I ended up with Solita largely because the company looked exceptionally inspiring on the outside. I didn’t know much about the company, but e.g. the dev.solita.fi blog and a fluffy warm picture from the old pink brand logo were interesting. That same spirit was evident from the recruiting interviews – although of course there was a bit of a pressure when I was being tested what I know.

Freedom and responsibility

I have been twenty years in the IT industry and the best things at Solita are the tremendous autonomy you have, as well as the easy going culture.. When I came here, there were a little over 300 people at work and although the company has grown, there is not too much regulation here. We are free to choose the solutions we use ourselves, everything is flexible and humane. Although my job description is diverse – sometimes I code, sometimes I consult and define.

At Solita, the job challenges are varied and I am fascinated by the constant development. Surprisingly tough and multi-skilled professionals can be found here. At the moment, I myself am really interested in the potential of machine learning and at Solita you can do, it if you want to. We have the advantage that due to the market situation, we can choose the projects we are going to do ourselves. You don’t have to do everything. We want to do things that have an impact and it starts at the individual level. Those of us who have passed the recruiting screen are people who make things happen.

Above all, I am expected to realise myself.

Read my remote work story here.

I have worked for both the customer and supplier side for over 15 years. I’ve always liked to work with people, and I had a few friends working at Solita. I wanted to see what it was all about and applied for a job. When I came to Solita, I had been in the IT industry for a long time and wanted something new.

No processes because of processes

Solita’s work community is unique. The work atmosphere and the people here are wonderful: for example, sparring is part of the daily work. At any time you can chat with someone and ask for support for everyday challenges. Although both introvert and extrovert people are selected for Solita, everybody has the same overarching values that they believe in. It is visible in daily life and work.

Solita is a different kind of culture company than my previous jobs. Here, one invests in culture and there is an experimental culture in which people are valued as individuals. We try a lot of things and we’re not too process-oriented. We can make decisions fast and delegate decision-making to everyone. There is no point in straining here, you just have to be yourself. We work with great expertise but with a relaxed approach.

The dual role motivates

I work in a dual role myself, as a project manager and team leader for a team of 20 people. My goal is to be the best possible supervisor for them, and I look expect servant leadership from myself to my team: I strive to always be available for balling, sparring, and coaching ideas so that my team members can act as independently as possible. While a supervisor needs to have a vision of the direction things are being taken, I don’t want a hierarchy but to provide people with the tools to make decisions for themselves.

The most motivating thing in customer work is when you notice that the cooperation is going well and trust is starting to be built. When we achieve a good and functional way of working, solutions are sure to be found. That’s when we get into the flow with the customer and get things done.

Here one can boldly express one’s own views.

I managed to work for Palmu for 5 years before we joined forces with Solita 2 years ago in 2018. It was undeniably a small cultural shock, but now we have a great vibe. What’s great about Solita is the humility and the community of hardcore professionals from various fields. There is no need for anyone to make a number of themselves here, and there is no star culture here. Such internal power games is completely absent from our culture – and the atmosphere is equal and solution-oriented.

With Solita’s convincing technology backbone, we have a real chance to make an impact. We want to focus on what our customers bring to their own customers, or even cultural change for our customers. Through our extensive expertise and size, we have the real prerequisites for that. I have never been so interested in technology myself – the essential thing for me is how we make the customer’s organisation change. With automation, the growing question is how to keep the human being and human understanding involved in making it. I am not interested in developing another way to order food at the door. Essential questions, such as how a person can learn to live on the earth more sustainably, are inspiring.

Impact is the goal of everything

Currently, I am also involved in internal development projects, but my real job is bring a particular viewpoint into bring customer projects, establish a direction and vision of the intent. It is not an easy task, expectations come from our team, the business unit and of course the customer. However, the goal is to develop customer relationships and get to do meaningful stuff that creates impact that lasts. We want to verify, how we helped turn an organisation’s course, got our client new business, or somehow rationalised their way of doing things – and not just tell you that we did a project like that, run data analytics as a continuous service, or do a little development on some interfaces. What matters is how they can help us build that big picture with the customer.

At Solita, we don’t push that next month we’ll have to sell this or that amount. There is no such speech here. What we are saying is that we should better ensure the impact of what we do. Doing sweet stuff, helping our customer succeed. Turnover will follow course. This hunt for creating impact that lasts is the most important  goal for my own customer projects. 

You should not apply to Solita, if you are applying for status or leadership positions. If, on the other hand, a team of enthusiastic experts, direct speech, respect for others, and a spirit of determination hits the bill, this is a great place to be.

For me, the best thing is when you get something permanent to click in your customer organisation.

I’ve been here almost 6 years! Longer than at any other company during my career and I’ve done this a long time, over 20 years – I know I look younger haha. I love the fact that even though Solita is an international company, we still have this very easy going vibe to it, like a little company atmosphere. But all the benefits from the big company like swimming pools, the transport ticket benefit, a phone, laptop, rooftop terrace with a grill in our Helsinki office, game room, private burlesque classes…etc. Even though we are a digital company, I have done graphic identities, photoshoots, videos, magazines, interior design etc… It’s a very versatile workplace for a graphic designer and I’m always working on something cool and exciting!

Colleagues are the best thing at Solita

Colleagues are the best! If you do not have the answer, you can very quickly find someone who does. There are a lot of opportunities to learn more all the time. I want to have a better understanding and am super into how to better utilise data in graphic work.

Building a future we all need

I want to make the world a better place and simultaneously provide value for our clients. I want to build such a trust based relationship with the client that we can ideate and solve problems as equals. I always want the client to feel as though I have helped before they realise the upcoming challenges. It would be wonderful if our clients would understand to bring their problems to us at an early stage – because then we can solve them better together.

Many of the projects we are working on will have huge effects on people’s everyday life. But the most impactful experience for me, at Solita, is our overall togetherness and team spirit that is tangible on a daily basis; you can go to Oulu or another office and someone will immediately come ask you to lunch.

There is this constant feeling of always feeling welcomed. 

Read my full remote work story here.

No such thing as a typical day – My life at Solita

We’ve already met Tuomas Melin, Team Lead & Data Engineer, in our case study of the Data Champions Programme. This was a tailored training carried out with UPM, a global leader in the bioforest industry. Tuomas explained the course in a nutshell: “We wanted to enable using these new motivating skills and add fresh insight to the way businesses solve problems.”

As course leader, Tuomas was integral to the programme’s structure and findings, affecting for the better the way that people go about their jobs by empowering them to use tools such as machine learning.

But what does being at the forefront of this revolution in working methods actually feel like?

We caught up with Tuomas to find out – read the full story here.

Making an impact – My life at Solita

Feeling a sense of purpose in your work is crucial to both your wellbeing and your work performance. As the demand for IT specialists of all kinds is high, it is safe to say that the ability to engage in meaningful and challenging work can be a deciding factor in choosing between workplaces. After all, most of us will spend a quarter of our lives at work.

We interviewed Olli Lindroos, a Data Business Designer here at Solita, to understand what motivates him in his everyday work. Olli has been a key player in many projects and customer relationships, including international sporting goods company Amer Sports, where he’s playing a big role in enabling the company to become more data-oriented.

Learn how Olli has found a new sense of purpose in his work, exactly what a Data Business Designer does and what it takes to succeed at Solita.

Read the full blog here.