Finding my path

I am an MSc in Economics, but my educational path has not been quite straightforward. After high school, I tried a couple of different schools and fields – from accounting to visual design – and worked various jobs for a few years. I ended up working at an HR consultancy firm, where I did recruitment for about four years. I felt I had found my calling in human resources management and decided to apply to Helsinki School of Economics (now Aalto University) to learn more. Once accepted, I completed my studies swiftly as I was eager to get back to the workforce.

"My message to the youth is that you don't always need to know immediately what you want to do when you grow up. It's worth trying things out boldly as you can learn useful skills and gain experience from everything."

I have worked throughout my career in diverse HR roles in various types of organisations – from scale-ups to listed global companies. Each of them has been an expertise organisation focused on technology and change. This combination works also at Deloitte, and it feels like I’ve already been in the company for a long time. The best thing about working here is getting to work with top-notch professionals in a community with a genuine desire to develop, grow, and do things that are meaningful to society.

Employee well-being reflects in everything

Themes that have been prominent for some time are still strongly visible in the workplace. One major theme is the phenomena of hybrid work, such as making remote and hybrid work human and communal. The second theme is the impact of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, on expertise work generally and human resources management as well. The third theme is living with constant change: managing individual changes (change management) has transformed into organisations' continuous capability for change and resilience.

Caring for well-being is not rocket science; it consists of basic elements. The most important aspects I highlight are clear roles and expectations, open and firm leadership, and a communicative culture where it’s natural to talk about well-being. Additionally, expertise and structures are needed to address various challenges at an early stage.

Good leadership requires genuine encounters

We need people with different educational and experience backgrounds because we offer such a wide range of services to various clients. However, I try to avoid stereotypes or molds about what people should fit into to be a consultant, a big4 expert, or a Deloitte employee. Here, everyone can be themselves, and I believe more in the idea of "cultural add" rather than "cultural fit," where bringing together diverse backgrounds and approaches positively challenges thinking and fosters creativity.

At its best, good leadership is situational and personalised. It requires genuine encounters, interest in other people, and of course, listening. In an expertise organisation, everyone has the responsibility to lead themselves. We strive to provide tools, support, andmodels for daily leadership.

Caring for overall well-being

I maintain my professional skills by closely following HR networks' events, research, and discussions. "Human science" is learned by being curious, asking questions, and listening to as many people as possible. Additionally, it's important to ensure that your team has the best experts and skill sets because you can't do or need to do everything yourself.

I take care of my physical well-being by practising pilates and moving around almost exclusively on foot or by bike in everyday life. Mental well-being is also crucial, which I nurture by disconnecting from the digital world, for example, by reading paper books and sticking to weekly walks with my friend around Töölönlahti.