“We see a lot of good CVs from international applicants, but we don’t know whether they would stay here. We can choose Finns with international experience, and they are fluent in the language.”

Sound familiar? You’re not alone.

Finland has a lot of home-grown talent with both knowledge of the country as well as international experience, so why worry about the difficulty or consider the possibility of sourcing skilled employees from abroad?

I came to Finland in 2012 as part of Finnair’s “International Finnair” strategy, which entailed not only attracting talent from abroad, but also changing the official internal language of the company to English. Although the change was effected before I joined the company, the employee reaction continued for some time, and it was not entirely positive.

Today, we are on a good path. After all, English is the global language of aviation, and standardizing the language simplified communication. There was no longer a need to translate most things for overseas offices or board materials for Finnair’s board members who do not speak Finnish.

At the time, however, there was a sense that something was being lost.

An outside perspective

Finland is an island. Not geographically, of course, but geopolitically. “Friends” are important, but defense is critical; and this is the knife edge upon which Finnish society sometimes finds itself.

It’s often said that the Finnish nature of silence and reserve stems from the inhospitable conditions that their ancestors endured to survive. But Finland and Finns, have survived – by adapting to different situations, innovating to create new sources of growth and employment, and adopting competences and behaviors that have continued to move the country forward.

In a world that is increasingly interconnected, isolation can be a source of weakness. This is this is something Finland needs to be careful about.

In Finnair we can see that “International Finnair” strategy has had significant gains. Today, our employees represent over 50 nationalities. Together with other forms of diversity, the richness of our work community has enabled us to get through not one, but two crises that many people outside Finnair felt were unsurvivable for the company.

Our diverse backgrounds, experiences, cultural roots, and individual personalities helped our team overcome the significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of Russian airspace. The energy, insight and creativity driven by our disparate backgrounds kept us moving forward and finding innovative solutions to urgent problems.

Could we have done the same if the team had been comprised solely of Finns, even those with international experience? Possibly. But the ability to draw on the knowledge, relationships, perspectives and skills of a culturally diverse team improved our analyses and identified more options than would otherwise have been possible.

More diversity, more possibilities

Being focused on attracting and retaining international employees gives us access to a global talent pool, which is critical for some highly specialized functions in aviation. This means that not only can we hire the best talent we can find, but we can also use those capabilities to build the skills of local employees through rotations and secondments.

It is not just the opportunity to upskill from the comfort of one’s own country that hiring international employees brings to local ones; there are other benefits as well. For example, internal surveys consistently reflect a strong belief that Finnair people can be their authentic selves at work.

Think about what that means. If you, like me, grew up in a small town where everyone had to fit in neat little boxes and slot into a defined path of university, career, family, etc., if at any point you wanted an off-ramp – or even a detour – how the society around you would judge that choice was a factor in whether you ended up making it.

But imagine being in a place where your degree, your socioeconomic background, your family relationships, or your culture of origin were not limiting factors but instead extraordinarily beneficial.

It becomes about what you can do.

Our culture focuses more on achieving goals than on the methods used. When we rely less on stereotypes in understanding people, there is more scope to benefit from all of the diversity that a workforce has.

The same is true for non-executive board positions. While the obligations of a board member differ from those of a company employee, the same strengths of an international candidate, perspective, networks, and diverse cultural experience, can augment the capabilities and viewpoints of the board itself and help to make Finnish companies even more competitive on a global scale.

On the right track

Finland’s geographic location quickly went from a benefit to a challenge. While we can’t change the current reality, we can continue to bolster Finland’s competitiveness in the global economy, and attractiveness to all kinds of companies, by considering international applicants for both employment as well as non-executive positions.

Opening to outside perspectives can be challenging or may seem unnecessary, especially when everything is going well. However, in a world where relying solely on one’s domestic market is increasingly risky, incorporating diverse perspectives and backgrounds into everyday decision-making can enhance not just competitiveness, but also a company’s culture and development.

Finland is remarkably more diverse than it was when I first moved here. While the country’s culture still recalls the sisu and determination that developed Finland into what it is today, the inclusion of international talent will ensure the country’s enduring success.

Author

Christine Rovelli is currently the Senior Vice President, Strategy and Fleet at Finnair and a member of its Executive Board. She has completed the Boardman’s CG and Board Work in Finland Training, is a Boardman Member and active in Boardman’s activities to increase international representation on Finnish corporate boards.

Read more and apply for Boardman Membership!