Sten: Flexibility is essential when managing both work and family

What is it exactly you are doing for BE-terna? 

My official job position is solution consultant for Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management. I’m mainly working on tasks that are split between functional and technical areas. This means that I often work with integrations, EDI, e-commerce/web shop implementations and data migrations.  

Currently, I’m working on a project which has started this year and is going to last for more or less the next two years. This customer is upgrading to a new version of the system. We are currently gathering requirements and writing the functional designs. Having some technical knowledge myself, helps in the communication with the developers who need to do the development of the functional design. It also helps in understanding the technical issues they might run into. When development has been completed, I’m also involved in testing the solution and doing handover to the support organization. 

Next to this large project, I’m also picking up some smaller assignments for other customers. 

What supports you in doing a great job?

The flexibility this job is giving me is really valuable! I need to have the freedom of planning my own time. I could not do a job, where I have to start every day at 8 and work till 5. I have two younger kids and I take them to school. If one of the kids is ill and at home, I have the flexibility to work from home. It also allows me to work less during the day if needed and compensate for it in the evening or on my part time day. I just need to make sure that I get the work done in time. 

It is also great being surrounded by supportive colleagues. There are always people I can contact for help and likewise, I am also always glad to help others.  

How did you gain your knowledge and how do you combine job and family?

Most of the business knowledge I have for work, has been growing over the years. When I first started working in this area, after leaving university, it was mostly about getting to know the system and learn from working together with more experienced people. I did a lot of self-studies in my first years. At that time, I did not have any kids and I did not have a wife, and therefore I had enough time to do some of the work, also outside business hours.  

Another way of increasing knowledge is working in projects and being responsible for tasks. Not only does the technical knowledge accumulates, but also soft skills get strengthened.  

At the beginning of the pandemic, certain projects were paused, and I had some extra time for online training. Nowadays, I am fully booked for projects and there is little time to participate in additional courses. However, I sometimes face situations where I need to deep-dive, in order to offer our customers, the best (technical) solution. On weekends the time is reserved for my family. I love seeing my kids grow up and spend time with them.  

What three words describe why you like working at BE-terna? And why? 

Flexibility – I am a father of two kids and as I mentioned before, flexibility is a supportive factor to manage work and family needs. The flexibility of working hours, the possibility to plan my tasks on my own, and doing home office whenever needed are valuable to me.  

Responsibility – I am given the possibility to make decisions on my own. At BE-terna the hierarchy is low, and you do not need to ask your manager, and this manager does not need to ask his manager and so on. Even though BE-terna is not a small company and counts more than a thousand employees, it feels personal to me. One year after the M&A things remained the same or became even better. I like that BE-terna gives responsibilities to local teams. The Nordic company of origin and BE-terna have the same culture and the same sense of humour. This also leads me to the third reason why I like working at BE-terna. 

Fun with colleagues and changing work environment– We all work hard, but we also take the opportunity to get to know a bit more about each other. I recently partnered up with a developer from the Adriatic region for a project, which on a personal level was fun and on a business level, was satisfying and inspiring. 

I try to go to our new office whenever it is possible since I enjoy office life, the atmosphere there, and being surrounded by my colleagues. Besides that, I appreciate working with colleagues from other countries, while jointly progressing in projects. Moreover, every team-building event is a highlight! 

Finally, I would like to express my enthusiasm for the changing work environment. Since I mainly work in projects, I meet a lot of different people and see different companies and cultures. Additionally, I like coming up with solutions and being creative. I assume that my job as a solution consultant is more diverse than the one of an accountant or developer. The ever changing environment that I am working in, is what makes me enjoy the job.