Learning new and applying knowledge play an important role in Christoffer’s work. “There’s so much going on in our unit that there’s always a new and exciting field I can lean more about. Our team is connected by the fact that we all have the desire to grow and actively develop our work.”

Christoffer has always been interesting in the banking sector. His first job in the field was a summer internship as a finance major roughly 10 years ago. He started his current work at OP a few years ago. “Our team develops credit risk models that we use for rating OP’s customers. When the bank has an effective credit rating model or system, we can ensure that customer’s loan is price correctly, for example,” says Christoffer.

Christoffer’s role involves many different areas, all of which play an important role in the daily work of a risk analyst. “When I joined OP, it was interesting to see how our work is closely tied to regulations, and analysts are required to interpret them. On the other hand, writing code is also an important part of my work, and knowing different programming languages and systems is very helpful.” Christoffer’s work also includes a lot of writing, as the team is actively in touch with various stakeholders through reports, for example. “The ability to communicate about results clearly is an important skill,” he adds.

Internal development projects are also part of the team’s daily work, and lately the focus has been on automation. “Our goal is to have an extensive range of both risk models as well as processes and tools for developing and updating the models with as much automation as possible. This way, we can focus on the most essential part of the work, such as analysing results,” says Christoffer.

Well-defined work methods improve efficiency

In the risk modelling unit, there is room for a wide range of skills and roles. “In our team, one person might be good at interpreting regulations, while someone else understands the business logic of banks and another is a talented programmer or mathematically gifted. All team members should have some technical expertise as the work involves plenty of writing code and dealing with technical systems and tools,” says Christoffer.

Christoffer values the open work culture and pleasant atmosphere. “Our team is fairly young and has grown a lot lately. Even so, it feels that new employees become part of the team quickly, and everyone is treated equally,” he says. “We all share a desire to learn, grow and develop our work.” Christoffer also praises the clarity of work methods. “When a new project is launched, we’re kept in the loop from the get-go on what is being done and how things are going. If they want, team members can also influence their work methods, which I feel is a great thing,” he says.

A culture that encourages development

OP’s work culture that encourages professional development was evident to Christoffer from his first weeks on the job. “Although my background was in banking, I didn’t have much experience in writing code when I first started here, for example. It didn’t take me long to get a hang of things as I was given plenty of support by supervisors and coworkers and time to learn,” he recounts. The 70/20/10 model employed by the unit means that team members have the chance to study while at work. “For example, we’ve had entire days at work dedicated solely to studies.”

Learning new skills leads to feelings of success. “It’s a great feeling when you learn a new skill and are able to apply it in practice. The same is true when a big project is done and you can be genuinely proud of the result,” says Christoffer.