Birken AS, the need to reduce the number of employees – NRK

In the last year lost the Birken-the organizers 10 million in revenue because of fewer participants on their mosjonsløp. It writes Dagens Næringsliv.

the Birken-the arrangements for skiing, running and bike had a total of 42.000 participants in the year, which is 10,000 fewer than last year. Similar decrease in participants had from 2014 to 2015.

Increased focus on volunteering

the BIRKEN-HEAD: – With fewer participants then we will also manage with fewer employees, ” says Jo Gunnar Ellevold, head of the Birken AS. (Archive photo)

Photo: Day Three / NRK

We will from 2017 be 14 employees. This has to do with the economic situation, we are going to have to make grip, even if it is difficult to terminate people, ” says managing director at Birken AS, Jo Gunnar Ellevold.

At the entrance to the 2016 there were 19 employees of Den AS, in the course of 2016, it has been cut down to 16. However, the drop in income will do that number drops further in 2017.

Ellevold says that you will have to get into increased volunteering for the event when you make reductions in the workforce.

– But with fewer participants then we will also manage with fewer employees. We will focus on cutting out the costs in which the participants notice it at least, ” he says.

Innovations to create interest

Birken AS has recently come out with changes to next year’s event.

It is a private skøyterenn under Fredagsbirken and the trail to the skistafetten be changed.

the Reason we do enderinger in skistafetten is that we have received feedback that the logistics are too difficult. So when stafettløypene go in Birkebeinertraséen and inside the stadium, we believe that more will sign up, ” says Ellevold.

But he adds:

– We must nevertheless prepare ourselves for the fact that it will take time to get again on the top we had 2-3 years ago.

– Birken-the bubble has burst

the Chief executive of Stamina, the Norwegian organisation for kondisjonsidrett, also believe it to be demanding to reach the former deltakertall for Birken.

– Den-bubble has probably burst. For 5-10 years ago was the Birken something everyone should do. Now is perhaps not Den the toughest or funniest longer. Den has also been quite expensive, ” says Tim Bennett.

He has little faith that the to is to expand the Den with even more delarrangementer to get more participants overall. Instead hanat they should streamline its concept.