What a stroke of luck as a job
04 | 2023 Sanna Valkeejärvi & Erkka Korpi, Senior Software and Cloud Engineer
Erkka Korpi joined Kipinä in February 2022 as Senior Cloud Engineer. The journey has been rewarding and interesting, even unique.
Erkka has enjoyed working at Kipinä for many reasons, a big one being the unique co-ownership model, but also the community:
"We're all on the same wavelength and we're all on Kipinä for the same reasons. People on Kipinä don't categorise others because of their background. When you are accepted as a member of Kipinä, you are accepted as equal to everyone else, and people are not categorised in any way. Everyone is allowed to be who they are."
Erkka had only been in his previous job for 4 months at the point when the opportunity to discuss moving to Kipinä came up. He wondered if he should dare to leave, but more experienced friends urged him to be brave because of Kipinä's unique model.
"I would have regretted it if I hadn't joined Kipinä that day." says Erkka now.
"Everyone can be who they are at Kipinä."
Erkka describes himself as lucky and privileged to be part of the Kipinä community. After more than a year as a Kipinä employee, he still thinks that his current job has been "a stroke of luck."
"I'm really committed to the company. Not just because I own part of the company. Sure, that's part of the commitment, but mostly because it's so good to be in the moment. The sense of community is much better than anywhere else I've seen. Even though we're distant from each other, and from the customers physically, Kipinä has a strong presence in everyday life and that's a good thing."
For Erka, personal development is very important and that's what she always strives for. In the past, changing jobs has meant that you have outgrown your role and have not been able to develop yourself.
"Now there is no need for me to go to other places because of the development of the Kipinä. Because here you can talk openly about your own needs and desires and develop yourself in other ways. Before I came to Kipinä, I had the principle that if someone approached me with a job offer, I would go and talk to other companies. Now I turn everyone down because I'm more than an employee and I don't think I can find anything better."
Kipinä Code retreat was a competition for problem-solving skills.
Erkka says he was really impressed when experienced long-liners saw potential in him and accepted him to work at Kipinä.
"Overall, one of the biggest things I appreciate about Kipinä, apart from the community, is how I've been welcomed and treated as an equal, even though my own experience in the industry is shorter than many others. There are no unnecessary structural levels here, and there is no separation between juniors and seniors. Here I have learned to see more clearly what I value and what kind of working life I want for myself. People are treated so well that you don't want to give that up."
Treating people goes all the way to the client and Erkka feels that meeting the chemistry is also important for the consultant at the client's end. Honest and open communication both at Kipinä and with clients is important to him.
With more than a year of experience as a Kipinä employee, Erkka has also been involved in interviewing potential new shareholders.
"Many interviewees have asked about the presence, whether they are alone here. It's easy to answer that you won't, because at Kipinä we always help others, no matter how big or small the challenge. The interviews also highlight whether the new guys have that spark. Personally, I like to emphasise the soft skills, not just the hard skills. We prefer to hire good people who we want to work with, because the clients like to work with them."
One conversation with a prospective shareholder has stuck in Erka's mind in particular. The candidate asked Erkka what he would like to change in Kipinä.
"It may sound unreal, but the answer was that nothing. Kipinä is exactly what we all wanted, and how it was built."