Altogether 619 employees worked in Bittium in Finland, USA, Mexico, Great Britain and Singapore at the end of the year 2017. The average age of the personnel in Bittium was 42 years. R&D engineers constituted clearly the largest proportion of the personnel. The amount of personnel remained stable during the year 2017, but at the end of the year the need for recruitment was anticipated, and actions to meet this need were taken especially in the beginning of the year 2018.
Bittium´s core competences are strong and extensive know-how of information security, radio technology, embedded software, electronics and product integration as well as measuring of biosignals. At Bittium the way of working is based on the implementation of Lean and Agile methods. Regarding the way-of-working, the emphasis of development has been in digitalization of processes and operations, software life-cycle management, development and implementation of real-time feedback and visualization methods and non-functional quality requirements management (i.a. EU Horizon 2020 Program Q-Rapids). To support the engineering competence development Bittium utilized virtual competence teams, and several technology trainings were organizedbased on current needs.
According to the annual personnel survey BES (Bittium Employee Survey), Bittium is a good place to work; the staff engagement index strengthened significantly from theyear 2016. The specific strengths remained Bittium´s culture and way of working as well as our good team spirit. Trust in management as well as supervisor communication improved.
One reason for improved supervisor communication has been the renewal implemented in 2016, in which the annual formal development discussion was discarded, and a new, more flexible and direct way for supervisors and their team members to interact was established. Now they meet in shorter, one-on-one meetings each quarter. This new method is in line with the coaching leadership principles and supports the effectiveness of supervisor work in a matrix organization better.
All of Bittium´s staff was invited to a strategy session in Oulu in August, and the evening continued with the BitStock Elää 2017 festival at Koitelinkoski rapids, Kiiminki. Our global sales personnel were in Oulu to attend this event. At the scenic surrounding the staff enjoyed good company, dinner, live music and an engaging team competition which was won by the team called “Vamos Mexico´.
At the end of year 2016, Bittium acquired the ownership of a Kuopio-based medical technology. The integration to Bittium Corporation was done during 2017 uncomplicated, also regarding the personnel practices.
Near the end of the year Bittium´s staff in Oulu moved into the new headquarters in Ritaharjuntie 1. With the move to the new headquarters, nearly 450 employees got together under one roof, as previously the work was done in three office buildings at Tutkijantie. The personnel took this change very positively, since now they are able to see their coworkers more often.
The new building has been designed as a multifunctional office, in which the staff has fixed personal desk locations, but the premises and its access rights can be easily adjusted and divided according to project situation changes. In this way, the customer requirements regarding confidentiality of R&D and optimal team functionality can be met without compromising the staff´s convenience. After moving to the new headquarters, nearly every Bittium staff member has an electrically adjustable desk. The ergonomics has been a priority in the new premises. New Bittium values; Trust, Courage and Innovation were introduced at the consecration of the premises.
