Working at Digia

Digia’s business is expert business. We value our competence. What we value even more is humility when faced with learning new things. Learning is a fundamental requirement in constant change. It is the hunting skills of our era. As realists, we have said that work will be completed, but we will not be. Incompleteness does not rule out top expertise, but quite the contrary. The more you learn, the more curious you will also be as you head towards the future.

Learning is not synonymous with a training event. Learning does not recognise boundaries, egos, or the avoidance of mistakes. It is an attitude and a choice –the ability and willingness to solve new problems, or old problems in new ways. Learning is an investment that accrues interest every day. As technology evolves, so do we. By learning something new, a little bit all the time.

We each have a responsibility to actively share what we have learned and a responsibility to listen to colleagues. Why? For instance, because interesting things are often found close by – from a colleague at a neighboring table. Because small actions and the routine of learning are a way to make time in everyday life for new things as well. Because none of us alone can explore all the knowledge in the world. Together, our learning potential is huge: we have more than a thousand skilled colleagues around us! Every Digia employee has the permission and responsibility to be both a trainee and a trainer.

Time is limited. And the number of new things is unlimited. It is smart to guard your time against pointless things – such as reinventing something that a co-worker under the same roof has already invented. Things can be done more efficiently by sharing. At the same time, you learn by sharing.

Sharing challenges you to be transparent as well. Sharing can be thought of as an opening drilled in the wall of your workstation, from which you can peek at your neighbour and beyond. Good new things can be found there, such as your next career move. Or just a sense of pride in that we are all one Digia and a lot of great things are being done here.

A networked world has basically brought everything close. There are tools and methods for sharing. Sharing is also partly an attitude and a decision to contribute to the smooth running of common issues. If I do not know, or if I believe that someone could know better, I ask. And I help if someone asks or I notice that I can be of assistance.

Sharing an hour of my time can, at best, save a co-worker two days of work, for example. And there is also the rational reason for sharing information that we all work for the same company. Your customer is my customer.

What is worth sharing? Well, for example, goals, anxieties, projects, competencies, comments, lessons learned and mess-ups. When one of us succeeds, let’s celebrate the success of a co-worker. When one of us messes up, let’s share the lessons learned and move on. We are in this together. It is not egos that are wanted here, but experts.

Courage is the everyday common sense and appropriate leaning forward of a professional. It does not always mean something flashy and grand. It is trusting in your own professional skill, continuous small choices and taking responsibility for the smooth flow of things. We have good people doing a good job. So we trust ourselves and our colleagues, dare to try and move forward – with the attitude of a visionary partner.

As professionals, we know when our own or our team’s expertise will provide the best answer. We know that sometimes there will be misses as well. If the wrong choice has been made, that is stated boldly out loud and another choice is made. As professionals, we know that courage is not foolhardiness without a framework. We do not need any unnecessary mess-ups or recklessness.

Courage is also admitting and asking when you do not know. At its best, courage brings us closer to agility as people take responsibility for things in a brisk manner and do not wait around for someone else to make a decision or take action. That way, things will not stand still, but proceed swiftly. In a team, people assume responsibility for advancing things together, and knowledge and lessons learned are shared quickly.

Good everyday life is not just pulling through, and good business is not built by barely making enough effort to pass. Professional pride is born from small and large everyday successes that you are also happy to relay. We want to be proud of ourselves, each other, and what we accomplish. Together, with passion, as promised.

Professional pride also means caring and taking action. Knowing what lies underneath and being able to stand behind it. Caring does not require great chivalry, but small choices. Every matter is followed through, we have a desire to built lasting results instead of relying on quick fixes. We know what we are doing and do not leave the end result up to flimsy beliefs or aspirations. Each of us is a bearer of responsibility and, instead of looking for someone to blame, we always find the best possible solution. This ensures the best possible end result time and time again.

We are also allowed to use common sense. Common sense is open discussion, raising grievances as well as constructive criticism. They drive us forward. That does not happen by getting stuck on individual things or ruminating over them on your own. Each of us can choose whether to have common sense in everyday life or not. If we suspect that one of our methods is not working, we review it and consider whether there is a need to change something. We are open about the reasons that led to a change or sticking to the old approach. We believe that when we operate this way, results will follow.