"Understanding what customers really need and want makes it easier to develop solutions that genuinely benefit them."
Ville Toivari, who is working with developing the digital customer experience, already has experience from several different roles and teams at Aktia.
Ville Toivari started working in Aktia's customer service while studying at Hanken in Vaasa. At first, the work was part-time, and mainly consisted of evening and weekend shifts.
“The team consisted of other students, and we had a good team spirit. The work suited the life of a student perfectly,” Ville recalls.
When his exchange studies abroad were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ville was offered the opportunity to work full-time for six months as Junior Account Manager in the sales team.
“It was an intense period that gave me many learning opportunities about sales and customer service. I enjoyed it very much, and was able to travel to different regions,” Ville says.
Finishing a master's thesis alongside work
After his studies, Ville and his partner moved to Helsinki metropolitan area. He resumed his new duties at Aktia, this time as Junior Project Manager in the customer experience team.
“I was involved in large and interesting projects, and I learned a lot about customer experience and the leading of customer experience. I was simultaneously writing my master’s thesis, a project that succeeded well alongside my work,” Ville says.
He is grateful to all the managers he had during his studies. They were flexible and understanding, and encouraged Ville to prioritise his studies.
Developing the digital customer experience
Today, Ville works as a Business Analyst in Aktia's Digital Customer Experience team. At the heart of the work is the development of Aktia's customer experience in digital channels.
“In this role, my background in the customer interface and sales has been of great use to me. Understanding what customers really need and want makes it easier to develop solutions that genuinely benefit them,” he says.
Ville finds Aktia’s culture encouraging with a sense of community. He points out how everyone helps each other, and how young people and students are given responsibility. It is also nice to be able to use both Finnish and Swedish every day at work.
“I feel that, thanks to its small size and agility, Aktia offers a great vantage point over the constantly evolving and very interesting financial sector,” Ville sums up.