the Board of the Real Estate Employers. We 

also participate in the work of other bodies and accept 

positions of trust and expert tasks offered. 

3.2.6 Communications and media 

Our business sectors interest everybody. SOL aims for 

transparent interaction with the media and regularly 

reports the Group’s news directly to the media via targeted 

press releases, which are also available on our 

website. Our communication channels in Finland include 

the Group’s intranet and the SOLISTI customer magazine, 

in addition to the website and social media. Our entire 

website has been translated into English. Our communications 

department coaches and trains the personnel and it 

is responsible for internal and external communications in 

accordance with the company’s communications plan. 


19

We are pleased to share information about our actions 

and results. Our experts are encouraged to make public 

presentations and to share their knowledge outside the 

group. 

3.2.7 Increasing our global role 

Individual rights and shared responsibility are evolving. We 

will have an increasing role in employing labour coming 

from less developed countries and also in improving the 

conditions of their countries of origin. 

SOL has started cooperation with an independent, 

non-profit volunteer community, Women’s Bank. Women’s 

Bank is working with commitment to collect donations to 

support women’s entrepreneurship and livelihoods in developing 

countries, applying the principles of sustainable 

development. 

SOL is a participant in the Diversity Charter, organised 

by FiBS and TEM. In 2012, we signed the Diversity Charter 

Finland, according to which: 

We will offer equal opportunities. We will recognise and 

utilise individual skills and needs. 

We will manage the personnel and customers fairly. 

We will provide information on our goals and accomplish- 

ments. SOL has a multicultural development group, which 

reports directly to the Management Team. In 2016, SOL 

handed out its first award for an act promoting multiculturalism. 

The award was given to the Multiculturalism 

Working Group led by Sari Crnobreg in recognition of the 

group’s accomplishments in promoting equality. 

We employed approximately 4,000 foreign nationals in 

Finland in 2016. 

Since 2007, SOL has had a Young Staff Development 

Group with participants representing employees from 

different sectors. The purpose of the group is to promote 

the position of young employees and highlight their views 

on issues. In spring 2016, the Young Staff Development 

Group organised an event at SOL City for young visitors 

from various schools and workshops. The event has been 

organised since 2014. At the Youth Day event, the participants 

learned more about SOL’s business lines at fun 

activity stations and also participated in a CV workshop. 

Members of the Young Staff Development Group also 

participated in various recruitment events during the year, 

encouraging young people to apply for work at SOL. 

Young Staff Development Group 


3.2.8 Training committee and degree 

committee cooperation 

SOL is engaged in large-scale cooperation with educational 

institutions, starting from sponsoring classes in upper 

secondary schools. Vocational schools in our field as well 

as polytechnics and universities are important partners 

for us in training, internships and teaching and they also 

provide us with skilled employees. 

SOL’s director of training is a member of the Qualification 

Committee for Property Services appointed by the 

Board of Education. Our extensive cooperation with the 

Centres of Economic Development, Transport and the 

Environment throughout Finland helps ensure we have a 

readily available workforce. 

We comply with the UN 

Global Compact principles 

in our operations: 

1. Businesses should support and respect the protection 

of internationally proclaimed human rights within 

their sphere of operation. 

2. Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit 

in human rights abuses. 

3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association 

and the effective recognition of the right to collective 

bargaining; 

4. the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory 

labour; 

5. the effective abolition of child labour; and 

6. the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment 

and occupation. 

7. Businesses should support a precautionary approach 

to environmental challenges; 

8. undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental 

responsibility; and 

9. encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally 

friendly technologies. 

10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its 

forms, including extortion and bribery. 

We have 4,000 

foreign employees 

representing more than 

60 nationalities. 


21

Financial 

responsibility 

SOL’s financial goals are based on profitable growth 

and profitability. In addition to organic growth, SOL 

aims to acquire business operations and enterprises 

that will support the Group’s operations. A long-term 

goal is for return on investment (ROI) to exceed 20%. 

4rowth 

G 

will be financed from income. Our 

equity ratio of 43.7% enables cost-effective 

liquidity fluctuations. Good liquidity safeguards 

SOL’s payment obligations to stakeholders 

and also builds in flexibility for any 

quick acquisitions needed. SOL’s liquidity has remained at 

a good level. In addition to paying employees’ contributions 

and public payments, the Group has been able to 

finance investments and other acquisitions from income 

in accordance with set plans. SOL wants to ensure that it 

meets all payment obligations according to the agreed 

payment terms without delay, and also expects the same 

punctuality from customers with regard to their payments. 

Our liquidity is measured with the Quick ratio which in 

2016 was 1.3, meeting our objective. 

All of SOL’s services are produced locally, and the operations 

have been organised accordingly. SOL’s business 

management, as well as the financial and HR administration 

of SOL City, SOL headquarters in Finland, support 

our local operations. Some of the financial administration 

operates in Seinäjoki and Kouvola. 

SOL Group’s net sales have grown by 38% since 2011. 

The Group’s subsidiaries outside Finland have grown by 

184%, while the Finnish companies have grown by 23%. 

In 2016, the net sales in Finland were distributed as 

follows: property, cleaning, and facility services and security 

services 80.9%, Personnel services 14.6% and laundry 

services 4.5%. Finnish operations accounted for 81% and 

foreign operations 19% in 2016. 

SOL’s gross investments amounted to MEUR 6.9, while 

procurement of materials and services amounted to a 

moderate MEUR 11.7 in 2016. 

We operate nationally, 

we serve locally. 


Group net sales, MEUR Change in net sales, % 

300 

250 

230,3 

262,10 269,6 274,0 

285,0 

25 

20 

200 

150 

100 

15 

10 

11,3 

13,8 

50 

5 

2,9 

1,6 

4,04 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Equity ratio, % 

Return on investment, MEUR 

60 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

39,6 

41,4 42,9 

44,8 43,7 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

31,6 

20,5 

7,2 

12,6 

12,9 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Gearing, % 

Quick Ratio 

-66,5 

Purchases, MEUR 

14 

12 

10 

12,4 12,6 12,5 

11,8 

11,3 

10,2 

12,88 

11,53 

11,7 

11,66 

8 

6 

Services 

Material 

4 

2 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 


23

Responsibilities 

to stakeholders 

SOL wants to offer everyday experiences that delight, 

inspire and excite customers. At their best, these 

experiences elevate the mind, enhance everyday life and 

the workday, and provide a sense of cleanliness and security. 

55.1 Responsibilities 

to customers 

SOL offers high-quality services in a timely manner as 

agreed in the contract. The services are developed in accordance 

with the customer’s expectations and preferences. 

Our service solution model enables SOL to provide 

multiple services from one source, making our solutions 

the most advantageous economically. 

Productivity and efficiency are important goals in developing 

SOL’s processes. All our service sectors in Finland 

have a personnel recruitment and substitute system in 

electronic format. The personnel’s orientation training and 

some of the other training sessions are on the Internet, 

giving learners more freedom with regard to time and 

place. Nearly all of the invoices in Finland are transmitted 

to customers in a paperless format. Also nearly 100% of 

the purchase invoices are e-invoices. Continuous attention 

is paid to proper management of receivables, ensuring 

equal treatment for all customers. 

In Finland, we have enhanced the reporting system under 

the provisions of the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations 

and Liability when Work is Contracted Out. We use 

the www.tilaajavastuu.fi online service. These links enable 

customers to check that we fulfil our social responsibilities. 

5.2 Responsibilities 

to employees 

At SOL, employees have a key role in everything we do. 

In 2016, personnel costs represented 80.5% of net sales, 

while the figure in 2011 was 73.8%. Wages and salaries, 

excluding side expenses, amounted to MEUR 180.5 in 

2016. SOL bears responsibility for safeguarding employment 

also in the future. The company’s workforce consists 

mainly of people in permanent employment relationships, 

some of which may be part-time due to the nature of the 

work. The proportion of temporary staff will increase with 

the expansion of SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy’s operations. 

Personnel are rewarded for good work performance, 

which is followed up by customer satisfaction and other 

weighted indicators, such as the scorecard. Rewards 

for successful work performance have been given, for 

instance, to the service district of the year, the vendor 

of the year, the service instructor of the year, the Service 

Supervisor of the year, and the Service Director of the year. 

Successful persons have also received wooden flowers, 

movie tickets and other minor merit awards. 

SOL organises an annual Quality Award competition 

with separate categories for service supervisors, service 

districts and sales personnel. Awards are also given for the 

environmental and well-being at work categories. Competition 

entries are submitted in the form of applications 

showing budgets, results and the previous year’s figures. 

The Quality Award is based on a competition by the 

Finnish Quality Association, which has been adapted to 

suit SOL’s needs. The key considerations in the competition 

are customer orientation, employee well-being and 

financial results. The practice has been established since 

1996. 


Service supervisors Tony Itkonen and Vladlen 

Melechko received a SOL Quality Award 

in their role as supervisors of cleaning operations 

aboard Viking Line’s cruise ships. The 

most recent major development project carried 

out in cooperation with the customer was 

related to the complete renovation of m/s 

Gabriella. 

5.3 Responsibilities to the 

authorities 

SOL and its personnel must comply with local laws and regulations 

in all countries and under all circumstances. SOL 

pays its statutory obligations in accordance with existing 

regulations. As an employer, SOL takes care of its employees’ 

statutory contributions. The company also reports 

and compiles statistics for the authorities as agreed. In 

2016, SOL’s Finnish companies paid value-added tax, income 

tax, operational taxes and PAYE income tax totalling 

MEUR 66.4 (MEUR 58.8 million in 2011). Compulsory social 

security and pension contributions amounted to a total of 

MEUR 39.5 in 2016 and MEUR 36.1 in 2015. 

5.4 Responsibilities to 

suppliers and partners 

SOL purchases products, services and energy for its 

property, cleaning, facility maintenance and laundry 

services, as well as for production subcontracting services 

that include delivery and laundry services, outdoor area 

property management service and a variety of made-to-or- 


25

der cleaning services. Products and services necessary 

for running the administration and operations are also 

purchased. 

SOL’s General Terms and Conditions apply to all 

suppliers, and invoices are paid according to the terms 

of payment. All payments made to suppliers are based 

on contracts and invoices. All forms of corruption and the 

use of illegal (“grey”) labour are strictly prohibited within 

SOL. Good contractual practice is monitored by internal 

controls and audits in accordance with the SOL Operating 

System. 

In 2016, all purchases by SOL’s Finnish companies were 

from within the EU area. 

SOL’s operations have significant indirect impacts, especially 

in smaller towns. SOL is a primary client for many 

entrepreneurs and thus affects the economic well-being of 

subcontractors’ employees. 

loans from banks. The Group’s foreign subsidiaries have 

bank loans. SOL Palvelut Oy has a limit of EUR 3 million. 

Service supervisors Tony Itkonen and Vladlen Melechko 

received a SOL Quality Award in their role as supervisors 

of cleaning operations aboard Viking Line’s cruise ships. 

The most recent major development project carried out in 

cooperation with the customer was related to the complete 

renovation of m/s Gabriella. 

5.5 Liabilities to 

financial institutions 

SOL’s goal is to finance its operations from income. The 

Finnish companies do not have short-term or long-term 


All procurement is governed 

by written supplier 

contracts and pre-planned 

logistics solutions. 

SOL does not use random 

procurement or randomly 

selected suppliers. 

Our procurement procedures 

include at least the following: 

• legality – compliance with each country’s 

• applicable legislation 

• corruption and bribery ban 

• respect for employees’ human rights 

• child labour ban 

• employee safety and health 

• environmental protection 

• effective service chain with low overall cost 

• CO2 emissions of the auto equipment max. 130 g/km 


27

Environmental 


We all have a dream of a better and cleaner environment, 

of a place where our children and grandchildren can 

grow and live safely. Environmental deterioration 

must be stopped. We can affect our future by 

actively seeking new ways and means to secure a 

cleaner and healthier environment in the future. 

66.1 Environmental policy 

SOL wants to provide services in a manner that aims to conserve 

natural resources and reduce environmental impacts. 

We are aware of the environmental impact of our services 

and of our responsibility as the user of products and the 

producer of waste, all of which are addressed throughout 

our decision-making processes. We comply with all valid 

laws and regulations in all our activities. 

We are committed to continuously improving our operations 

and reducing environmental impacts. We purchase 

the most eco-friendly technology available at reasonable 

costs. We aim to use natural resources and energy in a way 

that minimises their consumption and emissions. We promote 

the right type of waste sorting and we aim to reduce 

the amount of waste generated. 

We disseminate information about our operations 

transparently, both to our external stakeholders and to 

SOL’s own personnel. We aim at being able to guide our 

customers towards an environmentally friendly model of 

operations and support them in achieving their environmental 

goals through our expertise. We aim to be ranked by 

our customers and personnel as the best operator in the 

environmental field. 

We train, advise and encourage SOL employees to work 

in a responsible manner and to address environmental 

issues more efficiently both at work and in their leisure time. 

We develop indicators that can verify the environmental impact 

of our operations. The management regularly monitors 

the status of the environmental issues. The business line 

management reviews include an evaluation of the environmental 

management, and necessary measures are taken 

based on the results of the evaluation. 

6.2 Environmental objectives 

SOL’s environmental goals and actions are defined by 

sector on the basis of the environmental objectives below. 

According to emission intensity, property maintenance 

operations are a low-emission business sector. 

• Addressing the conservation of natural resources and 

reduction of environmental impact both in our procurement 

and in our service provision. 

• Increasing the personnel’s environmental knowledge 

• Increasing the customers’ environmental awareness 

6.3 Environmental goals 

Common objectives for all service sectors based on the 

environmental goals are: 

• Using suppliers who operate in an environmentally 

responsible manner and have quality and environmental 

management certificates 

• All staff to observe environmental considerations in their 

work 

• Guiding customers towards eco-friendlier activities (e.g. 

reducing the amount of waste, encouraging waste sorting, 

improving energy saving). 

Responsibility is a shared concern for all of us. 


SOL Environmental Goals 

Impacting the 

development of 

customers’ environmentally 

friendly 

operations 

Reducing paper and 

energy consumption 

Reducing the amount 

of waste sacks, plastic 

bags and plastic 

packaging 

Environmentally 

responsible suppliers 

The personnel must 

consider both the 

customer’s and 

internal environmental 

aspects 

Reducing the overall 

consumption of 

chemicals and 

detergents 

Reducing emissions 

from vehicle and 

machine fuel 

consumption 

Emission intensity 

Source: Statistics Finland, Emissions into air by industry and Annual national accounts. 

Air traffic 

Water traffic 

Energy maintenance 

Agriculture, fishing industry and game husbandry 

Oil refining and production of chemicals 

Water supply, sewerage and waste management 

Metal refinement and manufacture of metal products 

Land traffic 

Forest industry 

Mining and quarrying 

All business sectors total 

Construction 

Food industry, etc. 

Forestry 

Other industry 

Trade 

Property maintenance operations 

Operations serving traffic, mail 

Other services and administration 

0 2 000 4 000 6 000 


29

6.4 Financial liabilities 

regarding climate change 

Awareness of, and discussions about, climate change and 

its effect on our living environment increases interest in 

eco-friendly products and services. We select products with 

a long lifecycle instead of disposable items. This is relevant 

to SOL’s business expansion and revenue growth, but also 

has an increasing effect on costs. 

We intend to devote even more attention to the logistics 

of our services in order to keep our operations cost-effective 

and environmentally friendly. 

6.5 Environmental aspects 

SOL’s environmental policy, goals and objectives are 

based on information about the environmental aspects 

and impacts of our operations and services. Identification 

and evaluation of the environmental aspects are presented 

in the Environmental Management system. A valuation 

method that is based on information gained from our own 

operations, on the company’s potential leverage, and on 

information provided by external studies is used for identifying 

the importance of environmental aspects. Statutory 

requirements, importance to the company’s image, environmental 

benefits in relation to implementation costs, 

and the severity and scope of environmental impacts are 

taken into account when assessing importance factors. 

The industry-specific assessment procedure for 

environmental aspects and the criteria for valuation are 

documented in the environmental data of our Operating 

System. The activities receiving the largest weighting 

using this method have been selected for implementation. 

An industry-specific implementation programme defining 

the operating instructions, timetables, measurement 

method and responsibilities for achieving the environmental 

goals and objectives has been prepared. The implementation 

programmes are documented in the environmental 

data of our Operating System. 

Customer-specific environmental goals will be prepared 

in conjunction with customer-specific action plans. 

The Environmental Team coordinates operations for all 

sectors. 

The task of the regional district’s environmental coordinators 

is to monitor the realisation of customer-specific 

environmental goals and identify new potential viewpoints. 

The environmental coordinators will conduct customer-specific 

environmental reviews and give reports about 

them to the Environmental Team. 

Environmental aspects are evaluated when necessary 

and at least once every three years. The required changes 

in action plans and goals are implemented based on the 

information obtained from the evaluation and monitoring. 

Environmental reviews by sector and by location will 

be made according to the annual plan prepared by the 

Environmental Team. 

The achievement of the environmental goals specified 

in action plans is monitored in development discussions. 

The districts will monitor the implementation of the action 

plans in their district meetings. The implementation of the 

environmental plans will also be evaluated in conjunction 

with internal audits. 

. 

6.6 Me, you, SOL and 

the environment 

As part of the Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development, 

SOL as a service employer has committed to 

strengthening SOL’s egalitarian work community. A good 

work community is made up of people from different 

cultures and of different ages and backgrounds. We are 

an international company, but our values are the same 

regardless of the country of operation. According to our 

image of humankind, people want to do good work. We 

want to give everyone this opportunity. We signed the 

Finnish Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development 

in June 2016. The targets and actions related to the 

commitment were drafted in cooperation between our 

environmental coordinators, the Environmental Team and 

senior management. 

As a steady employer, our commitment also includes 

wise accounting practices and sustainable work that respects 

nature and people. We communicated our Commitment 

2050 targets and actions in the form of a video to 


each a larger number of our personnel, customers and 

stakeholders. 

Commitment 2050 targets and actions 

1. Equal opportunities for well-being 

Your SOL, everyone’s SOL. We are all different and we 

all have a place at SOL. We value diversity and consider 

it a resource. We develop management at SOL and we 

believe that the our management in the future will be 

service-oriented management. We believe that a good 

work community is made up of people of different ages 

and from different cultures. Today, 30% of our employees 

are foreign nationals. We predict that, by 2050, 60% of 

our employees will be from countries other than Finland. 

SOL also has a lot of young employees. Employees under 

30 years of age make up 42% of our workforce. According 

to our image of humankind, people want to do 

good work. We want to give everyone this opportunity. 

We are committed to developing SOL’s age programme. 

The goal of the age programme is to promote the 

work ability and well-being at work of SOL’s employees, 

support the motivation of different age groups, reduce 

sickness absences, increase the average retirement age, 

increase respect towards senior workers and ensure the 

transfer of tacit knowledge. 

Age programme established/not established 

We are committed to promoting the career development 

of immigrant employees 

we have salaried employees who are immigrants in 

all of our districts achieved/not achieved 

2. Working sustainably 

We want SOL to be a place where happy multi-experts 

work. We provide a wide range of active training opportunities 

and our online study programmes bring studies 

close to SOL employees right from the very beginning. We 

train professionals who know how to do it right the first 

time and develop their work continuously in small steps 

according to the LEAN method. The SOL Life programme 

looks after the safety and well-being of employees 

throughout their employment relationship. We want our 

employees to retire healthy. We actively monitor the job 

satisfaction of our personnel as well as the rates of sickness 

absences, accidents and disability pensions. We have 

set goals for these and aim to achieve them. 

Now we want to make sure that the information we 

receive through employee satisfaction surveys is accurate. 

We also want to develop new methods for supporting 

our employees. We value the joy of working and everyday 

creativity. 

. 

Commitment 2050 Summer Celebration, 2 June 2016 


31

We are committed to developing our work so that the 

results of the Joy Barometer employee satisfaction 

survey is above four and the response rate is 80%. 

Joy Barometer: Target: above 4 (scale 1–5) + response 

rate 80% in all employee groups achieved/ 

not achieved 

We are committed to developing an online tool for 

supervisors that enables them to be constantly present 

and support the well-being of employees. 

Online tool for supervisors 2050 achieved/not 

achieved 

3. Resource-wise finances 

SOL is a Solar System that provides its customers with 

service solutions. We work to break down unnecessary 

barriers between different services. It is easier and 

more affordable for our customers to buy, manage and 

develop work when they can do it with a single partner. 

The customer saves time and we, for our part, can offer 

new work opportunities for multi-experts. By combining 

different tasks, we can make it easier to find full-time work 

from within our company. Supervisors are responsible 

for shift planning and ensuring shift availability. Now we 

want to make it possible for employees to book work 

shifts easily and flexibly. We value a sunny and satisfied 

customer and an enterprising spirit above all else. 

We are committed to developing an electronic shift 

booking system. 

electronic shift booking system achieved/not 

achieved 

4. Decision-making that respects nature 

We always consider the environment in our work. We aim 

to constantly decrease the load that our operations cause 

on the environment. We have already done a lot of work in 

this regard and we want to ensure that this work continues. 

We are establishing rules for our procurements. Reliability 

is one of our core values. 

We are committed to establishing procurement instructions 

that will take into account matters important to 

us: 

• our partner suppliers will have environmental management 

certificates 

• we will favour domestic suppliers 

• we will use less detergent than we do now 

• we will use less unrecycled plastic 

• we will use detergents with environmental labels (85%) 

We are committed to auditing suppliers and our own 

procurement processes. 

procurement instructions complied with/not complied 

with 

supplier audits carried out/not carried out 

6.6.1 It all starts with orientation 

The Solar System Orientation Handbook is in active use. 

The online orientation for service providers includes an 

environmental section that guides our employees towards 

environmentally responsible operations. 

6.6.2 Environmental training 

SOL’s environmental coordinators came together for training 

twice during the year. The topics of the spring session 

in Seinäjoki included the deployment of an electronic 

environmental auditing form and the sorting of waste. 

The autumn meeting was held in Helsinki with a focus on 

the Green Key environmental programme and the circular 

economy as well as SOL’s internal Environmental Goals 

and how to achieve them. 


SOL’s environmental 

coordinators work to 

promote sustainable 

development. 

Environmental training sessions organised by the environmental 

coordinators are part of our training programme. 

In 2016, the environmental coordinators organised 30 

environmental training sessions at our service districts and 

customer locations. The environmental training sessions 

improve the service providers’ capacity to meet current 

expectations. 

Swan Ecolabel and Green Key orientation 

All SOL personnel working at hotels that have been 

awarded the Nordic Swan Ecolabel or the Green Key label 

participated in site-specific orientation during the year. 

This ensures environmentally conscious and high-quality 

operations at our customer locations. 

6.7 Developing in-house 

operations 

6.7.1 A new approach to environmental 

audits 

SOL’s environmental audit form was revised and the new 

electronic form was rolled out in May 2016. The revised 

version increased the number of environmental audits 

conducted at customer locations and made it easier to 

analyse and utilise the results of the environmental audits. 

We use the environmental audits to monitor whether 

our operations meet SOL’s Environmental Goals and 

measure our performance at the district, business line 

and customer-specific levels. Our environmentally friendly 

operations are guided by the development perspective. 

We conducted a total of 64 customer-specific environmental 

audits. 

6.7.2 Recipes 

We have revised, modernised and harmonised the service 

concepts used at SOL. The focus of the conceptualisation 

was on the renewal of the product selection, cleaning 

methods, cleaning agents and equipment as well as simplifying 

the product selection and ensuring that it matches 

the needs. Environmental aspects were critically evaluated 

for each concept. The outcome of this effort was SOL 

Recipes for various concepts. 

6.7.3 Detergents 85% eco-labelled 

We have paid particular attention to choosing detergents 

and assessing their environmental impacts. For this reason, 

SOL only uses eco-labelled products in washing cleaning 

textiles and dishes. With respect to other detergents, 

the proportion of Nordic Swan eco-labelled products is 

85%. We cooperate with a Finnish detergent manufacturer 

and invest in product development. We ensure the regular 

renewal of the Swan label criteria. 

We reduced the use of chlorine-based detergents by 

58% in 2016. The reduction was achieved by being more 

specific about where they are to be used and by selecting 

alternative disinfectants to replace chlorine-based disinfectants. 

We aim to make smart choices that support environmental 

protection and keep waterways clean. 

Consumption of eco-labelled and other detergents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

Eco-labelled detergents 

Other detergents 


33

Responsibility is reflected 

in day-to-day choices. 

6.7.4 Reducing chlorine 

SOL began a determined effort to reduce chlorine-based 

disinfectants several years ago. In 2016, we reduced the 

use of chlorine-based disinfectants by 58%. The reduction 

was achieved by developing and narrowing down the 

product selection. The use of environmentally friendly 

methods, such as steam cleaning, has been increased at 

customer locations where the use of steam is possible. 

6.7.5 Reducing plastic 

We are utilising new Cleantech in the manufacturing of 

waste sacks. The new technology has significantly reduced 

the environmental load. On average, it yields savings of 

approximately 28% in the use of natural resources. 

Cleantech waste sacks and bin liners also help ensure a 

pleasant, safe and functional work environment for employees 

and customers. This choice has an impact on the 

use of virgin raw materials, energy consumption, logistics 

and warehousing costs and the environmental load. Our 

choices in this area have also reduced the amount of 

waste through the use of more appropriate sack sizes and 

colours. In 2016, we reduced the amount of waste plastic 

from waste sacks and packaging materials by 50,000 kg. 

We are currently using some 1,500 permanent waste 

sacks. The use of permanent waste sacks has seen steady 

growth. We carried out several campaigns related to the 

use of permanent waste sacks at our service districts in 

2016. 

6.7.6 Eco-labelled cleaning equipment and 

towels 

We invest in eco-labelled cleaning textiles. All of the mop 

strings and microfibre towels we use carry the Swan label. 

Operating responsibly is important for us. We only use the 

best products available. 

6.7.7 Utilising recycled fibres 

SOL’s responsibility is reflected in the practical choices we 

make. To date, we have utilised some 100,000 recycled 

plastic bottles. They have been turned into uniform shirts, 

lightweight backpacks, permanent waste sacks and mop 

bags. With more than 1,000,000 plastic bottles produced 

every day around the world, turning recycled plastic bottles 

into recycled textiles is a major eco-friendly choice! 

The products used by service providers at SOL Palvelut 

“Make My Bed Collection” hotels mainly consist 

of Ecostep textiles that have been manufactured using 

environmentally friendly methods. High-quality European 

workwear textiles ensure long service lives for products. 

The products are manufactured at audited production 

facilities. 

SOL is also involved in the Telaketju project with partners 

including VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, 

the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation 

(Tekes) and Touchpoint to develop new models for 

utilising discarded textiles. 

With the total amount of textiles discarded in Finland 

already as high as 70 million kg per year, we want to participate 

in creating new business models for utilising them. 

6.7.8 Environmentally friendly transport 

The CO2 emission limit of our passenger cars for 2016 was 

set as 130 g/km. Some 61.6% of our fleet met this goal. 

SOL’s vehicle purchases and driver training aim towards 

smaller emissions and economical driving habits. Some of 

our vehicles are hybrids, and we are also testing natural 

gas and all-electric cars. 

Last year, SOL operated 381 vehicles, 224 of which were 

passenger cars and 157 vans. The cars are used for about 

six years, making the average age of the cars three years. 

This means that about 60–70 new cars are procured per 

year. 

During the procurement period 2013–2014, the emission 

limit of vehicle purchases, excluding production 

vehicles, was 140 grams of carbon dioxide per 100 kilometres. 

The limit was lowered to 130 grams for the current 

procurement period 2016–2017. 

We have adhered to this limit quite well, as the average 

emissions of all our passenger cars were 122 grams per 

vehicle last year and 126 grams for vehicles purchased 

during the year. For vans, the corresponding figures were 

150 and 131 grams. 

In the case of vans, the emission values are affected 

by the size of the vehicle. Last year, we purchased quite 

large vans, even though most of the vans we use are rather 

small. 

A 95% majority of SOL’s vans are diesel vehicles. Some 

60% of our passenger cars are petrol vehicles. There are 

seven hybrid vehicles, one natural gas vehicle and one 

electric car. The electric car was purchased for testing 

purposes. 

In addition to car-specific emission values, SOL pays 

attention to economic driving habits. 

SOL has organised economic and safe driving courses 

in cooperation with Pohjola. 

Two out of three districts have already taken part in one 

of these courses over the past two years. We hope to train 

the rest of the districts during this year and the next. 

6.7.9 Waste management at SOL City 

We introduced a renovated modern waste sorting facility 

at SOL City in the beginning of 2016. The new facilities 

make the sorting of waste convenient and economical for 

all users of the property. 


Energy utilisation rate of waste 

23 % 

Material utilisation rate of waste 

77 % 

100 000 

plastic bottles were turned into 

26 240 

uniforms, plastic bags, 

permanent waste sacks and 

PR products 

The improvements mean that the energy utilisation rate 

of our waste is now 23% and the material utilisation rate is 

77%. 

6.7.10 Events and competitions 

Energy Awareness Week 

In October, we participated for the third time in the Energy 

Awareness Week campaign organised by Motiva. Our 

theme for the week was to identify energy consumption 

culprits. During the week, observations of energy consumption 

culprits (e.g. lights that are on all the time, leaking taps 

and toilets, temperatures that are too low or too high) were 

recorded in an electronic system and fixed at our operating 

locations. 

European Week for Waste Reduction 


35

Our theme for the European Week for Waste Reduction 

in November was Plastic-free Alternatives, with the focus 

being on ways to influence the amount of plastic used and 

the environmental problems related to waste plastic. 

Biodiversity competition between businesses 

SOL participated in the inaugural Biodiversity Award 2016 

competition for businesses. 

The purpose of the competition was to highlight the 

best business solutions and related communication practices 

of companies that invest in preserving biodiversity as 

well as draw the attention of all Finnish enterprises to this 

crucial challenge that also represents a significant business 

opportunity for companies in all industries. While we 

did not qualify for the final round of the hotly contested 

competition, we received great feedback on our efforts to 

reduce plastic and chlorine use at our operating locations 

as well as our effective communications related to environmental 

issues. 

6.8 SOL Pesulapalvelut 

The Group’s laundry services company, SOL Pesulapalvelut, 

invests in eco-friendliness in both machinery and detergents. 

As advances are made in both washing techniques 

and detergents, we use ongoing training to keep our laundry 

personnel up to speed with the changes. The training 

of new employees is also very comprehensive. 

With respect to the environmental impacts of dry 

cleaning, the largest change has been the switch from per 

wash to hydrocarbon wash. SOL Pesulapalvelut is constantly 

renewing its machinery and replacing old machines 

with hydrocarbon machines in about 2–5 laundry shops 

per year. In 2016, the machines at two laundry shops were 

replaced by new hydrocarbon machines and two other 

laundry shops also received new hydrocarbon machines. 

The perchloroethylene used in the old machines has been 

classified as a harmful and environmentally damaging 

substance, while hydrocarbon solvents are not harmful 

to the environment. The new hydrocarbon machines also 

produce less waste. 

Dosage pumps are installed in water washing machines 

in several laundry shops each year. Using automatic dispensers 

for detergents means that the laundry personnel 

do not need to handle as many different cleaning agents 

as before. It also saves working time and stain removal 

agents and prevents the excessive dosing of detergents. 

New, computer-controlled water washing machines use 

strictly specified amounts of detergents and water. The 

detergents are as environmentally friendly as possible, and 

the consumption of water and electricity is also monitored. 

The laundry shops aim to optimise their use of machines 

and switch off any machines that are not in use. 

With regard to pre-wash stain removal, the personnel 

have been instructed to avoid the excessive use of 

cleaning agents. Detergent-specific personal protection 

instructions have been attached to the products used, and 

each laundry shop also has instructions for emergencies. 

In autumn 2015, we began a pilot project on collecting 

the cooling water of a dry washing machine for washing 

with water. The cooling water from the dry cleaning 

machine is run into a separate water tank. As this water is 

warmer than room temperature, up to 45 degrees, it can 

be utilised by a water washing machine. Electricity is also 

saved when clothes put in a tumble dryer are first rinsed 

with warm water. Going forward, water collection systems 

will be installed in new laundry shops. 

SOL laundry shops have participated in the European 

Week for Waste Reduction for several years and they will 

do so again in 2017. The theme is the reduction of plastic 

waste by decreasing the use of plastic packaging materials. 

During the week, customers can select a reusable 

fibre bag instead of plastic packaging, free of charge. A 

growing number of our laundry shops are plastic-free, 

meaning that they return clean clothes to customers without 

plastic packaging. We reduced our plastic consumption 

by 6% in 2016 compared to the previous year. Plastic 

consumption has seen a steady year-to-year decrease in 

our laundry services. 

In 2016, we also began collecting textiles for recycling. 

Customers at our Hakaniemi and Sello laundry shops can 

dispose of textiles in convenient recycling containers. 

Environmentally conscious acts are actively communicated 

to various stakeholders. For example, customers 

have been instructed to return hangers and use protection 

treatment that makes the textiles last longer and reduces 

the need for washing them. 

6.9 Environmental Deed 

competition and rewards 

Every year, we give out a reward for an excellent and 

innovative environmental deed based on an application 

submitted as a part of the Quality Award competition. 

In 2016, trainer Paula Haanpää received the award in 

recognition of her determined and long-term environmental 

efforts. 


Environmental aspects at SOL 

Environmental aspects at SOL Palvelut 

Environmental file 


Criteria for assessment procedure 

for environmental aspects based 

on environmental reviews and the 

environmental programme 

IMPORTANCE FACTORS/IMPACT 

FACTORS 

A = Statutory requirements 

B = Importance to image 

C = Environmental benefits/costs 

D = Severity of environmental impacts 

E = Potential leverage 

Total = (A+B+C+D)*E 

IMPORTANCE SCALE 

0 = Statutory requirements 

1 = Importance to image 

2 = Environmental benefits/costs 

3 = Severity of environmental impacts 

ACTIVITY, PROCESS OR SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IMPORTANCE 

A B C D E Total 

PROCUREMENT OF PRODUCTS, 

MACHINES/EQUIPMENT 

Selection of suppliers 

Environmental impact caused by the 

production of products 

1 3 2 3 3 27 

Selection of suppliers, cleaning 

services 

Environmental impact caused by 

consumption 

1 3 1 1 3 18 

Selection of suppliers, property 

services 


consumption 

1 3 1 1 3 18 

Selection of suppliers, laundry 

services 


consumption 

3 3 1 3 3 30 

PRODUCTION/SERVICE 

Correct selection, dosage and use of 

substances to be used 

Impact on wastewater caused by the 

unnecessary use of detergents 

1 2 2 2 3 21 

Wastewater generated 

Consumption of water supply, impact 

on water treatment plants 

0 2 2 1 3 15 

Energy consumption 

Consumption of natural resources 

and emissions caused by production 

1 1 1 1 2 8 

-Waste generated by in-house 

processes 

Plastic waste 

Conservation of natural resources, 

environmental impact caused by 

waste and emissions at the final 

disposal site 

1 2 2 2 3 21 

Hazardous waste, PER waste, 

Laundry services 


waste and emissions at the final 

disposal site 

3 2 2 3 3 30 

Transportation 

Fuel consumption/emissions caused 

by driving 

Consumption of energy resources, 

impact on atmosphere 

1 2 2 1 2 12 

Maintenance of transport fleet and 

machines 

Service life of transport fleet Conservation of natural resources 2 1 2 1 2 12 

PERSONNEL ACTIONS 

Personnel’s environmental awareness, 

eco-friendly and environmentally 

oriented activities 

Identifying and addressing environmental 

aspects at work and in leisure 

time 

0 3 2 2 3 21 

Guidance and training 

Increasing personnel’s environmental 

awareness and knowledge 

Improving personnel’s ability to act 

sustainably in their work 

0 3 2 2 3 21 

COOPERATION WITH CUSTOMERS 

Recognising and supporting the customer’s 

environmental activities 

SOL’s role in ensuring the customer’s 

environmental objectives are met 

3 3 2 1 3 27 


37

Social 


The Group’s strategy recognises employees’ commitment 

and satisfaction and gives high priority to personnel issues. 

HR work is done with and among the personnel in all the 

Group’s business sectors. The joy of 

working is one of SOL’s core values. 

77.1 HR issues at the core 

of the Group’s strategy 

Personnel costs form the largest part of overall costs. High 

priority is given to raising and maintaining the personnel’s 

enthusiasm, willingness and readiness to serve, and vocational 

skills, as these are the factors guaranteeing superior 

service to customers. Committed employees comply better 

with unified instructions and ensure long-term operations 

of high-quality. Trust is the cornerstone of our work. Competent 

personnel with the right attitude in the right tasks, 

continuous personnel development, performance management, 

feedback and incentive strategy are the focus 

areas of the company’s HR strategy. The feeling that one’s 

work is useful is important to everyone and creates the joy 

of working. SOL’s HR strategy is based on a positive image 

of humankind, where everyone wants to do good work, to 

succeed and to be thinking and feeling human beings who 

accept individuality. Our management culture must support 

trustworthy interaction and an atmosphere that encourages 

creativity. 

Personnel development focuses on orientation and 

training that support the employees themselves and the 

satisfaction of customer-specific needs. The training is monitored 

through a Training Index, sorted by employee and by 

customer. The coaching and training sessions are supported 

on a personal level by competence assessment and a 

learning passport. Each SOL employee completes orientation 

training online, and a supervisor and a tutor ensure 

location-specific competence through method and on-site 

orientation and constant care for the well-being of the personnel. 

At the end of their probationary period, each SOL 

employee also attends the SOL IN training in their district. 

Each employee acknowledges that he/she has completed 

orientation training sessions. 

For a long time, SOL has used employees trained as 

tutors, who also work as occupational guides to support the 

training process. Their role was enhanced at the beginning 

of 2015 to cover the implementation of location-specific 

training and ensuring competence. Salaried employees are 

additionally provided with mentoring and coaching in their 

sales and managerial work. The employee-specific Quality 

Passport, where positive customer feedback is documented 

with a laughter or smile symbol, continues to be used as a 

feedback tool. 

Our aim is to offer opportunities for job rotation and 

career advancement within the Group. Internal recruitment 

and external job applications, today mainly in electronic 

format, create a foundation for the company’s expanding 

operations. The individual’s own views and his/her desire 

and intent to develop and move forward are also seriously 

discussed at the ‘From goals to results’ discussions. 

Late in the year, we published the SOL Age Programme 

aimed at promoting the work ability of employees of all 

ages. The goals of the age programme are to support the 

work ability of different age groups, maintain good work 

fitness and reduce sickness absences as well as promote 

positive cooperation between different age groups. We pay 

special attention to young people and “yellow panthers”. 

A further goal of the age programme is to increase the 

average retirement age. At present, SOL employees retire 

on old-age pension at the average age of 63.5 years, while 

the average age of retirement due to illness is 58.5 years. We 

do not condone discrimination against any age group. 

The goals of the SOL Age Programme are supported by 

the SOL Life well-being at work programme, which has been 

established for a long time now. 

The “Backpack of Happiness” project developed as part 

of the SOL Life programme has been continued. Workshop 

activities and the use of well-being at work mentors have 

been expanded to cover all service districts, with a wellbeing 

coordinator appointed for each district. 

. 


Wages and social security expenses (MEUR) 

Wages and salaries, statutory social security expenses and benefits 2012–2016 

200 

175 

161,3 

169,0 

172,2 

180,5 

150 

140,1 

125 

100 

75 

50 

25 

0 

33,6 

3,2 

2012 

41,0 

4,5 

2013 

44,0 

4,7 

2014 

44,9 

3,6 

2015 

49,0 

3,3 

2016 

Wages and salaries 

Social security expenses 

Non-statutory social security 

expenses 

Taxes paid (MEUR) 

50 

40 

41,0 

42,4 

35,9 36,1 

43,5 

39,5 

30 

20 

22,0 

22,3 

21,8 

Prepaid taxes 

VAT paid 

Income taxes 

10 

Social security contributions 

0 

1,1 

2014 

2015 

1,5 1,1 

2016 

INSURANCE PREMIUMS AND TYEL 2015 2016 

Employee pension payments and unemployment insurance payments, 

employer’s contributions 

TyEL, accident insurance, group life insurance and unemployment insurance payments, 

employer’s contributions 

MEUR 9.6 MEUR 10.8 

MEUR 36.1 MEUR 39,5 


39

7.2 Number of personnel 

and type of employment 

relationships 

The average number of employees each year is calculated 

from the average number of employees on the last day 

of each month, and every person is included in the figure 

regardless of the number of his/her working hours (not FTE 

number). 

In 2016, the SOL group employed 12,862 people (2015: 

12,031). The number of personnel increased by 831 people. 

In 2016, an average of 9,290 people worked in SOL’s Finnish 

operations, corresponding to 7,484 when converted into 

full-time employees, and an average of 3,275 people 

worked in our foreign subsidiaries. SOL employs over 800 

seasonal workers in Finland each year. We participate in the 

Responsible Summer Job campaign. 

Some 92% of the personnel of our Finnish companies 

worked in permanent employment relationships in 2016 

compared to 93% in 2015. 

For 93% of the Group’s employees in Finland, their job 

in the SOL Group was their primary occupation. At the end 

of 2016, a total of 128 our employees in Finland were on 

nursing leave, maternity or nursing leave, rotational leave or 

study leave. The figures do not include the temporary staff 

of SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut. 

Employment relationships are mainly agreed until further 

notice, except with SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut, where the majority 

of the employment relationships are fixed-term. 

Ilmarinen granted 67 old age pensions in 2016 (old age 

pension and old age pension payable on early retirement). 

One employee was granted a part-time pension. A total of 

24 people were granted disability pension, of whom five 

receive part-time disability pension. The average retirement 

age at SOL has increased over the years. In 2016, the average 

retirement age was 63.5 years. 

The SOL Life well-being at work programme engages 

in effective cooperation with occupational health services 

(Terveystalo), the accident insurance provider (OP) and 

Type of employment 31 December 2016 

(SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut is excluded from these figures.) 

NUMBER OF PERSONNEL FINLAND FOREIGN SUBSIDIARIES SOL GROUP TOTAL 

Permanent employment relationships 6913 2783 9696 

Fixed-term employment relationships 489 819 1308 

Full-time employment relationships 3997 1399 5396 

Main employment relationships 7110 1969 9079 

Duration of 

employment relationships 

Personnel age structure 

6% 2% 5% 6% 

Less than 1 year 

14% 

29% 

1–2 years 

15% 

3–5 years 

6–10 years 

15% 

20% 

11–20 years 

29% 

More than 20 years 

23% 

18% 

17% 

Under 20 years 

20–24 years 

25–29 years 

30–39 years 

40–49 years 

50–60 years 

More than 60 years 


pension company (Ilmarinen). The SOL Continuous caring 

model was developed to support the supervisors. The Sirius 

programme helps supervisors with the early identification of 

disability risks. 

Employment relationships on a trial period basis that are 

terminated by the employer are monitored by supervisors 

and at the district level via scorecards every month. 

The length of the working day was 7.5 hours for SOL’s 

salaried employees in 2016. The length of the working day 

among SOL employees varies between the companies. The 

average length of the working day was 5.2 hours for the 

employees of SOL Palvelut, 4.85 hours for the employees of 

SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut and 5.84 hours for SOL Pesulapalvelut 

employees.. 

7.3 Personnel’s age and 

duration of employment 

The average age of employees in the Group’s Finnish 

companies was 37 years in 2016 (2015: 38 years). The 

average age of personnel in SOL Pesulapalvelut was 39 

years. In SOL Palvelut, the average age was 36 years, while 

in SOLEMO it was 45 years. The average age of personnel 

in SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut was 30 years, while the corresponding 

figure for salaried employees was 36 years. The 

age distribution among the Group’s personnel in Finland 

is as follows: 20–24 years: 6%; 25–29 years: 16.8%; 30–39 

years: 23.6%; 40–49 years: 15%; 50–60 years: 17%; and over 

60 years: 4.5%. 

There is a significant difference between the duration of 

employees’ and salaried employees’ employment relationships. 

The average duration of SOL’s employment relationships 

in Finland has increased slightly over the past few 

years, and it now stands at 3.7 years for employees and 

8.7 years for salaried employees. Some 25% of all SOL’s 

salaried employees in Finland have worked for less than 

three years and 32% for more than 11 years. Some 68% of 

the employees have been employed for less than three 

years and 16% for more than six years. The longest employment 

relationships – over 40 years – derive from the time 

of the previous Group. Some 19% of the employees in the 

international operations have worked for less than a year 

and 27% of them have been in the company for more than 

5 years. The longest continuous employment relationship 

has lasted 21 years. 

Joy Barometer, SOL employees 

Joy Barometer, SOL salaried employees 

5 

4 

3,9 3,8 4 3,9 3,9 

5 

4 

4,2 

4,7 

4,2 

4,5 

4,4 

3 

3 

2 

2 

1 

1 

0 

The work and I The customer 

and I 

The supervisor 

and I 

Safety and I 

SOL as a 

whole 

0 

The work and I The customer 

and I 

The supervisor 

and I 

Safety and I 

SOL as a 

whole 


41

SOL Life – a model for continuous caring 

Health issue 

The supervisor makes 

an appointment for 

the employee at the 

occupational health-care 

centre for 1) a work 

ability assessment and 

2) a discussion between 

the supervisor, the employee 

and a physician 

The employee’s performance has weakened 

or the limit values for sickness absences have 

been exceeded 

THE SUPERVISOR HOLDS A DISCUSSION IN ACCOR- 

DANCE WITH THE MODEL FOR CONTINUOUS CARING 

A problem in the 

work community 

The supervisor discusses the situation 

individually with each member of the 

workplace community 

The regional supervisor reports 

to the regional manager about 

the discussion. 

A personal-life problem 

Temporarily shorter 

working hours, unpaid leave, 

annual leave rescheduled 

at an earlier date, flexible 

working hours 

The occupational 

health-care centre 

provides the employee 

and the employer 

with an assessment 

of the situation and 

initiates any necessary 

measures 

Risk of disability 

pension 

The occupational 

health-care centre 

guides the employee 

to apply for professional 

rehabilitation 

provided by Ilmarinen 

or medical rehabilitation 

provided by Kela 

The supervisor implements measures 

to improve workplace relations and the 

atmosphere at the workplace 

Treatment 

If necessary, the supervisor 

arranges for less stressful or 

alternative assignments and/ 

or flexible working hours either 

temporarily or permanently 

Recommendations 

to revise the job 

description or adjust 

the working hours 

EMPLOYEE 

CAPABLE 

OF WORK 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

Occupational accident frequency 

Figure 19. Accident rate per million working hours, 2012–2016 

On the job 

At least 3 days 

Less than 3 days 

On the commute 

0 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 


7.4 Changes in employee 

distribution by gender 

Women accounted for 63% of the Group’s total personnel. 

In Finland, the percentage of women employees was 69% 

(SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut is excluded from these figures). 

The proportion of women in international operations is 

66%. Six out of the nine members of SOL’s Management 

Team are female. Two out of the three members of the 

Board of Directors of SOLEMO Oy are women. At the end 

of 2016, women represented 69% of the management in 

the Group’s Finnish companies. 

7.5 Investing in the 

personnel’s work ability 

In 2016, SOL spent some EUR 264 per employee on the 

prevention and treatment of illnesses in Finland. SOL 

monitors sickness absences based on the working hours 

performed, so-called 100%. In 2016, the morbidity rate in 

Finland was 4.11%, which represents an increase of 0.05% 

from the previous year. The most important causes of sickness 

absences include musculoskeletal diseases, infections 

and accidents. 

The SOL Life Early Caring Model helps supervisors to 

intervene with work ability problems in their early stages. 

The most important aims include preventing sickness absences, 

reducing the amount of accidents and minimising 

disability pensions. In 2016, SOL Palvelut Oy participated 

in a best practices competition related to well-being at 

work, organised by the European Agency for Safety & 

Health at Work. 

The rate of morbidity due to occupational accidents in 

Finland was 0.23%. There were 547 accidents at work, and 

103 accidents occurred while commuting. The accidents 

at work resulted in 3,127 days of sick leave, equivalent to 

some six sick days per accident. Accidents during commuting 

caused 979 days of sick leave absence, equivalent 

to 9.5 sick days per accident. An electronic safety tool was 

deployed in autumn 2016 to make it easy for all employees 

to quickly report safety observations and near misses. 

When the observations have been forwarded for processing 

and any deficiencies have been rectified, the employee 

who submitted the report will be notified by e-mail. 

Supervisors conduct continuous safety risk evaluations 

at worksites and customer premises, and implement the 

necessary actions according to plan. The occupational 

safety officer is often also involved in these activities. The 

Occupational Safety and Health Committee operates nationwide 

and convenes five times a year. Each SOL employee 

is responsible for safety, and all of SOL’s activities are 

based on preventive measures. 

A separate on-site risk list and related occupational 

health and safety instructions are made on the basis of the 

risk evaluations. The employees are specifically oriented 

on the topic of the risk list and its instructions and the 

orientation must be signed for. 

In the event of an accident, our instructions are to also 

immediately inform the Occupational Health and Safety 

Manager, the relevant Business Director and the Managing 

Director directly. The event must be explained and 

Electronic occupational safety tool: 

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 

Risk assessments: 181 

Safety observations: 215 

Classification of safety observations: 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 

Personal protective equipment, clothing: 5 

Chemicals, air quality: 5 

Machines, equipment, platforms: 17 

Passages, exits: 39 

Lowering oneself: 3 

Slipping, falling: 44 

Noise, lighting, temperature: 2 

Lifting: 5 

Bumping one’s head: 12 

Risk taking: 4 

Sharp objects: 27 

Threat of violence: 6 

Getting squeezed between something: 5 

Other: 20 

Summary of electronically 

reported safety observations. 

The categories with the 

most observations match the 

categories with the highest 

accident frequencies. This 

suggests a direct link between 

paying attention to these 

factors and achieving positive 

development in reducing the 

accident frequency. 


43

A total of 250 

apprenticeships 

leading to a 

qualification and 

12,000 training 

participants 

Special expertise and 

specialisation studies 

Site and task-specific training, 

multi-experts 

Service expertise 

and customer service 

Rewarding, personnel benefits, career plan, well-being at work 

the following procedures to prevent the accident from 

reoccurring must be described. 

Each accident is investigated and documented to find 

out the core reason. The accident is discussed on-site and 

the corrective measures are implemented. After this, the 

next district meeting of the service management area will 

discuss and state for general information all the completed 

corrective measures. Excerpts from the minutes will be 

sent to the Occupational Health and Safety Manager. 

The Occupational Health and Safety Manager will 

monitor the development of the accident statistics and the 

accident rate monthly and inform employees of any observations 

and issues the personnel should pay attention 

to at the workplace with any new necessary instructions or 

procedures. 

The sickness and accident statistics will be regularly 

presented in management reviews. 

7.6 Personnel training 

ensures competence 

The long-term and systematic development of the personnel’s 

competence is critical to SOL. An estimated 25% of 

the personnel employed by our Finnish business lines hold 

a vocational qualification or a further or specialist vocational 

qualification. The Group has six full-time instructors 

with qualifications in teaching: five in SOL Palvelut and 

one in SOL Pesulapalvelut. Other people in the Group 

have also been trained to provide training sessions. 

The needs and requirements of customers and the 

needs of the company and the personnel are taken into 

account in the planning of the training sessions, and the 

formulated plans are turned into a tangible form as an 

updated training programme for each year. Supervisors 

prepare a competence plan for their staff based on the 

programme and update the plan as necessary. 

In 2016, a total of 11,000 people participated in the 

training sessions. The number of training days amounted 

to an average of two days per employee in Finland. Most 

of the training sessions are conducted internally, but they 

also often involve outside experts. 

The training sessions are divided into targeted training, 

which maintains or deepens knowledge, and long-term 

degree-oriented education, which is implemented as module 

and multiform/online training. The aim of the training 

is to pave the way for an opportunity to take a practical 

examination leading to a qualification, and to identify and 

recognise the competence acquired through work as well 

as the training provided by SOL in the preparation of a 

personalisation plan. 

Our diverse personnel challenge us to continuously 

develop our training programmes, which is why we are involved 

in a number of projects such as the SAFHY project 

that produces digital learning materials, including video 

clips and tests, for use by educational institutes and businesses 

in Estonia and Finland. The materials are produced 

in Finnish, Estonian, Russian and English. The materials 


include texts, video clips, photos, tests and a professional 

glossary. 

(The SAFHY project is funded by the ERDF Interreg 

Central Baltic programme and coordinated by the Central 

Uusimaa Training Consortium Keuda) 

In addition to classroom training, we invest in the development 

of online training. Our goal is to further invest in 

orientation training and the implementation of procedures 

and operating methods in line with the concepts we have 

developed. We are also continuing our work in site-specific 

initial and development training and increasing the 

target auditing carried out by instructors as well as the 

implementation of the LEAN operating model. In training, 

we focus on coaching tutors, service instructors and 

well-being at work mentors as well as the development 

of online training and diverse coaching, including not 

only online and classroom training but also webinars and 

coaching. 

Our goal is to reduce the number of contact training 

days and to increasingly utilise the Internet as a learning 

tool. 

SOL Training Steps is a model of how an employee can 

exploit our in-house training to improve his/her skills and 

to broaden his/her tasks. Each step includes a number 

of training sessions. These are based on SOL’s in-house 

training, but they can also include specialised degrees or 

special skills training arranged by other organisations. 

In 2016, some 210 SOL employees participated in apprenticeship 

training in Finland, taking various degrees, 

including: 

• Vocational Qualification in Textiles Care 

• Vocational qualification in property maintenance services 

• Further Vocational Qualification in Property Services 

and Specialist Qualification for Property Services 

• Site facilities operative, further vocational qualification 

• Supervisor of cleaning work, specialist vocational qualification 

• Cleaning technician, specialist vocational qualification 

• Specialist Vocational Qualification in Management 

• Security guard, further vocational qualification 

• Specialist Qualification for Security Officers 

• Practical examiner qualification 

• Specialist vocational qualification in business management 

• Janitor, specialist vocational qualification 

• Immediate supervisor, further vocational qualification 

Last year, we focused particularly on the further vocational 

qualification of security guards, with 22 service 

managers and service directors completing the degree. 

SOL Palvelut Oy was given the Apprenticeship Employer 

of 2011 award by the Helsinki Apprenticeship Office 

(the award applies to the whole of Finland). In 2013, the 

Lapland Apprenticeship Centre recognised SOL with 

multiple awards including apprentice of the year, apprenticeship 

company of the year, on-the-job trainer of 

the year and apprenticeship trainer of the year based on 

the company’s active and positive efforts in the field of 

apprenticeship training. 

The Specialist 

Qualification for 

Security Officers 

was completed by 

22 SOL employees 

There are eight experts at SOL who have completed 

the practical examiner training. They have the skills to 

evaluate employees’ previous skills in relation to their 

duties and official degree requirements, and to assess 

the completed degrees. The objective is the promotion 

of lifelong learning, and the personnel training at SOL is 

integrated to correspond to the basics of qualifications 

and, therefore, promotes the completion of practical 

examinations and cooperation with apprenticeship offices 

and institutes. 

Annual theme days are organised, for example, for tutors, 

service instructors, coordinators of training, environmental 

affairs and recruitment, service supervisors, sales 

personnel, full-service laundry personnel and customer 

service personnel. 

We cooperate with significant educational institutes 

across Finland. Our cooperation with Keuda can be traced 

back more than 15 years and the partnership has developed 

through the years. In particular, vocational qualifications 

and further vocational qualifications in property 

services have been completed as both apprenticeships 

and self-motivated training. 

We have worked together with Amiedu particularly in 

the areas of targeted training in property services and the 

specialist qualification for property services, with eight 

people completing that programme last year. 

The level of training of the service operatives working 

for each customer is monitored by the Training Index, and 

employees are guided to the necessary training courses 

based on the index. 

Orientation 

The Finnish-language online orientation of service providers 

was revised in late 2016, with the English and Russian 

versions to follow in 2017. We will also produce new 

online courses and competence tests/surveys for various 

operating environments and customer service operations 

with the aim of developing the skills of our personnel and 

responding to the competence needs of our customers. 

The online orientation training for salaried employees 

was revised in 2016 on the SOL Ope learning platform. 

New salaried employees complete an online course 

before attending SOL’s classroom orientation workshops 

focused on SOL’s operating methods and processes, 

communication, competence development, orientation, 

personnel management, financial management, customer 


45

elationship management and dimensioning calculation. 

New online courses for personnel will also be added to 

the SOL Ope learning platform in 2017. This will allow 

employees to study at a time that suits them and review 

topics as necessary. 

7.7 Personnel unionisation 

In Finland, the provisions of the current collective bargaining 

agreement between the Finnish Real Estate Employers 

and the Service Union United PAM for employees in 

the property maintenance sector applies to SOL’s salaried 

employees in the cleaning, property and facility maintenance 

services. The collective bargaining agreement for 

employees in the property maintenance sector primarily 

applies to SOL’s security service employees. The collective 

bargaining agreement for the textile care industry applies 

to the laundry personnel, and the collective bargaining 

agreement for the chemical sector to the laundries’ salaried 

employees. The temporary staff and service experts 

of personnel services apply the provisions of the collective 

bargaining agreement of each respective corporate customer, 

and SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy’s salaried employees 

apply the collective bargaining agreement for the personnel 

services sector. 

Two meetings that address financial issues, personnel 

plans and reports, and the following year’s action plan and 

priorities, are held every year in Finland, between the chief 

shop stewards and the management. 

The personnel have full freedom to unionise in all the 

operating countries. Since the countries of the foreign 

subsidiaries do not have collective bargaining processes 

similar to Finland, local labour legislation and SOL’s internal 

practices are applied to their work. 

SOL Palvelut Oy is a member of the employer union 

Real Estate Employers, SOL Pesulapalvelut is a member of 

the Yleinen Teollisuusliitto ry, and SOL Henkilöstöpalvelut 

is a member of the Palvelualojen työnantajat PALTA ry. 

7.8 SOL is a multicultural 

work community 

SOL is a multicultural work community that offers equal 

opportunities to all employees. More than 30% of SOL 

services’ employees were not Finnish citizens. 

We promote the equality of all employees and prevent 

discrimination in all forms. (E.g., discrimination due to age, 

origin, nationality, language, religion, conviction, opinions, 

political activities, trade union activities, family relations, 

health, handicaps, sexual orientation or other reason 

arising from a person is strictly prohibited.) 

SOL established its multicultural work group in 2007. 

Its objective is to promote the integration of employees 

from different environments into the operating culture at 

SOL and to improve the understanding of diversity. The 

multicultural work group has, for example, prepared an 

annual global calendar which includes the holidays of 

different religions. In cooperation with PAM (Service Union 

United), the work group has produced a video for new 

employees with the intent of introducing the employee to 

many important issues. 

– Of course, the people in the video are SOL employees 

as well. A video is a modern and more lively channel 

for communicating important issues to employees, and an 

image also relates an important image of the employer, 

colleagues, the work community and the rules of working 

life to the viewer. 

SOL is taking part in the Osaavat naiset project coordinated 

by MONIKA - Multicultural Women’s Association, 

supporting the employment of immigrant women in many 

different ways. SOL is an active partner in the project and 

has already provided many women with job opportunities. 

Women with an immigrant background are trained to 

seek jobs, taught IT skills, and guided towards language 

studies and other training. The HR representative of SOL 

has visited the Monika women several times to talk about 

SOL as an employer and about the jobs SOL offers. 

The Osaavat naiset project is funded by the Uusimaa 

ELY Centre. The work group reports directly to the Management 

Team. 

Providing comprehensive orientation training to all 

employees is a matter of honour for us. 


We are all equal 

SOL is widely known as a multicultural work community. 

– Orientation to SOL’s work tasks and taking root in 

the Finnish working culture are emphasised in the work of 

the multicultural development group, says Sari Crnobreg, 

Chair of the multicultural work group. 

SOL has employees from over 60 countries and all continents. 

Crnobreg emphasises that despite the differences, 

everyone at SOL is equal. 

– We wish to give everyone equal chances for a career, 

learning at work, and well-being at work. Harmonising 

working methods and making service easy is important. 

For instance, we have translated training materials into 

many different languages. 

– One of the key challenges is mapping and utilising 

the skills of multicultural employees more efficiently. 

According to Crnobreg, good interaction is created 

by ensuring that the employer has a clear picture of the 

difference of the peoples’ backgrounds. Despite training, 

it is important to preserve the person’s idendity. 

– Families have also been integrated with the help of 

SOL. An intact family has a tremendous, positive effect on 

the life of an employee, which also benefits their working 

life. 

Crnobreg finds it delightful that more and more couples 

are working at SOL these days, enabling a new level of 

planning their future in their new home country. 

– One must not forget one’s roots and identity – quite 

the opposite. Multiculturalism is a diverse gift, and one 

ought to be comfortable with one’s identity. 

In 2016, SOL handed out its first award for an act 

promoting multiculturalism. The award was given to the 

Multiculturalism Working Group led by Sari Crnobreg in 

recognition of the group’s accomplishments in promoting 

equality. 

Happy together 

The events organised by the multicultural group have 

been popular. 

– They bring joy to everyday life, and SOL employees 

from different cultures can get to know each other. 

The multicultural development group also maintains a 

world calendar containing the holidays of different countries. 

– This is an important work-planning tool for the supervisors. 

We share holidays from all over the world and each 

of us can learn new, interesting and inspiring things from 

different cultures. By getting to know different countries 

and their customs, we are also more truly present as colleagues. 

Join in and make a difference 

According to Sari Crnobreg, the development group has a 

large number of new goals, and they are in constant need 

of more eager participants as the members of the development 

group fluctuate among work tasks and potential 

changes. 

– For instance, we would really like to have participants 

from South Asia. It is important to have a comprehensive 

representation from different continents. 

Crnobreg reminds us that the multicultural work group 

encourages all SOL employees to take initiative. 

– There are never too many ideas, and there are no 

limits to what we can achieve through cooperation. 

Team Leader of multicultural development 

Sari Crnobreg (middle) and service providers 

Makhan Khatrin (left) and Shahana Aktherin. 


47

SOL Responsibility report 2017

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