1. What have been your proudest career
achievements to date?
My first real achievement was within my
role at Exxon Mobil, where I stepped up
from a fairly junior position to manage
a team of older and more experienced
people on 2 large scale projects. I can also
list a start-up of an engineering company
from scratch. One of my other proud-
est accomplishments was turning Kelly’s
Nordic region around; winning 3 major
accounts, taking the region in to significant
profit for the first time in years and improv-
ing staff morale- and retention- tenfold.
These three accounts are still amongst top
5 clients in Norway.
What did you want to become
when you left school?
At school I enjoyed maths, geography and
English but I never had a clear idea of a future
career. I chose to study engineering more practi-
cal reasons than a passion for the subject; the
school was close to where I lived and several of
my friends were taking the same course. If I could
give my 16 year old self any advice I’d tell myself
not to let practicalities govern my decisions;
far better to travel, find out about yourself and
what you’re good at and really want to do before
choosing a direction. Having said that – I am a
proof that it’s never too late to change direction.
This is My Story
Begin the process with a thorough evaluation to gain understanding of how things
currently are
Identify or hire a few allies who are motivated
and prepared for what it takes
Make tough decisions internally to build a solid,
loyal team, and make them fast
Move the focus to the external market,
and Sell, Sell, Sell
Remember success breeds success; as you turn things around and you get some
wins , team morale and motivation will grow, in turn leading to more wins
Be generous, reward victories, be a part of the team,
have fun and get people to laugh
Keep the speed up and do yourself what you expect
others to do
How did you become involved in the staffing industry?
When I finished studying I had no real idea of what I wanted to do. So a friend and I set
off to Switzerland in an old car and ended up working our way around Europe for several
months. When we had spent all of our money in the Greek islands, we travelled to Israel
to work in a kibbutz on the promise of free food and cigarettes. I went on to work as
a Bell Boy in a hotel on the Egyptian border and during my time there I even had the
honour of carrying Eric Clapton’s luggage! When I returned home after seven months I
started working for Phillips Petroleum on a North Sea project. On completion, I took an
opportunity to work for Exxon Mobil and moved to Stavanger, the oil capital of Norway,
where I was thrown in at the deep end and made responsible for managing two large
scale research and development projects. 2 ½ years on, I found myself accepting a role
managing the start up a new division of an engineering company, with no real experience
in start ups and no idea of what to expect. The division was involved in staffing oil service
companies with Engineers and this was my first experience within the staffing industry.
9 months in, we had more than 60 Engineers working in the region and had turned the
division in to quite a success. In 1994, I joined a company which Kelly later bought, where
I worked for 5 years before leaving to become the CEO of a big engineering company.
I had been in this position for around a year when I was invited back to an international
role in Kelly as a Scandinavian Marketing Director and on taking that position I haven’t
look back. In 2001 I took over Kelly’s Nordic Region as Regional General Manager before
adding on the management of Eastern and Central Europe in 2008. In early 2013 I was
offered to join the OCG part of the Kelly organization as Practice Lead for MSP solutions
in EMEA, and again given an opportunity to grow and develop within the company. To
me this is another confirmation that Kelly’s policy to have employees to build on previous
experience and leverage this to the best for the company and yourself is real, and one of
the big advantages of being a part of a global and professional organization.
What can one do to ensure
that returning to employment with
a past employer might still be an
option?
Most people decide to leave an or-
ganisation because they are faced with
a new opportunity to further their career
elsewhere, rather than because of any
bad feeling towards their employer. Pro-
vided that this is the case and that you
leave in a professional way, working your
notice and tying up loose ends before
you move on there is no reason why you
shouldn’t be able to return to a company
should an interesting opportunity arise at
a later stage.
What advice would you give to others faced with a ‘turn around’ project?
Stig Lauvsland,
VP COE CWO EMEA &
PT Product Strategy
Leader, Norway
What do you do to relax?
In winter I really enjoy skiing.
Favourites are Telemark and cross country.
Summer season I spend a lot of my free
time in my boat. My home is just 20 metres
from the sea, so fishing, in particular lobster
fishing, has always been one of my big
hobbies. Last but not least - I am lucky to
have 2 beautiful daughters. They both study
away from home, so supporting them in
their studies and seeing them as often as
possible is absolutely a priority.