Minna Lehtelä

Versatile tasks, problem-solving, and earned trust are the best aspects of a project manager’s work.

Lehtelä has been working at Samlink for 12 years. During that time, her job description has changed a lot.

– I started here as a tester, and over the years, I have worked in various roles – as a testing manager, Product Owner, product manager, and now as a project manager. Samlink offers excellent opportunities for internal job rotation. Employees have the possibility to influence their own job description and, if they wish, modify it significantly, says Lehtelä.

Currently, she works as a project manager for small credit limits for bank customers. Small credit limits have been in production since 2016. Back then, Lehtelä and her colleagues developed a process that could reduce and speed up the project implementation.

In practice, a small credit limit means that the customer has a certain pre-approved budget within which smaller work orders and sub-projects can be implemented quickly, without major preparations and project plans. Such projects may include small changes to online banking and customer identification, lending, and document-related work.

Earning trust is a great achievement

Precision is beneficial in project manager position. Lehtelä has received special recognition for this trait in her work. It is also the characteristic that led her to her current job description.

– A project manager doesn’t need to or shouldn’t be an expert on all products or areas. Instead, this work is all about good contacts, smooth communication, and teamwork, which enable finding the right experts for each task and building a functional team together with product managers and other stakeholders. The best part of my work is that I’m trusted completely in what I do. I’m often asked for help in very different kinds of problematic situations, and it’s known that if I don’t have the answer myself, I’ll help find either the answer or the party from which the solution could be found.

Open-minded towards the future

It is well known that the IT industry can create pressure due to tight deadlines and schedules.

The rapid development of the industry also affects daily work. In the future, the banking industry will see a lot of new changes as regulations and the industry as a whole evolves, leading to inevitable changes in the way employees work. Lehtelä sees this as a positive challenge and remains open-minded towards the future.

– I have a positive and adaptive attitude towards the future. Being open-minded and flexible can help navigate the ever-changing landscape of the IT industry and make work more enjoyable. It’s great to see that Lehtelä is willing to embrace changes and find the best solutions for each situation.

Who: Minna Lehtelä
Education: Data Processing Specialist
Expertise: project management, process development