Unique team spirit and continuous learning are this customer service team’s strengths
One of the teams working in Elisa’s customer service is named Valo, which means “light” in Finnish. True to its name, this team brings light into the everyday lives of consumer customers and Elisians alike: collaboration, a strong team spirit and providing great service to customers even in challenging situations lie at the heart of the way they work.
The Valo team truly lives up to its name – a shining light whose positive energy radiates to Elisians, partners and customers alike.
There are 13 people in the team, led by Group Manager Vesa Pätynen from Helsinki. In this article, alongside Vesa, you will hear from Solution Specialists Reetta Oikarinen from Tampere, Marketta Martikainen from Helsinki, Teemu Pitkänen from Joensuu and Mikko Turunen from Kokkola. The team’s success is based on strong collaboration and a clear division of work, which is not hindered by the team members being based in different locations.
Vesa describes the team’s routine: “We meet every day to go through open tickets, share tasks, and review successes and challenging situations together. Making this a daily routine means every member of the team knows what we are focusing on each day, and we help each other with sparring and support.”
“Peer support is central to what we do – the work is sometimes mentally demanding and there are plenty of problem situations, so it’s important that our close colleagues are understanding and supportive. We also share successes together, and every team member can be proud of our achievements, both collectively and individually”, Reetta says in summary.
In this team, working together is not just a saying but an everyday reality.
“We all feel safe and secure working in this team: it’s OK to fail, and we all support each other in both joy and sorrow. No one has to cope alone, and everyone’s voice is heard equally. We have a ‘happy channel’ in Teams where we share the good things and the bad things, and as we say in Finland, ‘shared joy is multiplied’”, Marketta says.
There is a strong sense of trust within the team – everyone does what has been agreed, and everyone takes responsibility.
“You always get help when you ask for it, and it is easy to approach anyone, regardless of their role or area of responsibility”, notes Teemu. Reetta adds that the team’s warmth and honesty are a huge strength. Every team member is ready to seek help if the situation requires it, and if they don’t immediately know something, that is perfectly OK.
“The warmth you receive in this team is unique and an enormous resource for all of us. Because we are all conscientious, we blame ourselves if a mistake happens or some other failure occurs. As we do demanding work in challenging customer situations, it’s fantastic to be among team members who are understanding and supportive in all situations – there is a strong sense of mutual trust between us all”, Reetta continues.
“In this job, you also need to collaborate a lot with Elisians working in different parts of the organisation. Sometimes, you need to ask things from management too, and even with them, you get the feeling that they truly listen and want to help”, explains Teemu.
“You always get help when you ask for it, and it is easy to approach anyone, regardless of their role or area of responsibility”
“I have been working at Elisa for 24 years, and I’ve seen all kinds of changes. It’s important to me that everyone can be themselves at work and everyone has the opportunity to make their voice heard. Working in an environment with equality is a significant factor for me in my work”, says Marketta.
Vesa already has 28 years at Elisa under his belt. Some people have asked him why he’s been with the company for so long.
“The people have always been the biggest reason for me to come to work. The team spirit and collaboration among Elisians, both across the company and in my own team, are unique”, Vesa explains.
Mikko, who has just joined the team, has found it really easy to fit in. Before joining Vesa’s team, he worked for over six years as an Omaguru expert, solving customers’ IT problems. Mikko’s expectations for his role in the new team are enthusiastic and positive.
“It is nice to head to new challenges, and the way this team has welcomed me could not have been warmer”, Mikko says happily.
The team invests time and effort into continuous learning and development. As providing high-quality customer service and further improving quality are at the core of their work, this is evident every day.
They learn from mistakes and successes by reviewing and reflecting together on how to avoid similar incidents in the future or how to achieve similar successes more often.
“We all approach this work with a good spirit. When we review the challenges we’ve had, it makes it easier for colleagues to avoid making the same mistakes, and also to recognise what works well”, says Teemu.
Reetta adds: “We do not share tasks based on expertise. Everyone gets to do everything. This increases the development of the whole team, as we all get to work on diverse customer cases, different products and services that Elisa sells, and different processes. Doing things this way means that self-development and increasing our expertise happen almost automatically.”