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Working at Innokas as a Senior Sofware Engineer, Heikki Miinalainen is happy with his job. Heikki has worked at the Innokas Espoo office for a couple of years and got the job thanks to his friend’s referral.

“I was told I am supervisor’s fastest hire”, he laughs.

Innokas, according to Heikki, is an interesting place for a software engineer thanks to the multitude of projects:

“I get to work with embedded systems, where electronics and mechanics are involved, as well as with purely cloud projects. This means that challenging myself professionally and learning new things are part of my every day at Innokas.”

Variety is the spice of life for Heikki’s workdays at Innokas. While writing code is a central part of his job, his work has brought the young professional to Hackathon events to explore the possibilities of AI, and even flown him across the Atlantic to conduct on-site testing for a US-based client.

Open communication allows for helping each other

Employee well-being is highlighted at Innokas, according to Heikki. Workloads are supervised regularly and Heikki’s team takes part in recreational activities together regularly. Heikki describes the culture as being open – people readily let others know if they are too burdened with work and help each other.

Naturally, rewarding leisure time is a key to well-being and a good work-life-balance. Heikki splits his free time between enjoying the outdoors and his passion for code and cyber. Besides orienteering and cycling, the skilled software engineer is involved in a coding community and part of the Finnish national team in the European Cybersecurity Challenge.

“We are currently training to take the prize home and win the competition in Turin”, Heikki says.

Essi Raatikainen has served in the ranks of Serres for 17 years already. During her years at the Serres Saarijärvi factory, she has served in various roles and has been able to develop her expertise from ground up. Essi’s career at Serres began as a machine operator on the factory floor when the Saarijärvi factory was first established, and she has watched the operations at the site grow and develop with time.

“After a few years as an operator I was appointed to supervise the operators and take care of organizing the production with other supervisors. I had a passion for quality and whenever I got the chance to take part in audits and participate in courses, I took it. Eventually, after being a supervisor for 12 years I got a chance to join the quality team in the role of a Quality and Safety Specialist”, Essi tells.

Serres offers opportunities for growth and fosters an atmosphere of honesty

Nowadays she is responsible for preparing the factory for both internal and external audits, taking part in supplier audits and supervising workplace safety, to name a few tasks. According to Essi, the possibility to develop and to advance within Serres has kept her work interesting. She appreciates the fact that Serres tends to hire internally whenever possible and offers opportunities for growth for the employees.

At Serres, there is an atmosphere of honesty and openness, says Essi. People encourage one another and issues like quality and safety are seen as everyone’s responsibility. What Essi also thinks is positive, is the fact that Serres is a stable employee with a prosperous business – especially in times of uncertainty this brings a sense of peace for the employees.

“Employee concerns are being listened to and met with improvements. I find that there are various channels for us to voice our opinions”, Essi adds.

Free time with family and knitting help Essi relax

After her workdays the Quality and Safety Specialist, Essi likes to relax with her family and by enjoying exercise such as aqua jogging, which she does indoors during winter and outdoors during summer – making the most out of Finnish lakes while doing it.

Another passion of hers is knitting. Essi says that a project she finished lately, a skirt for her friend, required a lot of patience. Luckily, she can use the same skills in her hobby as she does in her work – both require precision and an attention to detail.