Emergency Response Centre Agency - Annual Report 2025
A Healthy Workforce at the Core of Results

In 2025, the Emergency Response Centre Agency continued to see a decline in sick leave, and employee satisfaction remained at a good level despite savings measures linked to the government’s productivity programme.

As public finances tightened, the Agency also had to take numerous steps to enhance efficiency and improve productivity. The Agency’s 2025 budget appropriation was €3.4 million lower than in 2024. Nevertheless, €20.9 million in unspent appropriations remained, largely tied to delayed investment projects.

The Agency launched a productivity programme in 2024 as part of the government’s savings measures. The development of operating practices and the upcoming restructuring of the agency will enable more efficient division of labour and resource allocation. In 2025, the Agency employed 631 people in total, 87% of whom held permanent positions and the rest fixed-term positions. The staffing situation improved compared to the previous year (619 employees in 2024). Staff turnover among permanent employees also decreased to 5.9%, with a total of 37 departures (6.4% in 2024).

“We initiated a cooperation procedure at the end of 2025 with the aim of renewing our agency structure during the current year. The structural changes and staff reductions will not affect our operational activities; instead, they will be implemented within administrative functions through natural attrition. In practice, this means that when an employee retires or leaves for another reason, we will assess the organisation of tasks on a case-by-case basis,” explains Director General Taito Vainio.

Special attention was paid in 2025 to recruiting graduating emergency response operator students. Newly qualified operators were directed to the centres with the greatest staffing needs. A total of 38 new operators were recruited, and the overall resource utilisation rate across the Agency was approximately 96.7%.

“The annual number of trained emergency response operators has not been sufficient to meet our recruitment needs in recent years. The current training situation looks promising, and we are optimistic about the future. This year, an additional training course will begin in the Helsinki metropolitan area, providing much-needed reinforcements for our Kerava Emergency Response Centre, which has faced the most significant staffing shortages.”

Sick Leave Decreased

Despite the productivity programme, sick leave among Agency staff decreased in 2025 compared to the previous year. The average number of sick leave days was 13.9 per employee, down from 14.5 in 2024. Sick leave levels differ clearly between administrative staff and emergency response staff. Administrative staff recorded 6.8 sick days (7.7 in 2024), while emergency response staff recorded 15.6 days (16.2 in 2024).

“We have invested heavily in recent years in wellbeing at work, coping at work, and recovery. Emergency response services are considered one of the most psychosocially demanding fields. Because the work is time-critical and operators must constantly handle traumatic situations and make rapid decisions, a healthy workforce is essential for delivering high-quality services. Our investments in wellbeing have been reflected in reduced sick leave for three consecutive years.”

Satisfied Personnel

An individual emergency response operator handled an average of 5,330 emergency calls in 2025, a clear decrease from the previous year (6,010 in 2024). This was partly due to a 1.8% reduction in the total number of answered emergency calls. The decline is mainly explained by fewer non-emergency calls. Improvements in operating practices have also enabled more efficient division of labour and resource allocation.

Employee satisfaction in 2025 was also rated as good. Results from the government-wide Personnel Barometer show that overall satisfaction in the Agency reached a good level at 3.01 on a scale of 1–4.

The Emergency Response Centre Agency has succeeded in improving operational efficiency and staff wellbeing despite tightening financial conditions.

“To provide high-quality emergency response services, the number of operators must be correctly dimensioned and allocated according to tasks. This, together with the decline in sick leave, good employee satisfaction, and successful recruitment measures, are positive signs that we have been able to focus on the right things even as our budget has tightened. The Agency’s financial situation has remained fairly stable, and trust in the Agency remains high,” Vainio notes with satisfaction.