SOL Sweden operates in a low-margin industry with services such as cleaning, foiling, posters and maintenance and you have undergone a real steel bath in connection with the Covid pandemic. How have you handled the crisis and what strategy do you have to continue your growth?
In one day we lost 70% of our revenue, especially in the hospitality industry. We are used to dealing with emergencies, including a successful reconstruction a few years ago that was unusually fast thanks to our experience in dealing with crises. The most important thing for us when Covid-19 struck was to focus on solutions and opportunities and not to panic. That's why the whole company was quick to contact companies, shops, authorities to ensure the safety of our employees and the company's continued operations. At that time, we had about 600 employees, of which 180 permanent employees and 200 hourly employees worked in our single largest store and these were suddenly without jobs and we were obliged to pay salaries anyway. Our focus was then to get the employees out on other assignments, ie find new creative business, we knew that other parts of the industry were screaming for labor so we simply contacted competitors to us.
Thanks to fantastic teamwork and the strong will and commitment of the employees, we had over 160 employees on other assignments in two days. In this way, we were able to help our competitors who needed temporary staff and avoid most of our costs. At the moment, we are looking at other opportunities to get volume back, such as acquisitions or other forms of contract business, while waiting for increased demand in our existing business - which we still have! We have a clear plan on how to re-employ as volumes come back. We will emerge from this crisis twice as strong as we were before!

Your business is about creating greater well-being in the workplace. How do you think the perception of your services will change post-Covid?
It is clear that we hope that companies will choose competence and quality over price. The employee's work environment is incredibly important today and then good cleaning should also be just as important, that bacteria are cleaned away and not waved around, but it is not something that an untrained eye can determine, where price is usually a decisive factor. It looks clean or smells good but the bacteria are still there. Several companies now require cleaning staff to have completed certified training. However, no one checks or follows up that this is complied with in the contracts. This means that many companies choose to hire cheap labor without certified training. Unfortunately, it is usually the price that controls, which means that we in the industry must also work in parallel to change and try to influence politicians, trade unions and employers' organizations. Everyone deserves clean workplaces provided by employees from sound companies with trained staff and fair working conditions and agreements.

You are fortunate to have employees from a wide range of cultures. What advantages (and challenges) in leadership does this bring?
I (Jimmy) come from the banking and insurance industry where we worked on culture and diversity issues. In retrospect, I realize that we were not even close to understanding or encountering new cultures. What I have encountered at SOL is absolutely amazing. I now have a greater understanding of cultural differences, why some people act the way they do, social background, home country experiences and the clashes of the new. Opinions that I had have changed others have been strengthened, everything is for both good and bad but new insights have definitely broadened my perspective as a leader and human being.
A company with 76 nationalities places high demands on us as leaders, especially how we reach out and how we communicate. Leadership also becomes very direct, sometimes more pointed. A company with so many nationalities requires more flexible leadership, which I think is something we will need more of for men/women.