New Ways of Working – My First Days at Sulava

Starting a new job is always exciting but this time the change is even bigger as the new job is in a new country! However, whilst moving to Dubai will bring up all kinds of challenges and new experiences, even the first two weeks at Sulava’s Helsinki office have been very interesting.

Having worked for large corporations for the past 12 years, it’s refreshing to see how things are done in a smaller organisation that still has start-up mentality left, although it’s already a growth company.

It has a ‘family feel’ to it as everyone knows everyone and the atmosphere is relaxed. Targets and KPI’s aren’t immediately the most important thing for all workers and even though people are busy, it doesn’t feel overwhelmingly hectic.

The onboarding process has been effective (exemplifying the move from start-up to growth mode) but it doesn’t work like a conveyor belt that is more typical for enterprise-level companies. More resources are needed as things are done individually, but it all works nonetheless, and getting stuck is less likely because it’s all done locally and help is near.

Naturally, communication tools are at the heart of the process as that’s Sulava’s core business. This is where the biggest difference is. In my previous jobs, there have been so many tools that a new starter gets totally lost at the beginning but even with all of those systems, e-mail is still the prevalent communication tool for getting things done.

At Sulava, Microsoft Teams is the most important tool from day 1, with other tools (like intranet, e-mail, etc.) supporting it. The usage is far more advanced than what I have previously experienced, signifying how things can be done better – being more effective, saving costs by getting rid of overlapping tools and keeping people happy and productive.

This has further convinced me that I have joined the right company. It also gives me full confidence that customers will benefit from Sulava’s help in implementing modern ways of working – regardless if it is in Finland, in the Middle East or anywhere in the world!

When you are reading this I will already be in Dubai. More to follow…

Read more about Seppo Kuusinen who is part of Sulava’s team in Dubai and is responsible for sales.

• Ura Sulavalla