Paytrail

Great Place to Work - Paytrail at 6th place

Mari Oksanen Written by Mari Oksanen - May 26, 2016

A good work community doesn’t happen by chance. It takes a lot more than celebration speeches and stardust. With a determined mindset, our team achieved 6th place in the small organization category of the respected Great Place to Work! It’s what we wanted and worked towards.

It's great to come to work in the morning. That's not something to be taken for granted, it’s important for both the team members and the company itself. Success really does come from people.

Liite3C-freestyle-friday-tyopari.jpgWhen people feel appreciated as individuals and experts and feel their opinions are valued, when they are continuously invested in, and information is shared openly with them, the effects are dazzling. People begin to flourish, which is clearly reflected not only with our customers, but also in the results. However, caring and appreciation cannot be faked, it has to be genuine.

I'm extremely proud to be a part of the Paytrail team. We've achieved some major accomplishments, developed as individuals and as a community and have been a positive influence in our customers’ lives. At Paytrail, it's not about personal glory but achievements reached together. Hierarchy is as flat as a pancake and everyone is accepted as they are. This creates a relaxed environment and frees up an incredible amount of energy for more sensible matters. We are able to focus on working towards common goals.Liite8A-Sakun-Paytrail-piirros.jpg

Time spent building team spirit pays for itself: time isn't wasted on pointless politics, but instead complete focus is put on getting things done. "We go forward together and do it as a group". It's truly amazing how Paytrail pride is reflected in people’s personal lives too. For example, in our children's artwork :)

A few examples from last year

STRATEGY PROJECTS

Last Fall, we brainstormed in groups comprised of individuals from different teams for ideas to attain one of our main goals. Groups were given the freedom to bring their ideas to fruition, which surely required a great deal of trust from our management. 

During the project we had a few demo days. A few groups were able to get their ideas implemented. It was great to see how efficiently and boldly we were able to do this type of idea generating group work.

This smooth cooperation wasn’t born by itself but a continuation of different workshops and strategy days. We appreciate each other so much that new ideas are taken seriously and we are able to commit across team boundaries to a common objective. 

FOSTERING A CULTURE OF GRATITUDE

We also wanted to cultivate a culture of gratitude. Gratitude is shown quite easily but we concluded that it shouldn't only be the responsibility of management. Instead it is part of everyone's job description. After all, these two words, thank you, have an incredibly great significance.

To put this concept into action, we bought a variety of treats for the office. Anyone can go grab a bag of candy and give it to their colleague as a show of thanks for a job well done. In addition to candy, we added nuts, chips, protein bars and drinks as well as soda that were requested.

The bowls have been filled and emptied severals times and it works well. It's a wonderful feeling when a colleague comes to you with this type of gratitude and explains why you are appreciated.

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MOVIE DAY

In addition to working well together, we also enjoy spending time together out side of work.

We have of course have our annual Paytrail family day, an extended Christmas party (there was a tie on the evening program), a sports day to try different types of sports and tournaments plus many other enjoyable events.

A new idea was movie day. At first the idea had been to rejuvenate ourselves by watching a movie in the office, instead we ended up having a private screening of the latest Bond movie at the theatre. We all went after lunch and had a great start to the weekend.

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DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSIONS

Time is invested in our biannual development discussions. The discussions are important but now we've included an active aspect where for example a manager can go check out a team member's hobby.

This has certainly added a thrill to the manager's lives as well as get to know one another better. Which in turn lead to us to understand one another as individuals not just colleagues.

"I've been CEO of Paytrail for 3.5 years now. At 50, I've had the opportunity to experience several types of work communities. Paytrail specifically stands out from previous experiences in regards to the distribution of trust and responsibility.At Paytrail, trust is a constant between colleagues, supervisors, and employees. This has enabled an organization of giving and taking responsibility throughout all levels. Thus everyone deserves to feel they are an important part of the group."

Being together during work hours and free time has created an exceptionally warm and comfortable community where everyone thrives. This is also reflected year by year in the improving financial figures. This is the best place I have ever worked." Markus Laurio, CEO

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