Filip Gemzell, Äng

Filip Gemzell, executive chef at Äng in Ästad, what is the first thing you look for when you hire new staff?

– We look for people with a genuine interest in our values and what we do. And then we always try to recruit people different from one another – with different backgrounds, ages, personalities, and ethnicities. English is our first language here.

How do you provide openness and transparency towards your employees?

– One way is through working with a transparent payment system, where the salaries are set based on the job description. If you share the same level of responsibility, you should have the same wage. And neither should your salary be based on whether you are able to negotiate or not. Here, it’s open for everyone to see – and everyone knows what is required to level up for a higher position.

What do you do to help those that wish to accelerate?

– We have individual counseling where we talk about many different things, including what it is you want to get better at. Then we do our best to give the guidance and tools to reach the goals together. Then, we give them the tools needed and plan how to reach the desired goal. We always try to increase the skills within our team instead of bringing in people from outside.

Photo: Kristian Sahlberg