Competence Lead Susanna Vasara joined OP three years ago. She has diverse experience from management positions and names working with people as the common thread in her career.  "I am excited about supporting others and helping people develop their professional skills. I get fired up when I get the chance to think what motivates a person and makes them grow," says Susanna.  

Susanna was drawn to OP by the potential offered by a large employer. "I see plenty of opportunities in a large company – for example, OP offers diverse internal career paths both horizontally and vertically," says Susanna. When OP happened to be hiring a Competence Lead for a people leadership role for its data governance tribe, Susanna did not hesitate to apply.  

"Data governance, where I began my career at OP, is a platform tribe that supports the activities of the entire Group, that is, both the banking and insurance businesses. During my three years in the position, I had a front row seat to all areas of OP and Group-level functions. Working in the role helped me understand what our business units are working on every day," says Susanna.   

Competence Leads can be found all over the Development & Technologies organisation, but they are united by the position's people-oriented duties that enable the professional growth of team members. The role often involves leadership of a fairly large organisation and requires good managerial skills. "Even so, this position is suitable for many types of people-oriented experts who do not necessarily have previous management experience but are familiar with the organisation or subject matter,"  encourages Susanna.   

The right experts in the right place  
  
In addition to supporting the team's professional development, Susanna's duties involve hiring employees, partnership collaborations and various HR processes. By recognising the needs of the business segment, the Competence Lead can form a complete picture of what kinds of talents the organisation needs, for example.   
  
Promoting the Agile at OP model in management work is important to Susanna. "We Competence Leads have a crucial role in ensuring that employees are enthusiastic about their work, competent and able to develop professionally within the company. We achieve this by actively discussing with our talents about different career paths and ensuring that their development plans enable versatile growth as a professional," she says.   

Everyday accomplishments bring energy to the workday "The best moments of my career have to do with helping people – for example, when I'm able to reorganise an expert's sphere of responsibilities to be more meaningful or I help someone discover a new, exciting direction to specialise in," says Susanna. She has also witnessed many growth stories first hand. "It's always a great feeling to follow a young professional taking the first steps in their career take on more and more challenging duties," says Susanna with a smile.   
  
Continuous development  

OP is one of Finland's largest software firms and attracts many kinds of technology professionals. Susanna is inspired by the financial sector's ability to constantly identify and develop new technological opportunities.   
"We are constantly innovating new applications and make use of the latest technologies. The image of a bank stuck in the past couldn't be further from the truth," she says.   

Susanna joined OP at around the time the pandemic hit the world and forced the entire organisation to learn new, remote ways of working. Despite the distance, the reception was warm and she found a connection with her new coworkers quickly. "Although the situation was exciting, it was clear from the get-go that help and company was always available, no matter the physical location," says Susanna. She was also able to support her team adapt to the new routines from the start. "The learning period was intensive as everyone was faced with a new situation, but I also quickly learned to pick up signals and understand how the team was really getting by while working from home," she says.   

In February of this year, Susanna took up a new challenge within OP Financial Group by taking over as supervisor of Solution Analyst experts to support the insurance organisation. Although Susanna's job title remains unchanged, she is able to assume the position of a learner in the new environment. "This is a concrete example of the kinds of career transitions that a large employer can offer. There are always opportunities available for making a difference when you keep your eyes and ears open," sums up Susanna.