Flexible work with an agile mindset
I joined Solita quite recently, and even though Solita Belgium started out in Leuven, I was one of the first to join from Ghent. Solita opened a light office in Ghent since my colleague Bruno and I started working in this part of the country. I was pleased with Solita’s flexibility since it means I don’t have to spend time commuting to the Belgian head office in Leuven all the time.
The light office is a coworking space at Zuiderpoort, close to the Gent-Sint-Pieters train station. It provides everything we need, including a coffee bar, and enables me to have the flexible working model I prefer. I usually go there twice a week and get the social interaction and in-person collaboration I desire to have. Otherwise, I work from home.
I like the agile mindset that Solita has with locations and remote work. This model enables me to have more free time as I minimise commuting time. When I go to the light office, I can bike there, which is awesome.
In total, I get to spend more time with my family, and I can cook at home and go running more often.
I’ve been visiting the office in Leuven as well and really like it; it has a cool vibe. But since I currently work on a project in Finland with a Finnish team, it doesn’t really matter whether I sit in Leuven or Ghent. The Belgian team is active in organising fun stuff, and I tend to go when we have socialising events, like afterworks, bbq-nights, or team dinners.
Nordic working culture represents the modern way of working
I found Solita on LinkedIn and got interested right away; the job ad was clear, and the job content immediately appealed to me. Solita has a reputation of being a leader in cloud projects with customers from different industries, especially in the Nordics. The prospect of working on cloud projects within an international context was highly enticing. Nordic countries are more advanced in leveraging cloud platforms than we are here in Belgium, so I saw great learning opportunities.
Also, the fact that Solita is a Nordic company from Finland was a plus. I’ve worked in Denmark and liked the Nordic work ethic and culture. So, I had a good vibe when I applied, and my gut feeling turned out to be correct.
The culture at Solita is based on trust, and people are accountable in return. Trust also makes us more agile; we have autonomy in our work and don’t have to wait for approvals from high-level managers. It’s a bottom-up culture and the management isn’t stuck up in pushing their own agenda. They have their feelers out to what’s living in the company. People are also approachable at every level of the company. This mix enables an agile mindset that results in new initiatives and innovations. That, in turn, drives the company forward.
I think the Nordic working culture is something we should aspire to here in Belgium. It’s like a quality label, just like German cars or Swiss watches. I think this is how successful companies operate in the future, and Solita is doing a great job leading the way.
I’ve also been impressed by the friendliness of people here. People work hard, but they are nice, fun, and highly talented. Glad to be part of the team!
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