Finnish adventure wearables brand Suunto manufactures world renowned sports watches, dive computers and precision instruments for the toughest conditions. To find talent from different cultural backgrounds, Suunto decided to participate in Aalto EE’s Global Business Talent F.E.C program.
Head of HR at Suunto, at the time of the program and interview, Marjo Kuosmanen, describes the program as an excellent opportunity for finding new talent.
“I think it offers huge potential for Finnish companies that have English as their common corporate language. The program helps you get in touch with a diverse talent pool of skilled individuals, who you may not reach through other channels,” Kuosmanen says.
Business Analyst in Sourcing Development at Suunto, Alok Jain, was recruited to his position through Global Business Talent F.E.C program. Also Alok Jain moved on with his career to another position, since the program and interview.
“I joined the training program as a recent graduate. At that time, I was applying for positions in many companies, but I felt that the one hour or so you get during a job interview was not the right amount of time or the right setting to demonstrate my skills,” Jain explains.
The training modules during F.E.C were coming up at exactly the right time to provide me with very concrete help to develop me professionally."
“During the program, I worked in a Suunto project for several months. This allowed me to demonstrate my skills and build great professional relationships. When Suunto offered me a permanent position, I knew for sure that I was joining a great company where I could grow as a professional,” Jain describes.
Kuosmanen affirms that Alok Jain’s skills impressed Suunto from early on.
“Alok Jain is extremely talented and quick to learn. The feedback I got from our business and his direct supervisor was really good, and we were happy to offer him a permanent position at Suunto,” Kuosmanen emphasizes.
Ample time to prove your skills – and earn a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certificate
Jain says that the Global Business Talent F.E.C program gave him exactly what he needed to launch his career.
“I had a strong skill set from my master’s degree in industrial engineering and management, but in the beginning of my career, I felt I needed some additional training. In particular, I wanted to gain a better understanding of financial concepts and develop my communication skills. The training modules during F.E.C were coming up at exactly the right time to provide me with very concrete help to develop me professionally,” he notes.
“Throughout the training program, I also had one-on-one weekly sessions with my supervisor at Suunto. I got valuable feedback on the work I was doing, and we discussed my future career development prospects. I found these discussions enormously beneficial,” he adds.
During the F.E.C program, Alok Jain worked in a project focused on improving customer delivery performance at Suunto.
“The scope of the project was quite broad, as Suunto delivers products all around the world. It provided ample opportunity to look at the big picture and demonstrate my skills. We ended up enhancing Suunto’s global customer delivery performance by three percent. The project was completed in five months – one month before the F.E.C training ended, and I was hired permanently immediately after the project was finished,” he reminisces.
“As an added bonus, I also earned my Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certificate during the project, because my supervisor was a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt professional,” Jain adds.
Jain says that he is tremendously pleased with his position at Suunto.
“Our culture here at Suunto is great. I now belong to a marvelous, international work community where I can genuinely contribute to making the Suunto products and service even better,” he remarks.
The program provides an excellent way to hire skilled professionals from different cultural backgrounds, which enriches your company culture and gives your business broader perspective."
A win-win program for companies and candidates
Kuosmanen underlines that the Global Business Talent F.E.C program is a win-win opportunity for companies and candidates alike.
“It gives candidates an excellent opportunity to get to know the company culture and the role they might be working in – and the company has plenty of time to assess that the candidate is the right fit for the job,” Kuosmanen points out.
Kuosmanen says that she is happy to recommend the program to other companies as well.
“We have found excellent candidates with really good skills sets in for example business analytics and finance. Alok Jain is a splendid addition to our company – and we have another promising F.E.C candidate currently in training, to whom we will probably be offering a permanent position soon,” she mentions.
“The program provides an excellent way to hire skilled professionals from different cultural backgrounds, which enriches your company culture and gives your business broader perspective. From a company’s point of view the process is extremely straightforward and easy. I warmly recommend participating,” she concludes.
Since this interview was conducted, Marjo Kuosmanen and Alok Jain have moved to other organizations.