A successful management day

Human resources are the most important resource.

The Human Resources team of the City of Hafnarfjörður recently organised a management day for all managers at the 73 sites under the municipality's umbrella. Around 120 managers from various council sites attended the meeting at Ásvellir, listening to a variety of presentations and taking part in work related to the daily tasks and challenges in a manager's life and work. The meeting was chaired by Andri Ómarsson, Project Manager for Culture and Marketing at the City of Hafnarfjörður.

Overall strategy, career development, management motivation and health promotion

Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, opened the meeting with encouraging words about the importance of the whole and the contribution of each individual, as well as discussing the overall strategy in particular. Hafnarfjörður to the year 2035 and then that decision Hafnarfjörður is becoming a healthy workplace. Magnús Geir Þórðarson, the Director of the National Theatre, attended the meeting with a motivational message for the management and, among other things, discussed the idea of being positive about all ideas and projects without overthinking the practicalities at the outset. Such a basic mindset can yield incredibly unexpected and positive results. Kristín Sigrún Guðmundsdóttir, the Human Resources Manager, spoke to the group about the importance of professional development and of each employee enhancing and strengthening their own qualities. Hulda Sólveig Jóhannsdóttir, project manager for the health-promoting workplace at Hafnarfjörður Municipality, presented the implementation and structure of the project and the reasons for embarking on this major undertaking. Each workplace is inherently different, and the project manager will work closely with each individual site to develop health-promoting solutions and approaches.

The most stressful situations, the ECHO cases, recruitment and humour as a razor-sharp tool

Líney Árnadóttir and Sara Lind Brynjólfsdóttir from Virk presented the Stress Ladder as a tool to identify whether stress and strain are present in the workplace. Hrefna Hugosdóttir, a nurse and employee of Auðnast, educated the group about the EKKÓ cases, which cover bullying, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and violence. Sveinn Waage attempted to convince the group that humour in management really works and is one of the most powerful panaceas in existence, and a razor-sharp tool for getting things done and making the workplace, and life in general, work better. Human resources consultants Lind Einarsdóttir and Sigurður Óli Jónsson then presented the group with a practical task involving the review of CVs and the recruitment process, which will hopefully lead to the right decision being made about an individual for a job.

It was none other than Hafnarfjörður's 2021 Artist in Residence, Friðrik Dór, who brought a content-rich management day to a close with a few well-chosen songs. It is planned to hold the City of Hafnarfjörður's annual management day, along with shorter management meetings in between, where current issues and challenges are discussed and the group is encouraged.