Download - Gavlegårdarna Annual Magazine 2011
Träffen youth centremeets GIFTHE CUSTOMER CENTRE knows everything about most things
Meet our new Managing DirectorSTRANDENis bursting with life
GavlegårdarnaA N N U A L M
AG
AZ
IN
E
2011
A year with
AB GAVLEGÅRDARNAAffärsplan 2008–2012
Mission
Short facts about Gavlegårdarna
The business plan is the overall
strategy document for Gavlegår-
darna. The current business plan
covers the period 2008-2012, but
in many ways the planning stretches
much further ahead than that. The
business plan is based on four focus
areas; people’s social needs,
a sustainable residential
environment, diversity, and
the renewal of suburban
areas and housing.
Number of fl ats: 15,200
Turnover: SEK 980 million
Balance sheet total: SEK 4 billion
Number of
commercial properties: 1,100
Number of employees: 200
Number of tenants: 30,000 approx.
Some key numbers
93.1%of our tenants are satisfi ed with their housing
business planGavlegårdarna’s
As a long-term and socially benefi cial housing company, the
objective looking ahead is to strengthen the organisation’s
position in the housing market where the future needs of
the municipality are greatest and where purely commercial
conditions are not obvious. The company will therefore
focus on developing housing for the elderly, for the disabled,
and for young people, based upon their needs. For a long
time, the company has had a special responsibility for
minority groups who might fi nd themselves in a diffi cult
position within the housing market.
2 | 2011
Editorial from our new Managing Director Welcome to a magazine that gives
an account of the year 2011 at Gavle-
gårdarna. As the newly appointed ma-
naging director, it is with great pleasure
that I am learning about the positive
developments within the company.
Having the opportunity to lead such
a well-managed housing company as
Gavlegårdarna cannot be seen as anyth-
ing but a privilege. However, succee-
ding a leader like Janne Hugg – you can
read an interesting interview with him
at the end of this magazine – is a job
that also brings with it responsibilities.
I am fully aware that I am taking over
from a very popular leader, although
the skilled and committed employees at
the company here make me confi dent
about doing the job. Together, we will
continue to be good at those things we
are already good at today. However,
my ultimate aim is that we will also
get better in those areas where there is
room for improvement.
Our homes are places that are
close to our hearts. When I look back
over my own life, I can state that I have
moved around a lot. And every time I
have put down the moving boxes in a
new place, I have said with conviction,
“I shall live here forever!” But life, as
we all know, doesn’t always turn out as
we expected. There are so many dif-
ferent reasons for why we might have
to move – changes in family circum-
stances, a change to one’s personal
fi nances, a new job, new accessibility
requirements, or quite simply a desire
for something different.
For us as a municipal housing
company, it is therefore vital that
we can offer many different types of
accommodation that people will fi nd
attractive at all of the various stages of
their lives. We want to be able to give
our young people and students the
possibility to live by themselves, we
want to attract new people to Gävle,
and at the same time we want those
who are already living here to stay here
– for years. In order to succeed with all
of this, we must safeguard the vision
that Janne Hugg talks about in his
interview. In reality, Gavlegårdarna
does so much more than simply mana-
ging fl ats and business premises. We
actually manage the environments and
habitats that, together, build a city.
My fi rst few months have been
spent getting to know the opera-
tion. I have spoken to tenants and
employees, to interest groups,
clubs and associations, and
politicians. In the course of these
conversations, I have met many
interesting people in various
roles. All are equally important
to our business.
It is with great humility that
I take the responsibility upon myself
for the way that Gavlegårdarna will
continue to look after your homes in a
good way. Together, we will work to
highlight the good in every neighbour-
hood, in every building, and in every
tenant. Furthermore, together, we will
also preserve the energy that is created
by so many of us working together to
make something better.
I am looking forward to meeting
the year 2012 with all of the exciting
projects that are already underway.
Among other things in this magazine,
you can read about the beautiful green
Sätra, about life in Gävle Strand, and
about some of the residents of Gävle
whose living environments are happily
and proudly managed by us.
Happy reading!
Cathrine Holgersson, Managing Director
“We will continue to look after your homes in a good way”
2011 | 3
Content
17
3
24
6 Gavlegårdarna – winning awards again!
Gavlegårdarna won several awards for its
work again during 2011
7 Extremely strong brand
Gavlegårdarna takes a look at its brand
8 Best caretakers
We talked to Johan and Patrik
9 Football means solidarity
Popular football school for happy children
10 Beautiful green Sätra
District renewal is getting underway
in eastern Sätra
17 GIF’s away game
The entire squad came to Sätra
20 Appreciated housing school
Role-playing gives
eye-opening experiences
21 The circus came to town
Candyfl oss and clowns
attracted large audiences
7
28
4 | 2011
36
10
3027
42 22
22 Guided tour of Läkerolen
Young people from all over Gävle
met Brynäs
24 Maria has moved house
She really likes her fi rst pad
27 New website for students
Simpler, easier, and more convenient
for everyone
28 Touching down in Gävle Strand
A new weekday is shaped in
Gävle’s newest area
34 Yet another white winter
Gavlegårdarna coped with the snow
35 Remote monitoring
New technology gives
environmental benefi ts
36 This is where the questions come
The Customer Centre takes care of
everyone and everything
40 New supporters in the arena
Many families saw Brynäs beat Frölunda
41 New information channels
More and more tenants are
chatting with Gavlegårdarna
42 A visionary departs
Jan Hugg summarises his years as MD
46 Security and solidarity
Keywords that create a sense
of wellbeing
47 Looking to the future
We look forward to 2012
2011 | 5
Branschindex (literally “Branch
Index”) is a measurement of
Sweden’s real estate and property
management companies’ market
sector, carried out on the initiative
of AktivBo and the magazine
Fastighetsnytt. In September,
Gavlegårdarna’s Head of the
Environment and Quality, Mats
Åström, and Head of Administra-
tion, Niclas Lind, were both on
the podium in the Business Arena
to receive the annual prize awar-
ded to the winner of the country’s
best management quality.
“It’s really wonderful that we
won the award,” said Mats, “And
it’s proof that our efforts are
producing the right results.”
In February, it was time for
prize giving again. This time, the
awards were for Sweden’s best
landlords, announced during
AktivBo’s Benchmark Event.
The awards are made to those
companies who have made the
Gavlegårdarna is working on being better
biggest improvement in their level
of service, compared to previous
results, as well as to the compa-
nies with the best overall results
in the categories Service, Product,
and Profi le. Gavlegårdarna won in
the categories Service and Profi le.
“The awards for Best Branch
Index and Best Service Index
are the result of all of our employ-
ees having an understanding of the
wishes and requirements of our
tenants,” said Mats.
Customer Satisfaction
Index – the guiding
principle at work
Mats also pointed out that an-
other success factor lies in Gavle-
gårdarna working actively with the
results of the annual Customer
Satisfaction Index, a survey that
is carried out among the tenants
every year. When the year’s
results arrive, all of the employees
are called to a meeting where the
results are discussed. After this,
work commences on analysing
and prioritising improvement
measures across all areas.
“The customer survey shows
our results right down to individual
stairwell level, so we have mana-
geable material to work with, and
this is a very important tempera-
ture gauge for us,” said Mats.
The areas where the
Customer Satisfaction Index
has shown the greatest increase
concern security issues. Major
investments have been made in,
among other things, more secure
locks, so-called tags for entrance
and storage area doors, more
secure basement storage areas,
presence-controlled lighting in pu-
blic areas, and improved outdoor
lighting all around the area.
“It is clear from the survey
that customer satisfaction is
closely related to the perception
of security,” said Mats.
There were also major
improvements to be seen in the
Customer Satisfaction Index in the
category Clean & Tidy. Gavlegår-
darna has been working from the
long-term perspective on both
large and small measures. Among
other things, these have included
This is the annual survey of
customer satisfaction. The
result is the basis for the
priorities set out in the annual
business plan. Every year, the
questionnaire is sent to half
of the tenants, around 7,500
households, and the response
rate is usually somewhere
around 55 per cent. The
questions are divided into dif-
ferent categories, such as level
of service, safety and security,
and the indoor and outdoor
environment.
Branch Index
This measurement is carried
out by AktivBo and Fastig-
hetsnytt. The responses from
the tenants of the participa-
ting companies are collected
via an independent customer
survey organisation and
reported in a national index
every year. This index is based
on the tenants’ experience of
services and policies. In total,
8,000 housing tenants from all
over Sweden respond to the
survey.
Customer Crystal Vase
For this prize, private and
municipal housing companies
compete in service and quali-
ty. The winner is the company
where the most tenants vote
for their landlord as being the
best in Sweden! The winners
are selected from among
the roughly 60 large and
medium-sized companies that
were surveyed last year in col-
laboration with AktivBo.
“It’s really wonderful that we won the award, and it’s proof that our efforts are producing the right results”
Customer
Satisfaction Index
better public procurement and
more demands for quality.
“We are now placing greater
demands on ourselves and on
our cleaning contractors, but we
have also carried out some small
actions that improve everyday life,
such as putting up more litter bins
and making sure that there are
cleaning materials in the laundry
rooms,” Mats added.
6 | 2011
Among over a hundred other contributions from
schools and youth clubs from around the whole of
Gävle, it was fi ve guys from the Nordost district who
drew the longest straw. They quite simply designed the
best fl ag for GIF’s elite football team, and as a prize they
got to meet all of the players.
“It was great! We ate with them at the offi ce and I sat next to both of
my idols, Erik Törnros and Erik Larsson. We talked about football and
stuff,” said Amar Jabbar, 12, who lives in Nordost and plays football
himself.
So do his four pals – Linus Kling, Sharif Abdi, Ali Jabbar, and Ahmed
Fdow – all of whom were in the group that created the winning fl ag.
“We drew a red heart with a 3D shadow behind it. All of this
shows our love of GIF. We go to watch every match at Strömvallen,”
said Amar Jabbar.
“We sent our fl ag in hoping they would sign it. It turned out
brilliantly. And then we got the autographs ourselves when we met
up with the team – that was even better!”
They made the best-looking fl ag
Gavlegårdarna – a well-known brand in Gävle
Gevalia, Brynäs, Korsnäs, Furuvik – they are all
famous brands that are well-anchored in Gävle’s
history. Gavlegårdarna is proud that it too qualifi es
onto the celebrity list. The result of the recent brand
survey shows that 100 per cent of those questioned
were aware of Gavlegårdarna.
“Ten years had passed since the last such sur-
vey, so it was high time to examine our brand
again,” said Kristina Isacson, Marketing Manager
at Gavlegårdarna.
Comprehensive survey The survey was comprehensive; a total of 900
people completed an online questionnaire and,
in addition to this, we also carried out further
interviews with focus groups.
Furthermore, the employees at Gavlegår-
darna had to answer the same questions, in order
to see how the two perceptions of our brand compared with each
other.
“By asking a mixture of ambassadors, customers, members
of the general public, and employees of Gavlegårdarna, a statisti-
cal cross-section was created from which it is easier to draw the
correct conclusions and continue working on the right issues,” said
Kristina.
Service and maintenance in focusThe results, compiled by the consulting fi rm Brand Clinic, show that
Gavlegårdarna is an extremely strong brand. Good and fast service,
as well as high quality maintenance and attention, are the areas to
which Gavlegårdarna’s tenants give top priority, and they are also
areas where the company gets good marks.
When the people of Gävle themselves are looking to fi nd a
fl at, they think it is particularly important that the housing company
they use is well known and has a good reputation, according to the
brand survey.
“It is reassuring to know that we are so well-known
in Gävle, and that our overall results are so good
across the board,” said Kristina.
r
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2011 | 7
During 2011, the magazine Hem & Hyra invited
its readers to nominate the best caretakers in
the Gävle-Dala region. A large number of emails,
letters and postcards were sent to the editor, all
praising nice caretakers who were always around
to help. Two of those nominated work for
Gavlegårdarna. We gave them a call to offer
our congratulations.
… and congratulations on
your fi ne nomination. You
are quick, cheerful, friendly, fun,
and the best caretaker there is,
say those who voted.
“Yes, great, unbelievable.
There were two neighbours here
who revealed that they nomina-
ted me, and it felt great. With
appreciation like that, you know
you are doing a good job.”
How does a typical day in
Sätra look for you?
“The most common jobs involve
some sort of repair. Sätra is a
part of the Million Homes Pro-
gramme, where district renewal
is now underway, but many
And you have to be on-call
for administration work too?
“Every ninth week, I am respon-
sible for half of Gävle during a
whole week. A lot of things can
happen then, such as blocked
sewers in the basement or main
fuses that have blown. I can still
wear comfortable trousers at
home then but, if I go out shop-
ping for example, I’ve learnt that
it’s a good idea to have my work
clothes on.”
What’s the best part of the job?
“The contact with the tenants,
chatting with them and joking a
NAME: Patrik Åström
AGE: 41
YEARS AT GAVLEGÅRDARNA: 25
JOB: Taking care of
300 fl ats and terraces
houses at Fältspats and
Ulvsätersvägen in Sätra
… did you know that you had been
nominated for best caretaker?
“When they called me from the magazine
Hem & Hyra, I thought they were joking.
It was a great surprise and it made me so
happy. I know now that it was a couple who
nominated me; they are tenants who are
always interested and involved. They help all
the time by keeping an extra eye open in the
area and contacting me if there’s anything
wrong – even regarding issues that don’t just
relate to them.”
Did those of you who were nominated
win any prizes?
“Everyone who was nominated, and those
who nominated us, received a Triss scratch
card. No offi cial winner was declared. But
being nominated was the thing; it was an
incredible honour.”
Weren’t you rather young when you
started at Gavlegårdarna?
“I moved here from Söderhamn to study,
and I applied for a summer job as a careta-
ker. I was happy from day one with both my
job and the company. They look after their
employees, and there is a great atmosphere
among us. I’ve stayed at Gavlegårdarna becau-
se it’s a developing company to work for. As a
caretaker, you get a lot out of going to work.”
Do you get on well with your tenants?
“Of course. Most of them are happy, positive,
and committed. Even when something has
broken or isn’t working properly.”
homes are starting to become
worn. It’s often relatively minor
things, such as faulty taps, blocked
drains or toilets, broken light
switches, extractor fan problems,
and so on.”
What else does your job
involve, apart from small
emergencies?
“We have to carry out fl at
inspections when people move
out, and we are responsible for
the common areas, both indoors
and outdoors, looking good. In
the winter we often have to clear
the snow away, and I’ll be on-call
for that job every third weekend
during that period.”
Hi Patrik ...
Hi Johan ...
NAME: Johan Liljemark
AGE: 28
YEARS AT GAVLEGÅRDARNA: 6JOB: Taking care of 300 fl ats,
student fl ats, and commercial
properties in Söder in Gävle
bit. It’s also good to be able to
work outdoors and to be able to
plan the days quite freely.”
Do you know the tenants
well?
Two weeks ago, the daughter
of one of my tenants called to
report a problem with a radiator.
The line went dead before she
had introduced herself, but I
recognised the accent and went
round there. Then they were a
little surprised when I suddenly
rang the doorbell. So the answer
is yes, I know my tenants pretty
well by now.”
8 | 2011
A football school for everyone
In 2011, all of the children who applied for a place
at the football school, run by Brynäs IF Football
Club and Gavlegårdarna, for children aged 7 to 11,
got a place, even though interest was huge. It will
be time for football school again in July 2012.
Zlatan och Messi are common favourites
with many of the participants at the football
school. However, they all have very different
levels of experience of football themselves.
Some have played quite a lot, while for
others it’s a new sport, and that’s how it
should be. When Gavlegårdarna, together
with Brynäs IF Football Club, invites children
between the ages of seven and eleven to
a one-week football school, everyone is of
course very welcome.
The idea here is that Gavlegårdarna spon-
sors Brynäs IF Football Club who, in turn,
repay this favour by setting themselves up as
a host each year and inviting 25 children to
football school.
“The set up for the football school is
actually the forerunner of the agreements
we have in place today with large clubs and
associations, even at the elite level, such as
Brynäs Hockey Club and GIF Football Club,”
said Dick Lantz. “Our sponsorship agreements
should always give something back that will be
of benefi t the tenants,” he added.
Summer Week at Måsberget sports centre
is free for participants, who also receive daily
refreshments, as well as a t-shirt and water
bottle. In addition to this comes, of course,
the football school, where the leaders for 2011
courses proved to be very popular.
“We have the best leaders in the whole
universe,” said Calle Lindberg Andersson, for
example, when journalists from Gefl e Dagblad
paid a visit to Måsberget.
Dick Lantz told us that the football school
gets praise from many quarters.
“Brynäs can clearly see that the school
catches children who are then channelled
into football. Furthermore, we get a lot of
positive reactions from their parents; they
see this as a genuine benefi t for our tenants.”
He also pointed out that there are many
cases where children who participate in the
football school later choose something else
other than football.
“The important thing is that they disco-
ver how much fun it is to be active in a club.
We are really happy if we manage to get to
those children who have not yet chosen their
activity, in order to show them how great it is
to be part of the club.
2011 | 9
This is a much-loved part of the city where many residents of Gävle grew up.
The houses were built of high-quality materials, all close to the forest and the
big meadows. But, alas, Sätra is a well-worn district today. A lot of people have
been waiting eagerly for this white-coloured area to become green, not to
mention nice again. Now, at last, renewal work is starting in eastern Sätra.
10 | 2011
2011 | 11
ätra is a big suburb. Almost 10,000
people live here, a number that is com-
parable to the entire population of the
Municipality of Hofors. You can fi nd
fl ats, terraced houses, and detached
houses here, as well as a functioning
suburban centre with everything from
a grocery store to a health centre.
“We are all basically agreed on the
fundamental quality of Sätra. This is where many residents of Gävle
grew up and were happy,” said Bo Bäckström, Technical Manager at
Gavlegårdarna.
“But now there has, in many ways, been a generation shift.
Those who built a house here when the area was new are now sel-
ling their houses and new people are moving in. These new times
place new demands on the whole of Sätra; we have to adapt to the
requirements of today,” he continued.
So, now at last it’s Sätra’s turn in the queue. The district renewal
process has already begun, and there are several parts to it.
“We are working on anything that increases the perceptions of
safety and well-being for our tenants. Renovating the buildings is one
part, but the outdoor environment and the social programmes are at
least as important. This is something we have learned very clearly
after all of our work in the Öster district,” said Bo Bäckström.
According to Gavlegårdarna’s vision, the district renewal in
Sätra will be carried out with a focus on sustainability from several
perspectives.
“We are going to have a balance between aesthetics, economy,
ecology and sociology. This means that the company takes into ac-
count everything from the exterior of the buildings to the surroun-
ding nature and green areas, as well as the wishes of the tenants.
And in the end, of course, we must fi nd that
we have taken a step in the right direc-
tion economically – these buildings are, for
example, not built to fulfi l today’s require-
ments in terms of energy consumption,” said
Bo Bäckström.
In order for everything to fi t together,
many different stakeholders are involved, not least the municipality,
which owns much of the public land there.
“We are also talking to more tenants than just our own. If the
district is going to function properly on a social level, their opinions
are equally important,” said Bo Bäckström.
“It’s the tenants themselves who will have to get involved in the decision-making process here, using their influence so that we make the right decisions”
12 | 2011
“There are many ideas because
Sätra has such enormous potential. We
have the small river, Tickselbäcken,
fl owing through the whole district,
and we have the big meadows too.
In the past, these have been used by
people playing rounders, football, and
so on. Today, people might quite like
to have something else there; walking
trails, allotment gardens, and so on.
It’s the tenants themselves who will
have to get involved in the decision-
making process here, using their
infl uence so that we make the right
decisions,” he continued.
The administrators Anders Söder-
blom and Elisabeth Lindberg were stan-
ding between the tower blocks on Glaci-
ärvägen. This is where Gavlegårdarna’s
district renewal will get started. There
are both ordinary tenants and students
living in the three properties that
currently stand on Pinnmovägen and
Glaciärvägen. Some of the buildings
nearby have already been renovated, and
the differences are striking.
“This whole district used to look
so white, but parts of it look rather grey
these days,” said Anders Söderblom.
“And, of course, it’s the same inside the
buildings. It’s not fun showing the fl ats
today; for example, the bathrooms are
extremely worn. Both we and the tenants
have really been longing for this.”
Elisabeth Lindberg, an adminis-
trator in just this eastern side of Sätra,
nodded meaningfully.
“I’ve been waiting for ages,” she
said with a laugh. “Unfortunately, a lot
of tenants have almost given up hope
because everything has dragged on for
so long. First of all Öster took much
longer than expected, and then new
legislation was introduced regarding
public housing, which meant we had
to put the brakes on for a while. But
hopefully things will improve once
we get started, when people see that
something is actually happening.”
Sätra – the white-coloured districtSätra was built on land that was covered
with woods and meadows and belonged
to the old farming community of the
same name. An architectural competi-
tion was announced in 1956, and it was
won by Höjer & Ljungqvist, today called
Origo Arkitekter, from Stockholm. The
location of the buildings in parkland and
traffi c separation were central ideas of
their proposals. So was the so-called
ABC-idea of building a satellite city to the
city centre, with workplaces, housing and
the centre all integrated. The traffi c se-
paration, with a ring road around the city
and one-way streets into the car parks,
is known as SCAFT and is designed so
that pedestrians and cyclists don’t have
to mix with traffi c. Sätra is also a district
of contrasts, where fl at, green spaces are
mixed with tall buildings and trees.
Elisabeth Lindberg and Anders Söderblom are responsible for almost a thousand homes each.
They are both very happy in their roles as administrators in Sätra – especially now that the
district renewal is underway.
Despite the lengthy start-up period
for the renewal process, Anders’ and
Elizabeth’s tenants are quite happy in
Sätra. There has been a lot of moving
in and out over the years, but at the
moment there is hardly a single vacant
fl at in the area.
“It’s a bit tarnished here and there,
but this district still has some amazing
qualities. Enormous green areas, its
proximity to the city centre, nature
trails and ski trails. And you can cycle
into the city in just ten minutes – it’s
downhill, so you don’t even have to
pedal!” said Anders Söderblom.
“We are really hoping for a fresh
start in the whole of Sätra.”
We walked down to the Sätra
meadows, past the centre and over
the rippling waters of Tickselbäcken.
The character of the area changes
upon arrival at the terraced housing on
Fältspatsvägen, but the green areas and
the absence of traffi c are still recogni-
2011 | 13
sable from the tower blocks and laminated buildings to the east. The
fl ats here are on the same level, with a small back garden and a green
patch at the front.
The tenants usually meet up in the pavilion in the centre of the
area here, among other things to eat fermented herring together.
“A lot of elderly people live here. Because the buildings are small
and on just the one level, they can stay here for a long time,” said
Anders Söderblom.
On the way back towards the centre is the newly renovated
Forellplan, which has now got a new neighbour in the form of an
equally big, newly built, retirement home, the biggest in Gävle.
Several of the tenants were sitting down at the back, enjoying the
unusually warm spring sunshine.
We continued round the centre and stopped in front of the scaf-
folding at Sicksackvägen 34.
“People will start moving in here next spring,” said Elisabeth
Lindberg, “and many of them are already calling us with questions.”
Curiosity about what will be the fi rst sheltered housing in Gävle
is, understandably, at a high level. The property formerly housed
social services and a health centre; now it is being transformed into
modern accommodation, complete with terraces and a community
hall on the ground fl oor and a conservatory and other common areas
on the top fl oor.
“This building will have 62 fl ats, half of which will be housing
for the over-55s. The other half will be sheltered housing, by which
we mean you must be over 70 before you can move in and that we
will have staff assigned to that area,” said Ulf Gräll, construction
manager at Sicksackvägen 34.
“The staff here will not be healthcare professionals, but more
of a resource. The tenants might want to eat together, go out on an
excursion, or simply take a walk. It’s about more than just security,
even if we are in discussion with the Elderly Care Services about
what form it should all take,” he continued.
“We’ve never done anything quite like this before, so it will be
very interesting to see how well it’s received.”
The old recreation centre at Sicksackvägen 34 has a huge graf-
fi ti painting on its facade. A large sun and text about the summer-
time liven up the grey outdoor environment there, where the lawns
have not yet woken up for the spring.
From behind the door came the smell of caulifl ower soup. Siv
Lind who, after twenty-fi ve years in healthcare is now a so-called
phase-3er, spends her days at the Paletten meeting place for tenants
in east Sätra. People here can visit their own fl ea market, or stop
ABF’s Carola Leijding is a project leader based
at Paletten. There is a meeting place for tenants
here too, with lots of activities. The fl ea market
attracts plenty of tenants looking for bargains
every day.
Lunch at Paletten on this day consisted of
Siv Lind’s caulifl ower soup. After twenty-fi ve
years in healthcare, she is now an unemployed
63-year-old who loves to help with anything
that needs doing.
14 | 2011
for a coffee break. Rooms here are
hired by a lot of clubs and associations,
ranging from a pensioners’ zither club
to a dog-owners’ club, or to the Soma-
lian Association that offers help with
homework in the afternoons.
Hans Helmersson, Head of Gavle-
gårdarna’s Social Living projects in all
districts, was making a spontaneous
visit here on this day to eat lunch.
“We want to have sustainability in
everything we do, both economically
and ecologically. But social sustaina-
bility – that people are happy and are
motivated to take responsibility for
own their living environment – is an
essential foundation if we are to suc-
ceed with everything else,” he said.
“We had enormous commitment
in Öster; here, it’s gone a little more
slowly. But I think that’s because of
the delays in the construction projects
– people lost their enthusiasm. But I’m
sure that will turn around now, when
we get started,” he continued.
Carola Leijding, project leader
for the activities at Paletten, agreed.
“It’s been diffi cult for us to reach
those tenants who live in our project
area here in eastern Sätra. Very often
we have more people from the outer
suburbs, or even from the centre, than
from here,” she said.
“At the same time, we can see that
those activities that come from the
tenants themselves are extremely po-
pular. We have “Saturdays with Ibbe”,
where a local man has lots of children
from round here getting actively in-
volved. It’s the same thing with Elena
who lives next door. Her Sundays for
children are always well attended,
even though there is a complete ban on
computers,” continued Carola, smiling.
“With a bit of luck, we can get
resources to start up some reach out
activities, perhaps with the help of an
interpreter. So that we can really reach
the people who actually live here.” �
What is Gavle-gårdarna doing in Östra Sätra right now?
• At the moment the renovation of three
blocks of fl ats on Pinnmovägen and
Glaciärvägen is out for tender. These
buildings, with 75 fl ats, are to be com-
pletely renovated both inside and out.
This work will include replacing the
downpipes and the ventilation systems,
the installation of lifts, completely new
bathrooms and facades, and much
more. Furthermore, the buildings will
also be far more energy effi cient.
• The outdoor areas are to be renewed,
just as they have been to the south
side of Sicksackvägen.
• Together with the Municipality of
Gävle, we are currently looking at the
area around Tickselbäcken. The fi rst
step must involve clearing, so that
people can walk there and see the re-
fl ective surface of the water. However,
we must also take into account the fact
that a number of rare animal species
thrive alongside the river here.
• An area down from the buildings is
being prepared for a dozen or so al-
lotments for so-called city gardening.
Two meetings have been arranged,
and there is some interest among the
tenants there.
• The Social Living projects mean that
Gavlegårdarna arranges small local
meetings where the tenants can come
and have their say and become more
involved themselves. These meetings
might be about the development
of Sätra meadows, better lighting,
better outdoor areas or footpaths,
playgrounds and barbecue areas, and
so on.
• The number of car parking spaces is
being checked, in order to see how
many are needed and which of them, if
any, could be used for other things.
• Local transport communication is being
reviewed. How many people cycle, and
where do they cycle to? Do we need a
cycling school or a carpool?
• The rebuilding of the property at Sick-
sackvägen 34 into combined sheltered
accommodation and housing for the
over-55s has begun. We expect people
to start moving in during May 2013.
Sindy Hernandez, Victoria Benavides, Nicole Björklund and Amanda Nilsson
attend Stora Sätra School and Prolympia. They love their Sätra, where
it doesn’t matter that the buildings are worn because “the people are so good.”
2011 | 15
Sätra, a national area of interest for heritage protection
Just to the right scale, characteristic of its period, and well
thought-out.
Sätra has been classifi ed by the National Heritage Board
as an area of national interest, which means that the major
structural changes in the district must always be reviewed by
the county administrative board – a body which also has the
right to overrule decisions. Klara Wirdby, acting Head of the
county administrative board in Gävleborg, has a longstanding
relationship with Sätra and she is the one who has ensured
that the area’s assets will be protected.
“Of course we are going to create good, modern hou-
sing for the tenants, but the changes can be made with re-
spect and consideration. Large parts of Sätra were carefully
built with quality materials. Gavlegårdarna has also shown
that the company would like to preserve everything that has
value,” said Klara Wirdby.
“All Swedish housing companies will sooner or later get
to this crossroads, where entire districts from this era have
to be renovated. It would be great if we could set a good
example of how the various interested parties can work
together for the benefi t of society at large. I hope that
we can enlist the services of an innovative, creative
architect for the district renewal project in Sätra,”
she said.
13
1. Boendemiljö
ILLUSTRATIONSPLAN, Del av Sätra ängarna. Skala 1:1000 A3
NORR
50 m
16 | 2011
Pelle Olsson, manager of GIF Football Club, brought more or less the entire
squad with him when the club visited the Träffen youth centre in Sätra, one rainy
evening in August, something that the youngsters there had not been expecting.
“It was really great that they came to us instead of us going to them. It was down
to earth and tremendous fun,” said several of the participants afterwards.
Pelle Olsson introduced all the players to the audience and related some of
their individual histories. The young people at Träffen even got to meet the latest
addition to the squad, Simon Lundevall, who had arrived in Gävle and at GIF
just that day.
“Well, I like it here so far. But then, I only arrived for lunch!” said Simon,
amid much laughter.
Jonathan Hellström, GIF’s youngest ever fi rst team debutant, talked openly
about how it feels to be off the fi eld with a long-term injury.
“I’d been away completely for more or less two seasons. It was in the news-
papers that my career was over, but I just kept thinking, ‘No, I haven’t played my
best matches yet!’ It is possible to come back – I’m a real-life example of that.”
Zakaria Abdullai talked a lot about the differences between playing football
in Sweden and playing in Ghana where he was born.
When Träffen met GIF
Football is by far the biggest sport
in the Sätra district. This explains
why everyone wanted to be there
and listen when Gefl e IF’s fi rst-
team squad, in partnership with
Gavlegårdarna, visited the Träffen
youth centre.
“It was great! I’ve never been that
close to the players before,” said
Hawbir Mahumudi, 16.
2011 | 17
Mohammed Abdi Addala, 15, Diler Hammad, 12, and
Shamso Din, 14, play football every day after school. The
new artifi cial grass pitch behind the youth centre, Träffen,
is therefore a welcome addition to their everyday lives.
In the game against GIF’s fi rst team, the last two on the
list above both scored a goal!
“We have a lot of talented players, but it’s extremely diffi cult to break th-
rough. You have to ‘make it happen’ yourself,” said Zakaria, with the audience
listening attentively.
Interest in football is huge among children and young people in Sätra. No
other sport comes close to competing with football there.
“Football is an international language, and is therefore superb for purposes of
integration. You play as part of a team, no matter who you are,” said Jesse Brodin,
Head of the Träffen youth centre in Sätra.
To their great joy, the youngsters in the audience
were then thrown into the football match that followed
GIF’s presentation. Even though the August evening
had become completely dark, they all went out onto the
brand new artifi cial grass pitch behind Träffen. There
was nothing wrong with their competitive spirit either, especially as they now had
the chance to play against a team from Sweden’s top fl ight.
The match ended 3–2 to Sätra’s youngsters, perhaps partly because GIF were wit-
hout their regular goalkeeper and had therefore put midfi elder Jonas Lantto in goal!
“I’ve never been that close to them before;
it was great!”
M
S
n
“We have a lot of talented
rough. You have to ‘make it h
18 | 2011
It was a jubilant group of youngsters that thanked their role models after the
match ended.
“That was a great evening! I’m hoping to be a footballer, and I learnt a lot of
things tonight,” said Mohammed Abdi Addala, 15.
“I play football every day after school. Now
I’m going to apply to go to Borgarskolan to go
further with social studies, focussing on sports,
because then I’ll have Pelle Olsson as a coach
during school time,” he continued with a smile.
Hawbir Mahumudi is already a student on
that course, and furthermore is also playing
GIF’s junior team, the under-17s.
“The teachers are always emphasising how important it is to focus on school-
work too. There is, after all, the possibility that we won’t make it as footballers,”
he said.
Hawbir went on to praise the evening with GIF’s fi rst team.
“I’ve seen them a few times, but never been that close to them before;
it was great!” �
Amin Haidari and Hawbir Mahumudi are talented
footballers who live in Sätra. They were more than
just pleased to meet GIF’s fi rst-team squad and hear
their stories. “That was just awesome!" they said.
“The teachers are always emphasising how important it is to focus on schoolwork too”
2011 | 19
Gavlegårdarna is con-
vinced that informa-
tion and transparency
create trust and help to
bridge misunderstandings. Therefore,
since 2009, the company has been
running a “boskola” (literally a “school
in how one should live”) for newly-
arrived immigrants.
Once a month, a group of 6–15
people from one stairwell gets together
to learn more about living in a rented
fl at. The local Immigrant Centre now
includes this as a part of their educa-
tion package. Some of the participants
are completely new in Sweden so there
are always interpreters at the meetings.
The majority of the participants are
from Somalia or the Arab world.
“Boskolan is very much apprecia-
ted by the participants. Because we use
theatrical methods to explain things, it
becomes easier for them to absorb the
information,” said Ann-Sofi e Thorn-
berg, an administrator at Gavlegår-
darna in Andersberg.
The pedagogy is all about il-
lustrating different scenarios through
Boskola gives eye-opening experience
role-play. For example, the participants
might go up to a fl at where we then
pretend a fi re has broken out. If there
is a child’s pushchair in the stairwell,
Gavlegårdarna’s employees show what
could happen.
“It’s very often a real eye-opener
for the participants; suddenly they
understand why we have these rules,”
said Ann-Sofi e.
Boskolan has given a great deal
back to Gavlegårdarna. Transparency
and trust are created during these mee-
tings, making it both easier and more
likely that the tenants will respond
to customer surveys and contribute
towards improvements in the future.
“If you come from an undemo-
cratic country, there is a lot of anxiety
attached to expressing an opinion.
Many of the participants at boskolan
have told us that they had previously
seen Gavlegårdarna as a policeman,
and that they hadn’t dared to tell us
what they were thinking for fear of
being evicted. After boskolan, they
understand our position and they dare
to be open,” concluded Ann-Sofi e. �
The distance separating, for example, Somalia and
Sweden is not only geographical. There are also major
cultural differences in how people actually live.
“It’s very often a real eye-opener
for the participants; suddenly they
understand why we have these rules,”
said Ann-Sofi e.
20 | 2011
When the Circus Brazil Jack raises its big top next to the trotting track, then the real summer has fi nally arrived.
The hundred tenants from Nordost and Öster who got tickets to one of the performances were really happy.
Many expectant children, along with their parents, gathered together by the buses that would take them to the
show and dreamed about everything from acrobats and clowns to popcorn and candyfl oss.
We’re going to the circus! There was tremendous happiness when 100 of Gavlegårdarna’s tenants
from Nordost and Öster got together to go and see the circus that had come to town.
Hedda was four years old, although she
would soon be fi ve. She had been to the
circus before, when she saw the horses.
“But, actually, I can’t believe this!” she said.
“We've been to the circus before, but we
want to see animals and clowns again!”
cried the children from Nordost and
Öster in unison.
The circus is in town!
2011 | 21
At the heart of Brynäs IFNot too many people have seen Läkerol Arena from more aspects than the stands. During the
season, Gavlegårdarna invited its tenants to come along and join them at the heart of Brynas IF.
And, naturally, there was a lot of interest.
Se Several of the club’s
own junior players have
taken their place in the
fi rst team at Brynäs
during the last few seasons. This is
something that has obviously contribu-
ted to the increased interest in the club
among children and young people.
When Gavlegårdarna invited
young people on a study visit to
Läkerol Arena during the winter, the
demand was enormous. Over fi fty
people took part on each occasion and
the reactions were not slow in coming.
“It was fantastic to see how it looks
behind the scenes. You don’t think it’s
that big until then,” said 12-year-old Sina
Khajavi, a hockey player at IK Sätra.
“I had been looking forward to
seeing the dressing room, and I really
didn’t think it would be as nice as it
was,” said Khado Jaliljan, 18.
The study visits started with a tour
of the stadium’s interior. The groups
went up to the fourth fl oor where the
press and television people have their
places, they went and looked at the
team’s gym, the dressing rooms, and
the area where the players hang around
before the game.
On every study visit, there were
also youth leaders and players on hand
to talk about how it is to be part of a
team, and the demands placed on the
players themselves. The team captain
from JVM, Johan Larsson, and the
forward from Gävle, Joakim Rhodin,
were just two of the players who par-
ticipated in the meetings. Two former
Brynäs players, Ove Molin and Niklas
Gällstedt, who today both work with
developing future talent in the under-
16s squad, were also much appreciated.
“You must eat and sleep properly if
you want to train with us, but you also
have to keep up with your schoolwork.
Anyone who neglects their studies
can’t stay in the team,” said Niklas
Gällstedt, which made a lot of the
young participating sigh loudly.
There is a lot of competition; it’s
extremely hard to break through.
There are so many people today who
are willing to make sacrifi ces and work
hard. The road to reach the level of an
elite player is much longer than most
people can even imagine. The ones
with the greatest chance are those that
want it the most,” said Ove Molin.
The leaders also talked about the
importance of social skills for those
who want to be part of a team.
“It’s important to be nice even
when you’re not actually playing.
We talk a lot about how to behave
towards each other,” said Ove Mo-
lin, which got a lot of reaction from
the participants.
“Wow, is it really that tough? Can
you use moist snuff? Do you really
watch all the younger players in order to
fi nd the best? And what do you do with
those that don’t quite make it then?”
were just a few of the comments.
“Even if you don’t make it to the
top, you can get a lot of positives out
of it and you will have had a lot of fun
along the way. We usually say that we
really think you will become a better
person,” said Niklas Gällstedt. �
“Wow, is it really that tough?”
22 | 2011
Hawraz Wrya, Khado Jaliljan, Hazhar Hamzeh
Nezhad and Konstantin Borodavka are footbal-
lers, and they all commend the simplicity of their
sport.
“Sure, I usually go to hockey matches and
I am an ambassador for Brynäs, but football is
something else,” said Hawraz, 17.
“Absolutely. A pair of boots is all you need,
and that’s what a pair of shin guards cost,” conti-
nued Khado.
“We have tougher training sessions with more
emphasis on the physical side. Football is both
more tactical and more technical,” said Hazhar.
“But it was really interesting to fi nd out what
hockey is all about, of course,” said Konstantin.
Gavlegårdarna signed a new collaboration agre-
ement with Brynäs IF ahead of the 2011/2012 season. The agreement
includes the clear goal of supporting children and young people out
there in the housing estates, and ensuring they are given the opportu-
nity to experience ice hockey.
200 young people visited the Läkerol Arena for
a guided tour during the season. They met players and youth leaders
who talked to them about team building, values, and how to achieve
their goals. Each of these youngsters was also given a ticket for a home
game. Via direct mail, families with children were also invited to com-
pete for ice hockey tickets during the season. 50 families, a total of 200
people, had the opportunity on four occasions to see ice hockey being
played in the arena. The Brynäs mascot tiger met them with fl ags, and
also a team shirt to the lucky winner (see story on page 40). 2011 | 23
She is 22 years old and has
been working regularly since
she was fi fteen. Today, Maria
Mikaelyan has a permanent job
and has just moved into one
of Gavlegårdarna’s two-room
fl ats in Söder.
24 | 2011
A part from a
really nice,
chatty older
lady on the
fl oor below,
Maria Mikaelyan only has neighbours
of her own age. This might well be be-
cause the fl ats in Söder are well-priced
for their size and standard.
“I’ve compared numbers with my
friends, and my rent per square metre
is much better,” said Maria happily.
She welcomed us into her fl at
with coffee, fruit and biscuits.
Even though she moved in so
recently that her kitchen table
hadn’t yet arrived, it already felt
cosy and snug here. The normal
comforts were all around, from
the fl at-screen television to the
newly purchased sofa divan.
“For me, it’s always been a matter
of course to look after myself. I have
paid for all of the furniture myself,
with no help from home,” she said.
“It’s probably just my way of
confi rming to myself that I can do
stuff. I have this drive to earn my own
money, to fi x things myself, even if I
have to work really hard. One morning
I got up early, took the car to Ikea and
carted everything I’d bought home
on my own. That was when Dad got
angry with me for not asking for help,”
she added, laughing.
This drive has also meant that she
has always had a job – and with it the
chance to fend for herself. After a few
months of studying economics at Da-
larna University College in Borlänge,
she took a break and applied for six
jobs back home – and got all of them!
For the last two years nearly, she has
been working at Xzakt Kundrelation, a
company that takes care of administra-
tion and customer services for other
companies.
“Ever since I was fi fteen, I’ve
always worked a little, here and there,
in various industries. I’ve worked in
shops, and also been in sales for a te-
lemarketing company. That taught me
a lot, especially about myself and the
fact that I actually have the capacity to
succeed,” said Maria Mikaelyan.
“A lot of young people ask them-
selves why they should take certain
jobs that are considered demeaning.
However, it’s my fi rm belief that a job
is a job. As long as you can take
care of yourself, and can there-
fore respect yourself, you have
an independence that gives you
much more self-esteem. Too many
people forget that they lose these
positive aspects if they choose not
to take a job.”
Maria had been looking for
her own fl at for a year, allowing herself
to be picky. She wanted to live a little
way away from the city centre, in a
quiet environment with green areas
where she could walk her dog.
“Plus, of course, I wanted a fl at that
was nice, fresh, and well laid out – which
Maria Mika Mikaelyan has a
theme for each of the rooms
in her fl at. The kitchen is
rustic, the bedroom is shab-
by chic, and the living room
is earthy. “My friends all
have white everywhere, so
I wanted to change things a
bit,” laughed Maria.
“The moment I walked through the door, I really felt that I wanted
to live here”
2011 | 25
26 | 2011
is exactly what I found with this place.
The moment I walked through the door,
I really felt that I wanted to live here.”
For a while, Maria got up at 5
o’clock every morning to keep an eye on
the fl ats that Gavlegårdarna put out on
the Internet each day. When she clicked
to register her interest in the fl at in Sö-
der, she found herself fi rst in line for it.
“I came and looked at it on the
same day,” said Maria, smiling. “And I
immediately said ‘Yes, this is for me’ to
the girl who was living here then.”
She is more than happy with the
help and support she received from
Gavlegårdarna. The worn walls of the
bedroom were wallpapered according
to her wishes, and the doors of the
kitchen cupboards as well as the fl oor
in the bathroom were replaced.
“I decided to wallpaper the living
room myself – well, actually Dad step-
ped in there – but Gavlegårdarna paid
for the materials,” said Maria. “I just
had to go to the shops and buy them.”
“Then I had a few questions about
things that were wrong. The chopping
board in the kitchen was missing, and
I suspected that the hand basin was
leaking. But I just called the local care-
taker, Johan, who answered straigh-
taway. He even sent text messages
leaving information about everything,
absolutely incredible, he must be the
world’s best!” she continued.
The fridge, freezer, and cooker
were all due to be replaced next year
according to Gavlegårdarna’s plans,
but Maria chose to get new ones at the
same time as she moved in.
“It cost 800 Swedish kronor, and
will be on my next rental invoice,” she
said. “I could even pay in instalments
if I had wanted to, which is great
service.”
“Young people can fi nd it hard to
understand that things cost money and
that you have to pay on time. However,
in my job, I’ve seen what can happen if
you start paying late and let things get
out of hand. It’s obvious to me that I
have to do the right thing.” �
* Footnote: The caretaker that Maria
mentioned, Johan Liljemark, was
nominated for caretaker of the year.
You can read more about him on page 8.
Kort om Maria NAME: Arevik Mikaelyan
AGE: 22
LIVES: In a 53m2 fl at with two rooms and a kitchen.
RENT: SEK 4,600 per month.
HAS: A permanent job, a driving licence, her
own fl at.
MOTTO: If you aim for the stars, you don’t just get
to the moon, you also get to the stars. You just
have to know where you’re going.
2011 | 27
New website for student accommodation
Facts about Student Accommodation
• Students now have someone to talk to in terms of student housing. If they would
like to speak to someone face-to-face, the Customer Centre is open every day. In
collaboration with the university, it will also be open in the evenings and at weekends
immediately before the autumn intake.
• During the year 2011, Gavlegårdarna built a website for students at gavlegardarna.
se/student. This is for students to see if there are any vacant fl ats. Applications of
interest in student accommodation can also be left here. The website is connected
to Google Translate, meaning it can be read in many different languages.
• Gavlegårdarna also has its own Facebook page and chat site for students where,
among other things, information is published and questions from the tenants are
answered.
Gavlegårdarna took the decision last year to assume responsibility
for their student housing, a role that had previously been carried
out by the Student Union at the university.
In the past, the Student Union dealt
with all aspects of student accommo-
dation, including the fl ats owned and
managed by Gavlegårdarna.
“We have been studying how the
arrangement is working for a long
time, what was positive and what
wasn’t. Among other things, we carry
out annual surveys among the students
who are renting from us and among
those who are moving out. We could
see in these that there was some uncer-
tainty among the students about who
they should turn to regarding certain
issues, so we now have a vision that
will assure the quality of the entire
system,” said Pia Karlsson, the Head
of Administration at Gavlegårdarna’s
student accommodation.
The previous system involved a
fair bit of double work. For example,
a student could sign up for a fl at at
the Student Union after which the
information was passed on to Gavle-
gårdarna to be entered into the system.
“For instance, we could never see
in real time exactly how many vacant
fl ats we had, there was always a slight
delay,” said Pia.
The decision to transfer all of the
administration surrounding student
accommodation across to Gavlegår-
darna was taken in March 2011. The
decision was also approved politically
by the City Council.
An internal project group at
Gavlegårdarna has since been working
on the development of administrative
procedures and a student website.
“The intake for spring 2012 was
our dress rehearsal,” said Pia. “It was
probably good that we could ‘practice’
a bit at a time when the number of
students moving in and moving out is
smaller than it is in the autumn. That
will be the real test!” she continued.
From the university’s side there
was, of course, some concern about
what the change would mean for the
students, especially at the Interna-
tional Secretariat that looks after the
foreign students who are on their way
to Gävle and where decisions often
have to be made quickly.
“When we had our fi rst evalua-
tion meeting after the spring intake,
everyone on the university’s side was
incredibly pleased,” said Pia, and
continued, “We have also started up
a project group where
we, the university, the
International Secretariat,
and the Student Union
are all going to work
together. Now we can
be sure that everyth-
ing will work in the
autumn as well.” �
It took more than twenty years, but then transformation became a reality. The shabby and
disreputable Alderholmen area became Gävle’s most modern district, with the combined
scents of longing and saltwater in the air. Now another phase is getting underway, where
more houses will be constructed and several parks built. We visited Gävle Strand for a
lightning visit on a plain, ordinary evening.
Gävle Strand has come to life!
Not long ago,
Alderholmen
was a place
fi lled with
doubt. Would
anyone ever
build anything out there? It was a
windy hole, full of concrete, planks
of wood, and old junk. Who on earth
would want to live there?
Now, as we dropped in, on a Thurs-
day in the middle of March 2012, spring
was in the air early. Brynäs were playing
in the quarterfi nals and an air of anticipa-
tion was fi lling the city.
Out in Gävle Strand, the residents
were starting to get home from work.
The skate park was crowded with
children and young people who had
fi nally been able to get their bikes and
skateboards out. Dog owners were
walking alongside Gavleån, gazing out
across the water.
Life in Gävle’s latest district had
already perhaps started to become
everyday, but there was still a burgeo-
ning joy among each and every one of
the people we met. Sure, it was already
great out here, but it was also getting
better every day. The development
had, in effect, just begun.
Inside Wayne’s Coffee, on the
ground fl oor of the twelve-storey buil-
ding, Fullriggaren, sat the happy ow-
ner Ahmet Yilmaz. Of course he had a
freshly brewed coffee in his hand.
“I have three places to take care of,
but this one on “the beach” is the best
by a mile,” he said, smiling. “In the
city, life is rushed and full of stress; out
here it always feels calmer and more
comfortable.”
Ahmet always calls it “the
beach”; och he has done so from the
very start. As early as last summer,
when the area around Fullriggaren
28 | 2011
still looked like a building site with
piles of gravel and skips everywhere,
he still put his sun loungers outside,
facing the water.
“It was full, every day,” he laughed.
“And this year I will have a much big-
ger place, with 70–80 chairs going all
the way down to the water. It’s going
to be great!”
The café has far exceeded ex-
pectations. Ahmet has two full-time
employees, and there will be room for
additional staff in the summer.
“The beach is like a small village
... a luxury village, actually. I like that
too!” he said, and laughed again.
This particular Thursday after-
noon, Ewa-Lill Öjerteg and her friend
Camilla Berggren, each with a salad in
front of them, were sitting by the large
window looking out on Gavleån.
“It’s so peaceful at this place,” said
Camilla Berggren. “You can talk to
each other in peace and quiet when
you meet here. Furthermore, it’s really
easy to park. I’ve actually brought my
colleagues from work out here a few ti-
mes for a coffee break,” she continued.
Neither of them lives in Gävle
Strand, although Camilla said bluntly
that she would defi nitely be looking to
move here if she lived in a fl at.
“If you grew up in Gävle, you
remember what this area used to look
like. It was dark and deserted, and
you didn’t come near the place in the
evenings. Isn’t it great what they have
done with it, given those conditions?”
she said, waving a hand towards the
buildings outside.
“Now people come out here oc-
casionally just to check on everything
that’s happening. I’ve walked around
the area just to see new parts as they
emerge. And the kids love coming
here to play in the playground, it’s
fantastic.”
Sure, there are restaurants in Gävle. But the view from
the Fullriggaren restaurant and sky bar is unique. The
two brothers, Reza and Rozbeh Pour, had been waiting
for the right opportunity – and they found it.
2011 | 29
“It’s good here on the ‘The Beach’, and it’s only
going to get better,” said Ahmet Yilmaz,
laughing. Of the three cafés he runs in Gävle,
all called Waynes Coffee, he is defi nitely
happiest here.”
Mahyar Ansari took the lantern and placed it outside the entrance.
The evening shift at Time, the local convenience store, had just begun
and the doorbell rang regularly as the customers streamed in and out
of the shop. They were buying moist snuff and evening papers, some
spices that had run out at home, or perhaps they just wanted a freshly
made hotdog. All of them spoke cheerfully to Mahyar, who has basi-
cally worked every day since the shop opened last spring.
“I did a thousand hours in July and August,” he said, not looking
in the least bit tired. “When you get as much appreciation as I get,
it keeps you going. Families from both Brynäs and Öster come here,
and they all thank me for opening,” he continued.
The concept has evolved quite a bit since the start. He is a franchi-
see, but he has a lot of options when it comes to selecting the range of
products he sells, and he has taken advantage of this. He has, among
other things, listened to the wishes of his regular customers.
“In the spring, we sell more and more fast food. Then, in the
summer, we’ll have pies and grilled sandwiches. Since last year, I’ve
also realised how many people there are who just love to lie outside
in the sun. Ye gods, I’ve got the biggest ice-cream cabinet that GB
makes, but they still had to come out and fi ll it up three or four
times a week all last summer!” he said.
“This year, we’re going to have a little terrace outside with 20
places. I think we’ll need that,” he continued.
Like many others, he looks very positively upon the develop-
ment of Gävle Strand.
“The investment is long-term from my perspective, of course.
And now I’ve employed a girl full-time, so I can actually have some
time off too – well, sometimes, anyway!”
Merja Kinnunen was sitting on the couch, knitting. Behind her,
the sun was setting over Gävle Bay, and the view from the sixth
fl oor of Fullriggaren was impressive.
“It’s not bad,” said Merja, with a twinkle in her eye. “I just miss
the mountain tops from back home.”
Merja’s house, with its outdoor sauna and big garden, is in Töre,
outside Kalix. However, she met Rickard Pettersson from Gävle in the
pub back home, and now her son has to look after her estate up north.
“It was those eyes ... I couldn’t do anything but follow them
south,” she said, smiling warmly at Rickard.
The man with the eyes smiled back, a little embarrassed. But he
agreed – that’s how it happened. He had indeed met Merja up there
in Töre, never imagining for a moment that the two of them would
shortly be living together in the fl at he had said yes to, just a few
months earlier.
30 | 2011
“I was living in Älvkarleby but
wanted to get back into the city. When
Gavlegårdarna called me about a
fl at with two rooms and a kitchen in
Fullriggaren, I said yes after a couple
of seconds – without even seeing it!”
he said.
He’s normally away during the
week working, so Merja is often alone
in her new city.
“The fi rst week I took out my belo-
ved cabriolet sports car and just drove
around to get to know the area. This
building is visible from everywhere,
so I could always get home again,” she
said, laughing again.
Their love of their common home
and each other is palpable.
“We had both lost our spouses,
and were not really susceptible yet to
meeting someone new. But there was
something special about our meeting, as
well as this fl at. There’s a meaning for
everything, and we saw this as a con-
fi rmation that we were doing the right
thing,” said Merja with a steady look.
They have been happy together
since day one. Their neighbour, Pelle,
has become a friend, and when they sat
on the balcony last summer the family
on the fl oor below suddenly started
playing and singing.
“There was a woman there, she
was singing so beautifully. I wrote a
note with a song request on it, and
Rickard tied it to a measuring tape
so that we could send it down,” said
Merja.
“At fi rst there was silence, but
just a minute later she started singing
again – and it was my song! Absolutely
wonderful,” continued Merja, looking
longingly out across the big balcony
towards the river’s estuary.
“This building is alive, you can feel
it. It looks like France out there, with
all the boats and canals. And yesterday
I found out that the sauna you can rent
in the next block is great. You can even
sit outside and cool off with a beer,”
said Merja with her easy Finnish ac-
cent. “I met a chap in the building who
usually goes there. From now on, I’ll
be joining him.”
Richard laughed. “I think I’ll take
the lift to the piano bar, and wait for
you up there!” he said.
“We’ve had so many visions,
right from the start. How about a
doctor who can take the boat out to
the buildings on the outskirts of the
archipelago? All we have to do is agree
on who’s going to knit the sweater ..!”
Kicki Ceder almost bursts with
happiness when she dreams of the
future. As Head of Gävle’s most mo-
dern health centre, she is both proud
and happy. Not least because she was
involved in the planning, including
everything from recruiting staff to
choosing the fabric for the curtains.
He has worked almost around the clock during his early days at the Time convenience
store. However, the joy of opening his shop, combined with the constant good cheer of
all his regular customers, has meant that Mahyar Ansari has managed. Now he is looking
forward to a summer with a little terrace outside and more fast food on the menu.
Ewa-Lill Öjerteg and Camilla Berggren were taking a salad at
Waynes on an ordinary Thursday evening in March. “I often
come here, it’s just so peaceful somehow,” said Camilla.
2011 | 31
32
“The fi rst time I came here, the
building was basically just scaffolding,
and we went around with hard hats on.
But there has always been this belief,
from the county council’s perspective
too, that it was right to invest here,”
said Kicki.
The decision to open a new health
centre was one way for the public
sector’s primary healthcare system
to tackle the competition from the
private sector, which has opened many
new practices in and around Gävle in
recent years. Furthermore, it had been
a long time since the county council
had invested in a new such centre for
primary healthcare.
“A new area of the city was
enticing, but ultimately I think the
Fullriggaren building was a very
important part of why we came here. It
is a strategic location and just look how
nice it is!” said Kicki Ceder.
We looked in on Camilla Lidberg,
a nurse in the lab. Anyone who comes
in here for a blood test gets a great
view through the large panoramic
windows into the bargain.
“It’s not just the premises that
attract both staff and patients. There’s
something in the air too, the feeling
of a fresh start and new ideas,” said
Camilla.
Kicki agreed. “Absolutely,” she
said. “There was nothing here when
we started. No staff, no routines, not
even any patients!” she said, laughing.
Today, six months after opening,
the situation here is very different. The
employees have been handpicked by
Kicki Ceder herself, and the number
of patients listed is 2,800.
Camilla Lidberg, a nurse, looks
forward to summer in the lab at the
newly opened health centre at Fullrig-
garen. “I don’t think I’ve had a single
patient yet who hasn’t mentioned the
fantastic view,” she said.
The skate park is full, this evening in
March. “It’s good, but far too small here!”
cried the guys on their bikes, in unison.
“We have received a lot of atten-
tion from other county councils who
have been here on study visits. I think
“There is a sense of both security and friendliness in this building,” said Merja
Kinnunen and Rickard Pettersson, who’ve moved in together at Fullriggaren.”
Camilla Lidberg, a nurse, looks forward
to summer in the lab at the newly
opened health centre at Fullriggaren.
“I don’t think I’ve had a single patient
yet who hasn’t mentioned the fantastic
view,” she said.
Camilla Lidberg a nurse looks forward
32 | 2011
33
this building itself was a signifi cant
part of the reason for the politicians
authorising new investment in primary
healthcare,” said Kicki Ceder, Head of
the Fullriggaren Health Centre.
“We have generous opening hours,
until seven every evening, and we have no
fi xed workplaces for people. This means
that we attract employees who are fl exible
and who really want to work with the
patient in focus,” said Kicki Ceder.
The residents of Fullriggaren are
of course registered as patients at the
new health centre. Some of them take
the lift down, still in their slippers,
and the staff appreciate the familiar at-
mosphere while the tenants appreciate
the sense of security very highly.
The balcony runs around the entire
building, and it’s almost scary at dusk
to stand up against the glazing railings
on the twelfth fl oor. It’s a bit chilly out
there, but that doesn’t matter when the
neon lights over Gävle create a skyline
that the majority of the residents of
Gävle have never seen.
The two brothers, Reza and
Rozbeh Pour, lean back comfortably
against the railings and breathe in the
evening air. Very soon now it will be
the opening premiere for the Full-
riggaren restaurant and sky bar, in
premises on the ground fl oor and on
the twelfth fl oor.
“We’ve been waiting for the right
time to fi nd something truly unique,”
said Reza, turning up the collar of his
jacket.
“And now we’re going to show
Gävle who’s boss!” said Rozbeh,
laughing.
The restaurant is going to of-
fer a holistic concept with a wide
choice, from lunch and à la carte on
the ground fl oor to the possibility of
taking the lift up to the top fl oor for a
few well-selected dishes in the lounge
or a drink in the piano bar. The pa-
norama windows of course mean that
there is a magnifi cent view in every
direction.
“We’ve got the best prawn sand-
wiches here, with our hand-peeled
prawns,” said Rozbeh, “Haven’t we?”
he added, as he walked in his socks
over the plush wall-to-wall dark purple
carpet, gesturing to where the grand
piano will one day stand.
It’s the middle of March, and the
opening premiere is scheduled for the
end of April.
“We’ve got bookings all the way
into June,” said Reza Pour, smiling.
Together with his brother, he sees
all the possibilities for the development
of Gävle’s newest area. The restau-
rant will soon have a newly laid green
area right outside the windows on
the ground fl oor, and the next phase
of construction is due to start in just
a few months, with some additional
buildings further out towards the sea.
“There’s been a big change in just
the last few months. People move
around the area in a whole new way
now. It’s great to be able to follow the
fl ow, as everything grows and chan-
ges,” said Reza Pour. “Gävle Strand is
getting better and better, that’s just the
way it is!” �
“We have received a lot of attention from other county councils who have
been here on study visits. I think this building itself was a signifi cant part of
the reason for the politicians authorising new investment in primary health-
care,” said Kicki Ceder, Head of the Fullriggaren Health Centre.
The skate park is full, this eve-
ning in March. “It’s good, but
far too small here!” cried the
guys on their bikes, in unison.
this building itself was a significan
“W
be
th
c
2011 | 33
… Head of Administration at
Gavlegårdarna! How was the
snow in the spring of 2011?
“It was a tough and very challenging
year for our staff. The snow came
early during the autumn of 2010 and
the winter then lasted for a long time.
Between January and April, we had more than
double the amount of work we have to do in a normal year.”
Gävle is known as a snow trap. Are you always on full alert?
Yes, from week 46 until week 13 we are fully set-up for snow
clearing. Both our own staff and our contracted snow removal
companies are on-call to come out and start work.”
How do you prepare for our unpredictable weather?
“Among other things, we subscribe to a weather service
from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
(SMHI) that gives us very detailed and often dead accurate
information, hour by hour. However, it’s always diffi cult to
predict the weather, and furthermore there can be substantial
differences between our various districts in terms of the weather
they get.”
What are the priorities in the event of a heavy snowfall?
“Firstly, we make sure that any and all emergency exits and
entrances are accessible. After that, we prioritise the car parks,
so that our tenants can get to their vehicles and therefore to
their jobs.”
Where do you put all the snow?
“It’s predominantly left in the residential areas. But during the
winters when there is really heavy snowfall, as was the case
in 2010 and 2011, we take the snow away to a snow tip that is
located by the golf course, just outside Gävle.”
What are your expectations for snow in 2012?
“I’m looking forward to a mild winter in 2012, although for the
children’s sake I hope we get a little snow. Thanks to this past
mild winter, spring work in our housing estates got underway a
month and half earlier than usual, and that’s good.” �
Environmentally certifi ed
Hello Niclas Lind …
No snow chaos at Gavlegårdarna according to ISO 14 001
Environmental issues are not
pursued as a separate project
at Gavlegårdarna, but are ins-
tead embodied in everything
we do every day. Therefore, it
wasn’t a very big step to take,
choosing to get environmental
certifi cation for the company.
“This certifi cation gives
us a stamp of approval for the
quality of our work; it is con-
fi rmation that we are working
on the right things in the right
way,” said Mats Åström, Head
of Environment and Quality at
Gavlegårdarna.
Certifi cation requirements
have changed over a period
of time, with demands having
now been strengthened to
ensure their effectiveness. In-
tertek is the company that has
reviewed and then approved
Gavlegårdarna according to
ISO 14001 standards.
“Twice a year they go
through the entire company
and see how we are following
our policies, our management
systems, and various other
things,” said Mats.
One of Gavlegårdarna’s
environmental objectives is
to eventually stop using fossil
fuels in its vehicles. Every time
a company vehicle is to be re-
placed, the goal is to purchase
something that is better from
an environmental perspective.
At the moment, appropriate
vehicles are powered by
biofuel or electricity.
The environmental “driving licence” Another of Gavlegårdarna’s
environmental goals is to
increase the environmental
knowledge and awareness of
the company’s staff. During
2011, every employee took a
course known as the environ-
mental driving licence. This
was a course in environmental
education that all employ-
ees could perform at their
computer. It took about two
hours and ended with a test.
“Environmental issues
have had a major effect on
our staff, so it’s only natural
they should become im-
portant for the company too,”
said Mats.
34 | 2011
According to regional environ-
mental objectives, Gavlegår-
darna must reduce its energy
consumption by 20 per cent
by the year 2020. However,
the company is aiming higher
than that. As early as 2015,
net carbon dioxide emissions,
linked to electricity produc-
tion, heating and transport,
should be down to zero.
As a part of this, Gavlegårdarna along
with Gävle Energi implemented a pilot
project that got off the ground in 2007.
The idea was to introduce remote
monitoring of the heating systems in
all buildings, in order to improve ef-
fi ciency and at the same time increase
the comfort of the tenants. Five dif-
ferent brands of receiver were tested,
each synonymous with the hardware in
the buildings, and all of them worked.
“It was a deliberate strategy. We
didn’t want to be dependent on an in-
dividual supplier, but rather we wanted
to have the possibility to purchase the
equipment when we needed it,” said
Anders Holmsten, Operations Mana-
ger at Gavlegårdarna.
Remote thermal monitoring gives environmental benefi ts
Facts about remote mon-itoring
• In Gavlegårdarna’s housing
stock, district heating accounts
for 99.8 per cent of all heating.
A total of 97.1 per cent of our
district heating comes from
renewable energy sources,
a unique fi gure in a Swedish
context.
• The remaining 0.2 per cent uses
geothermal solutions.
• In 2000, Gavlegårdarna was still
using 500 cubic metres of oil
each year for heating purposes.
Last year, 2011, the company
used no oil at all.
The benefi ts are numerous with
remote-controlled systems. It is much
easier to adjust and regulate the hea-
ting, so that the indoor temperature
(21 degrees Celsius, as agreed with the
Tenants’ Association) can be maintai-
ned. Additionally, a service technician
no longer needs to get into a car and
drive out to a property to make adjust-
ments, which is benefi cial in terms of
both time and the environment.
In order to meet its environmental
objectives, Gavlegårdarna has also
teamed up with the Swedish Society
for Nature Conservation, which acts
as an auditor on environmental issues
at the company. �
2011 | 35
What happens when the Customer Centre is notifi ed about a problem?
1. A tenant at Brynäs has a
blocked toilet and calls the
Customer Centre.
2.A customer service assis-
tant takes the call reporting
the problem, and asks a number of
questions to narrow it down. Anything
to get a picture of how urgent the pro-
blem is and if the tenant has attempted
to fi x it on his or her own. The assistant
will ask if the local caretaker can enter
the fl at using the master key and if the
tenant would like to be called before-
hand. The assistant will also ask if there
are any pets in the fl at – it has happened
that dogs have let a caretaker into a fl at
but refused to allow him or her to leave
again!
36 | 2011
J
3.The customer service as-
sistant makes a note of all the
information surrounding the problem and
informs the tenant that it should be taken
care of within three days.
4.The problem is entered into the
computer system, and this then
automatically prints out a work order to
the relevant caretaker. If the matter is
urgent, the assistant will ring directly to
the caretaker concerned.
5.Today, the Customer Centre ta-
kes one third of the complaints
reported about Gavlegårdarna’s housing
stock – at Brynäs, Bomhus, Norrsun-
det, Bergby, Öster, and Gävle Strand.
Problems in the other areas are reported
directly to the caretakers. Today, 47% of
tenants report faults and other problems
via the Internet.
sistant makes a note of all the
information surrounding the problem and
informs the tenant that it should be taken
care of within three days.
Both Frederick Hallqvist (left) and Marie
Söderblom (above) have left the job of
caretaker behind them, and today serve the
tenants at the Customer Centre instead.
2011 | 37
Conny Löfstrand was living in a fl at with three rooms and a kitchen in Öster, but liked the idea of something smaller in the same
area. “We were out eating and I was talking to my son about it. We took a chance and came over here. I thought you had to book
an appointment,” said Conny in surprise, as Fredrik Hallqvist from the Customer Centre brought out the fl oor plans of a vacant fl at
with two rooms and a kitchen. After many years, Conny had accumulated a lot of queue points and was number one on the list.
“You’ll save a thousand kronor a month here,” said his son Leif, happily.
“Listening to our employees can be
pretty impressive”
Katarina
Mårtensson is the
manager of the 25
employees at the
Customer Centre.
38 | 2011
Inga-Lill Helin lives in an owner-occupied
fl at that is currently up for sale on the
market. She’s found a fl at in Andersberg
that she really wants. Marie Söderblom
points out that Inga-Lill will have the chance
to rent it, if nobody pushes her down the
queue within the next few hours. “In that
case, we’ll have to really hope,” said Inga-
Lill, hugged by her friend Marianne Liljeroth.
Jessica Ravanelli is one of the voices tenants hear
fi rst when they call the Customer Centre. There
are a lot of calls every day, and it’s important not
to get stressed when the queue grows.
Did you know?• In a typical day, the Customer Centre
receives around 350 telephone
calls, 850 people visit the company’s
website, 50 people join live chat, 80
people send us mail, 40 people call
about their contracts, 30 people call
about credit-related issues, and 50
people come in to deal with their
problems over the counter. Accor-
dingly, the Customer Centre comes
into contact with nearly 1,500 people
every day.
• A computer program measures the
level of service provided daily. The
Customer Centre receives precise
statistics about how many people
hung up in the telephone queue and
how long they had to wait.
• There’s room for fi ve people in the
telephone queue. After that, the
customer receives an automated
message indicating that the queue is
currently full. Every assistant can see
from an indicator if there are calls
waiting in the queue.
• The single most common question of
the callers is. “What’s my password
to get into the website?”
• All employees at the Customer
Centre must spend at least half a day
every year out in the actual residenti-
al areas. This is so that they can learn
more about the overall operation and
the everyday lives of the tenants.
• Gavlegårdarna has 73,000 registered
customers.
• Approximately 300 tenants move
house each month.
• 96.7% of Gavlegårdarna’s tenants pay
their rent on time.
2011 | 39
Before the game, Gavlegårdarna announced it would be
distributing tickets via a lottery system to some lucky
tenants in Brynäs and Bomhus – and the response was huge.
A total of 150 families competed for the 48 seats.
“It’s great that the tenants can benefi t from
Gavlegårdarna’s sponsorship of Brynäs. This was a really
good initiative, although I never dared to think that we
might win,” said Sören Johansson, who lives in Brynäs.
He is an ice hockey fan who quite often goes to home
games but, for his wife and the children, this was their fi rst
time.
“It costs a lot of money to take the whole family to a
match. So, for a lot of people, this is a really great expe-
rience,” said Sören Johansson.
Brynäs and Bomhus at the Läkerol Arena
When Brynäs played their last game before
the Christmas break, a new attendance record
for the season was set at Läkerol Arena. Over
8,000 people saw the home team beat Frölunda
in match with plenty of goals that ended 4–3.
Sebastian Hedlund lives in
Brynäs and plays ice hockey
in Brynäs Second Graders.
Sören Johansson has been an ice hockey fan for many years. But for his wife, Ona-
nong Buttawong, and son, Phuripup, this was the fi rst time at a game.
It was the premiere at Läkerol
Arena for Christer Johansson,
seen here with his brother
Tomas Jonsson.
A signed team shirt was
the prize in a lottery for
the young participants
and it went to 14-year-old
Alexander Sundqvist from
Bomhus.
15-month-old Alexandra Johans-
son both slept and cheered her
way through Brynäs’ win over
Frölunda.
Gustav Mattson went to the
hockey match with his aunt, Lina
Eriksson. His aunt lives in one of
Gavlegårdarna’s fl ats in Brynäs.
40 | 2011
The tiger mascot wel-
comed Gavlegårdarna’s
guests and gave fl ags to all
the children.
Alexandra Johansson, 6, came
to the ice hockey match with
Grandma, Lilly-Ann Gunnarsson.
For Grandma, this was her fi rst time
at the Läkerol Arena.
Christer Jonsson was one of those who had never been
inside Läkerol Arena.
“This is a real party. Nowadays there’s a lot more going
on around a hockey game. When I saw Godis play outside,
there wasn’t much to look at away from the ice. Well, there
were a few guys walking backwards and forwards
trying to keep warm!” said Christer, with a
laugh.
Christer Jonsson is also a tenant at
Brynäs, and has lived in the same fl at
on Riggargatan since it was built in
the late 1960s.
“I really appreciate this
chance to go and see some
ice hockey. I would like
to thank Gavlegår-
darna, but I also
want to say that
we tenants are
actually worth
this,” he said.
And then he
laughed again. �
The customer surveys we have carried out show
the same result: the majority of Gavlegårdarna’s
tenants want current and specifi c information
about their area, and they want it via fast chan-
nels such as the computer or the phone.
“That’s why we’ve stopped printing our tenant news-
letter. The studies we carried out showed that fewer
and fewer people were reading it, and that the infor-
mation was too general,” said Katarina Mårtensson,
Head of the Customer Centre at Gavlegårdarna.
“It’s all about providing information that is im-
portant for the customer when it happens and where
it happens, and that’s the change of course that we are
implementing right now,” she said.
Instead of one newsletter, Gavlegårdarna has now
introduced 16 newsletters, one for each of its areas. The
company has also set up a very popular live chat facility
that is currently generating 50–60 chats per day.
“It’s usually about the same sort of questions that
we get when we answer the phone, but on the chat
line we like the fact that we can easily send links to
the website and more information to the customer
directly.”
Gavlegårdarna will, of course, carry on putting
information up in the stairwells and leaving notes in
mailboxes, but development work on the new channels
will also continue.
“The customers can do so much digitally these
days, such as ordering wallpaper via our website, for
instance, and we plan to continue our efforts in this
direction,” said Katarina.
Like so many other companies, Gavlegårdarna
is also represented in social media, such as Face-
book. Customer service issues can pop up here too,
but social media also serves as a supplement to the
ordinary channels, a way of getting information out
there quickly regarding urgent matters, such as service
disruptions. �
Changing the channels at Gavlegårdarna
Chat with usOur live chat is open on weekdays, 09.00-11.00 and 13.00-14.30. Chat can be closed at times of peak activity in the Customer Centre.
2011 | 41
He was the Managing Director who changed Gavlegårdarna during his time in offi ce. The company
today does so much more than manage a large number of fl ats in Gävle.
“We work with people’s entire living environment. Social responsibility is a key term, it’s very
important, and it makes the job so much more fun,” said Janne Hugg, who is now handing over the
reins to his successor.
t was the day of the Lucia
celebrations (13 December),
and the temperature was above
zero. Outside the window, the
sky was grey and the thermo-
meter confi rmed the positive
number. It was hard to believe
that the year was coming to an
end, but when 2011 became 2012 it was
time for Janne Hugg to hand over the
role of Managing Director and instead
devote himself to something else.
“I’m not dreading leaving, but of
course there are a lot of things I will
miss. It’s hard to say exactly what at
the moment, but I think it will concern
the identity you get from belonging to
a company like Gavlegårdarna. Not
outwardly so much as inwardly, for
yourself,” said Janne Hugg, adding a
dash of milk to his coffee.
“To deal with the fact that your
working life is over, you have to stand
fi rmly, purely mentally. I tend to think
that, in the worst-case scenario, my
existence will be like a chair with three
legs where they’re cutting one off. Ho-
wever, in the best-case scenario, they’re
cutting one leg off a four-legged chair
… that is to say it will sort itself out.”
He smiled and continued, “I
believe in the latter. I have a lot of
interests, I like exercising, and I expect
to be very busy.”
Janne Hugg was MD of Gavle-
gårdarna for 12 years. He joined the
company from the municipally owned
Hyresbostäder, fully aware that the two
companies would soon be merging.
“Nobody had really imagined how
revolutionary that process was going
to be. We wondered how different two
municipally owned housing companies
could be? However, it turned out that
they couldn’t really have been more
different,” said Janne.
“We went from 10,000 fl ats to
almost 17,000. The employees had
to learn new systems and new tasks
at work. It’s only natural that such
a development created uncertainty,
leading to a drop in our quality which
among other things led to a decline in
customer satisfaction,” he continued.
“Sometimes, it’s a good job you
don’t know the extent of things before-
hand. Because we had to undertake a
very long journey to get back again.”
But it’s an ill wind that blows
nobody any good.
During the diffi cult years, the ma-
nagement team worked hard and well
together. Even today, a decade later,
“Huggen” is handing over the reins
42 | 2011
Janne Hugg talks about teamwork as
an important and unique asset of the
whole company.
“I’ve never seen anything quite
like the situation we created here. At
Gavlegårdarna, it is entirely natural for
people to see themselves as part of a
team, something which is outstanding,
the best thing we have. It’s very hard
to beat a team that works together like
that,” he said.
“A corporate culture must be sown
in the management organisation and
then planted into the rest of the organi-
sation from there. Over the years I have
become more and more aware that
the role of the leader is also the
role of the corporate culture bearer
and today this is of the utmost
importance. Employees don’t
do as you say, they do as you do,” he
continued, adding, “You have to practice
what you preach. It breeds confi dence,
respect, and trust – all of which are vital
both for wellbeing and profi tability.
Janne Hugg became known as a
clear leader with strategic foresighted-
ness. His faith in the competence of
his colleagues, as well as their ability to
take responsibility, meant that he avoi-
ded getting too involved with details.
“ Long but strong reins, absolu-
tely!” he said.
“All of the employees who can
plan their work and develop in their
role have a chance to grow, that is my
absolute conviction. However, I don’t
shirk a tough talk from time to time, if
it’s necessary,”
When he was new at Gavlegår-
darna, Janne Hugg was praised for his
interest in staff welfare. He was the
MD whose door was always open and
who always had time for a chat.
“That’s true, I can probably count
on the fi ngers of one hand the number
of occasions when I told someone I
didn’t have time,” he said.
He continued, “It’s about your
outlook on people and about being
who you are. I would never have been
able to disguise myself. I think that
trying to separate your private self
from your professional self by showing
off somehow will end up breaking you
inside. Furthermore, I’m convinced
that people see through it anyway.”
Janne Hugg has a genuine and fun-
damental belief that it is the employees
who ultimately appoint a person as their
leader, not a board. “The Board of Di-
rectors appoint you to the role of MD,
but it’s the employees who give you the
confi dence to be a leader,” he said.
For this reason, Janne remem-
bers – and values very highly – all the
invitations he received over the years
that gave him the recognition even an
MD needs.
“Quite early on, I was invited to
take part in activities like the dragon
boat competition during the City Fes-
tival. I was also invited to join a group
of hunters that had existed in the
company for a long time. These
were great moments, ones where
I wasn’t the MD but a member of
the group,” he said, and conti-
nued, “As a leader, you always live with
a certain degree of uncertainty. I chose
to accept the fact that I didn’t have
complete control over everything, and I
trusted that we respected each other in
both directions.”
Janne advocates leadership built
on values ahead of authority, not least
when it comes to achieving the com-
mon goals that have been set.
“Sooner or later, you’re going to
come to tough situations, where maybe
“You have to practice what you preach”
2011 | 43
you have to make people redundant or
something. Then you must have the
courage to get in the lift and ride all
the way down, otherwise you will hurt
people. That’s where the outlook on
people comes in again,” he said.
“Leadership is to a great extent
something you’re born with, and you
have to think it’s fun to work with it.
There are some aspects of it that you
can work on during your working life,
but the foundation is probably having
the aptitude to be a leader – at least,
that’s my opinion.”
He himself discovered quite early on
in life that this “talent” was there. Growing
up with his grandparents in Hälsingland,
he often had to take care of himself. “There
were no ‘curling parents’ there,” he said.
“To be a little philosophical,
perhaps a lot of things were foun-
ded there, in the high performance
demands I placed on myself. I always
wanted to make the best of every situa-
tion. Later, in sports and during my
military service, I realised that it was
fun to lead other people,” he said.
With a degree in engineering as
support, his journey through life conti-
nued, working in various management
positions. In Gästrikland, we remember
him, among other things, as the MD of
Kungsberget, as being in charge of local
traffi c and city buses, as the Head of the
Business and Commercial Development
Offi ce in the Municipality of Gävle, and
as MD of Hyresbostäder.
At Gavlegårdarna, Janne Hugg’s
period at the helm will be remembered
as the time when the company went
from managing homes and properties
to managing people’s entire living
environments.
“Fifteen years ago, a lot of our
business consisted of concrete, stone,
nails and boards. Now we’ve been on
a journey where we’ve opted instead
for far greater customer focus. We’ve
started to measure what our customers
actually think of us. We’ve initiated
democratic processes around the di-
strict renewal projects taking place in
our Million Homes Programme areas,
and we value the social responsibility
towards our tenants. Overall, this has
meant that our customers now have
more confi dence in us, which in turn
increases our status in the whole of
Gävle,” said Janne Hugg.
“We don’t just work with products
like fl ats, cranes, wallpaper and fl oo-
ring. At Gavlegårdarna, we work with
people and that’s so much more fun,”
said Janne.
He continued, “Working in public
sector administration is far more
complex than it is in the private sector
arena, where the focus is undoubtedly
on economics and profi tability. We
have to take into account a whole
range of parameters, such as business
and politics. Company and muni-
cipal laws are all around us, as well
as special legislation for municipally
owned companies. We have to com-
bine profi tability with responsibility,
all the while maintaining our working
relationship with our owners and our
other stakeholders in society.”
For Janne Hugg, the job was a
fascinating challenge, where he also
had the opportunity to demonstrate
the results.
“From the outside, we get a lot
of indication that Gavlegårdarna is a
company that doesn’t just talk, it does
what it says it will do. It’s good for an
impatient person like me to hear that,”
he said, laughing.
“We didn’t always choose the
easiest way out. The successful renova-
tion work in Öster is an example of
where we now, via a research report,
have scientifi c evidence of the positive
impact our work there has had. From
both an economic and a social perspec-
tive,” said Janne.
“Simply choosing to carry out the
technical renovations would, of course,
have been the easiest option. However,
we chose to work democratically, and
we invited all tenants to get involved
in the process, something that is much
more diffi cult. We adopted a way of
working where we always felt that
we were right – and now we have the
proof that we were.”
Janne is leaving his position in a
company that is fl ourishing.
But now it is again time to think
with strategic vision – though of a
different kind now. Because after
the New Year, Janne Hugg will be
focusing on things like carpentry at
his house by Lake Storsjön, pulling
the odd pike-perch out of the water, or
taking out his enduro to whip up some
gravel along a dirt road somewhere.
In a nutshell, it’s time for him to
manage his own living environment. �
“As a leader, you always live with a certain degree of uncertainty”
44 | 2011
This is Janne HuggNAME: : Janne Hugg, known as Huggen
since he was a child.
AGE: Just turned 60.
PROFESSION: Retiring MD at Gavlegårdarna.
FAMILY: Married to Elisabeth, and the
couple have two adult children each.
LIVES: In a house by Storsjön, outside
Sandviken.
HOBBIES: Riding an enduro in the forest,
being outdoors, exercising, carpentry.
MUSIC: Springsteen, Train, Ledin, Laleh, and
others. Works out to music that’s full of
go, such as The Refreshments.
FILM: Watches a lot of fi lms, especially
action and adventure movies.
THREE KEY WORDS AS LEADRE: CONFIDENCE – employees must have
this in you,
TRUST – you must have this in your
colleagues,
RESPECT – this has to go both ways.
Those are all essential for my style of
leadership.
WEAKNESS: Must perhaps be my mood. I
have a relatively short fuse and can be both
touchy and irritable, but I’m also straight-
forward and say what I’m thinking. When I
was leaving and being thanked, they talked
about my “black eyes”, and that’s a trait I
hadn’t previously been aware of …
CHATTERBOX OR THINKER: I have no problems
speaking, nor am I introverted, but I’m
probably not the one who talks the most
at a meeting.
THREE WORDS ABOUT YOUR YEARS AT GAVLEGÅR-DARNA: Three words? MY BEST YEARS!
FUTURE VISION FOR GAVLEGÅRDARNA: The poten-
tial exists to be one of Sweden’s absolute
foremost and most modern housing
companies. It’s a company that can
observe future needs and opportunities
at an early stage, and has the ability to
point the compass in the right direction.
Questions about demographic deve-
lopment and accessibility features are
probably the most strategically important
at the moment.
DESCRIBE GAVLEGÅRDARNA TODAY, WHAT YOU ARE LEAVING: Very few people are so privileged
that they can fi nish in such a positive era.
We won several awards during 2011,
among others for Best Product Quality
and Best Administrative Quality – in
competition with both private and public
companies. We have acquired both envi-
ronmental and quality certifi cation, which
should be seen as confi rmation that our
working practices and procedures are
functioning well. We’ve reached a new
“all time high” in the number of fl ats and
business premises that we have rented
out – indeed, today we have almost no
vacant fl ats or premises, which is good
because a lot of vacant properties can
cause a major fi nancial setback. Last year
really was a magical one.
WHAT ARE GAVLEGÅRDARNA’S STRENGTHS: The em-
ployees and their desire to work as a team.
That feeling was in the walls there, all I
had to do was build on it even more. We
completed a transformation from housing
administrators to a modern company
that takes care of and develops human
habitats. We take a great social respon-
sibility towards our tenants and we have
pushed our customer focus much further
than many others. As a tenant of Gavlegår-
darna, you have a far greater opportunity
to exert an infl uence on your fl at and your
environment than is the case with most
other landlords. We have always taken
advantage of technological possibilities and
we understand what it means to want to
stay on top in the future.
2011 | 45
“We really went on a journey with this project. Öster has
gone from being a place that the residents were not really
very proud of at all, to the position of being one of the most
popular residential areas today,” said Hans Helmerson, Pro-
ject Leader at Gavlegårdarna.
The success of the project lies in the approach applied,
so-called tenant infl uence, where the tenants were involved
in the whole process from the very beginning. Initially, all of
the residents were invited to a meeting where everything
was on the agenda, large and small issues.
“We made a note of the good things, the bad things, and
what tenants felt was missing,” said Hans.
The results were collated and catalogued, after which
an action plan was devised for work in the future. Two of
the things missing in Öster were safer footpaths and a forum
where the tenants could meet. The residents were very
enthusiastic during the entire process, which was a major
contributory factor behind the good result. The tenants have
now started a number of social activities that mean people
living in the area get to know each other better.
The district renewal in Öster is now a model for similar
projects in other parts of the Gavlegårdarna property portfolio.
“The working model, where the tenants can infl uence
the conversion process, is a winning
concept,” concluded Hans Helmersson.
The Tag – a piece of plastic that promotes security
vlegårdarna property portfolio.
e the tenants can infl uence
nning
mersson.
Basement storage area doors
with a thin wooden frame and
chicken wire, kept “secure” with
a tiny padlock. Sound familiar?
Not in Nordost, where major
investments have been made in
recent years to increase security
in the basement storage areas,
and which have produced good
results.
In every basement in Nord-
ost, there are now 10-50 storage
areas with strong front sections,
and these can only be opened
with the tenant’s own tag. The
storage areas are behind new
security doors, which can also
be opened only by means of the
same technique. Krister Palm, an
administrator at Gavlegårdarna
Nordost, is pleased with these
developments.
“The number of burglaries
down in the basements has
decreased dramatically since we
introduced the new system with
these tags,” he said.
The system that ensures tags
are used at the entrance doors,
lifts, and basements is called
“Skalskydd” (literally “perimeter
protection”). All tenants are
entitled to three tags when they
move into their fl at, and they must
return them when they move out
again. It’s easy to block tags that
get lost and perhaps fall into the
wrong hands.
“That’s the great advantage of
the tag system. Previously, we had
to change the locks on the doors
instead, something that is very
costly,” said Krister.
They work with security is-
sues daily in Nordost, and major
improvements have been carried
out regarding both soft and hard
issues. These can include all sorts
of things, such as locking the lifts
at night so that nobody can go
down to the storage areas to
creating open spaces outside
where people can get together.
Krister, who is out and about in
the area every day, has noticed
that the tenants are very positive
towards any initiatives that make
them feel safer and more secure.
Tenant infl uence creates wellbeing in Öster
For the last ten years, since 2001, there has been
an enormous district renewal going on in Öster.
The project, which came to an end in August
2010, became one of Gavlegårdarna’s most suc-
cessful projects, attracting study visits by minis-
ters and housing companies.
46 | 2011
© AB Gavlegårdarna, 2012.Production: Baringo reklam & kommunikation, in collaboration with AB Gavlegårdarna. Photography: Albin Bogren, AB Gavlegårdarna, Gefl e Dagblad, and others. Printing: Sandvikens Tryckeri AB.
Gavlegårdarna is building 53 new rental fl ats at Gävle Strand
Outlook for 2012
The project “Beautiful green Sätra” is startingThe project “Beautiful green Sätra”, a renovation project with an emphasis on en-
vironmental and energy improvements, will get underway during 2012. This pro-
ject aims to create a sustainable district, viewed from economic, social, ecological
and aesthetic perspectives, and is one where we are again using tenant infl uence,
where the tenants are involved and can have an effect on their living environment.
Sicksackvägen 34One part of the project includes the renovation of Sicksackvägen 34, behind Sätra
Centre. This building is going to be turned into sheltered housing, in other words
housing for the elderly. There will be 62 fl ats with a high level of accessibility and
large balconies.
Östra SätraThree blocks of fl ats in Östra Sätra, at Pinnmovägen 26 and Glaciärvägen 21 and
23, are to be rebuilt. The fl ats will totally renovated, the balconies will be repla-
ced, and the facades will be coated with roughcast.
The 53 rental fl ats will be ready for occupancy
in the spring of 2013, and the ground-breaking
ceremony for the two new four-storey buil-
dings at Gävle Strand will be held in May.
“These fl ats will have a high level of accessibi-
lity, meaning large bathrooms and kitchens, open
fl oor plans, and generous balconies,” said Ulf
Gavlefors, Project Manager at Gavlegårdarna.
The entrances will also be well-proportio-
ned, and there will be a lift in each stairwell.
Lindbäcks Bygg from Piteå is constructing
these buildings out of wood, and they will be
delivered prefabricated, as so-called modules.
This means that all the fl ooring and household
equipment is already in place when the sec-
tions are delivered to Gävle.
This will be Gavlegårdarna’s third resi-
dential project at Gävle Strand, and when it’s
completed there will be a total of 137 rental
fl ats in the area.
2011 | 47
AB Gavlegårdarna
Box 456, SE-801 06 Gävle
Street address: S. Kungsvägen 25
Tel: +46 (0)26 17 27 00 | Fax: +46 (0)26 17 28 00
[email protected] | www.gavlegardarna.se