Pyry Kekäläinen
Technical First Line Manager 

“This is my fifth year at PostNord Strålfors. Currently, I work as Technical First Line Manager and I’m in charge of a team consisting of four people.”

Describe your role

– My team control all incoming customer inquiries and handle most of the technical questions within the team and forward the questions that are covered by other parts of the organization to the team with expertise in that particular field. We also have experts that administrate variety of our systems, from ERP to elections. 

– I started at PostNord Strålfors in 2017 as a summer trainee in the Professional Service team, which took care of technical support at that time. When my trainee position was coming to an end, I was offered a full-time position. That had been my goal ever since I graduated and applied for the position as a trainee, so when I got the chance to show what I could do I grabbed it with both hands. And that really paid off. A year later, the organization was restructured and a new team for what would be called Technical First Line was created. I was asked to lead that team and have now had that position for almost 4 years.

– My team consists of two skilled support specialists, as well as two experienced senior system administrators who have been with the company for a long time and are real experts in their area.

– Last fall, I was appointed Incident Manager for Finland and at the beginning of 2022 I also became Problem Manager.

Why do you think you’ve risen so quickly in your career? 

– It’s difficult for me to say exactly why but I think it is due to convenient timing and taking the opportunities when they have arisen, by having the courage to step in when required. Doing a great work and being clear about your ambitions really help, in my opinion.

You took part in PostNord Professionals in 2021, could you please tell us about that? 

– PostNord Professionals is a program that has participants from the entire PostNord Group. It aims to provide opportunities to network, work together to facilitate development and face questions about real challenges in the organization. We were encouraged to develop new approaches to challenges that may arise in the future, and participated in leadership training, all of which helped us develop as people and professionals. 

– The program ran for a year, with four sessions of a few days each time. At each session, we and the teams to which we were assigned were faced with questions that aimed to promote development, both for the organization as a whole and on a personal level. Every session was helpful and interesting. The goal is to self-develop, get input and learn from colleagues in different parts of the Group, in order to be prepared to take on possible new responsibilities in the near future. 

How would you summarize what PostNord Professionals has given you?

– Now, I got wider Nordic network within the group. We still keep in touch and meet up approximately every quarter. Whenever we face new tasks or issues, it really helps to have already established relationships with people who work with similar issues and have knowledge that might benefit us. The program has also helped me feel more comfortable expressing my opinions, giving feedback, speaking in front of larger groups of people and so on. Overall, it was a year full of personal and professional growth which will come in handy in the future.

How would you summarize the culture at PostNord Strålfors?

– What I appreciate most about our corporate culture is the helpfulness shown by everyone. No matter what kind of assistance you need, there is always someone willing to help. This is an attitude that spreads among people quickly. Therefore, everyone is very generous to each other and most importantly not afraid to ask questions. Regardless of the role people have, everyone is just as eager to help and to share. I think that is extremely valuable and I believe it leads to open discussions and promotes innovative thinking.

Career at PostNord Strålfors

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