River Group and its Fantastic Flow
How have the first six months of River Group been?
It’s going great! There has been incredible momentum throughout the organization. Both managers and all employees seem very motivated. And it’s going well everywhere – in all countries. We have an organic growth over 10%, which is fantastic, and well above our expectations. We know that the group consists of great companies, and I had great confidence that this would go well and that we could reach our goals, but it’s surprising how quickly it’s all happening.
You never know what the future holds. But we’re almost a year ahead of schedule, as it looks now. It’s gone better than we anticipated—our first six months as River Group have exceeded all our expectations.
How has the transition from Lakers to River Group been?
We’ve communicated why we had to change the name through newsletters and website articles, and we’ve talked with a lot of the employees and spent a lot of time out in the field. We’re in a process where we must remove all traces of the Lakers brand and replace them with River Group, which demands we reach out and explain why, involving all members.
Being visible and communicating across and not top-down also leads to employees discussing the new name, the story, and the organization as a whole. It’s important that the conversations also continue internally, not only on the internet. Only some people are on LinkedIn. It’s vital that we convey the same story to everyone and that everyone has access to it and feels involved.
What about the customers? Which story resonates with them?
For the customers, it’s vital that they know that we are all part of something bigger, and that we show them our work towards an environmental profile.
But the most important thing is communicating our local presence. Supporting a local focus shows that we understand the strength of local knowledge and expertise needed in this industry.
River Group will never interfere with that knowledge but works as a power behind it, when needed. Here the companies have someone backing them for greater customer flexibility, making them more robust in projects.
What’s the focus going forward?
We will continue to focus on culture and communication. We must showcase what we do in terms of reducing CO2 emissions, how we influence and improve infrastructure, and what we do for local and global society. Everyone, not just the leaders, should get a sense of what they are helping to create and build.
We want everyone to know who is a part of River Group so we can all can get to know each other and create a strong sense of unity.
Clear communication and branding will also help build a culture within the organization.
Any last words before we wish for a Merry Christmas?
Thank you for a great year! Everyone has embraced this so well and is working and contributing in a healthy way. It’s very noticeable; we see how well things have gone since the start. There has been an extraordinary effort since the summer, and we’re very grateful for that. We’ve made our first acquisition, El-Lindningar in Eskilstuna, and will do further acquisitions in 2024.