Office secretary Anne Puumalainen
Born in Nurmes, Anne Puumalainen dreamt of a piano teacher career as a child. After high school she got into Nurmes business and vocational school to study marketing, from where she graduated in mid-1990. After a basic degree she continued onto a follow-up course which aimed towards international business.
After vocational qualification in business and administration, Puumalainen’s career kicked off in the education industry. “I worked short periods as a school assistant, study assistant, personal assistant, and when the education industry didn’t feel like the right fit, I moved onto office duties” Puumalainen recalls. She worked as a secretary in an employment office and in a real estate company. Before her current role she worked a longer period as an investigation secretary at the Nurmes police station, in the crime prevention department.
“If we worked the same way we did 15 years ago, we wouldn’t have time to do everything”
Moving to Iivari Mononen
Höljäkkä was looking for a new office secretary through a magazine advert. Anne Puumalainen put her application in and started as an office secretary in September 2006 – over 15 years ago. “I just jumped into cold water, as I had no previous experience of the Mononen business”.
In 15 years the role of the office secretary has changed and tasks varied. “There’s not been a day yet where I’d have nothing to do. I’ve inherited some of my duties from my predecessors and some new tasks have formed shape over the years” Anne tells. Payroll is one of Puumalainen’s current duties.
“When I started, the payroll only included the Höljäkkä plant and some people from the Kolho plant. Now it includes the entire Scanpole Oy, Iivari Mononen and PrimaTimber. In the summertime, the total number of employees starts to reach 100. The tasks require using various softwares and those have been developed further in the last years” tells Puumalainen. “If we worked the same way we did 15 years ago, we wouldn’t have time to do everything. These days we don’t need to run around the plant looking for information, the information comes to us”.
“Immediate managers are excellent. The doors have always been open. No one is breathing into your neck, but you can always get help when you need it”
Excellent work community
“Staying in the same place for 15 years vouches for great colleagues. Personal chemistries have matched quite well”.
Cooperation with the employer has been seamless too. “We’re flexible both ways. Everyone faces different personal situations in their life that just need to be managed. Especially when my children were young, my employer was very understanding. I’ve also been flexible when required” Puumalainen tells.
“And immediate managers are excellent. The doors have always been open. No one is breathing into your neck, but you can always get help when you need it” adds Puumalainen.
The childhood dream about a piano teacher profession has changed into singing karaoke, which Puumalainen enjoys doing at home. When you live in a detached house, you don’t need to go searching for hobbies.
“A wood-heated house keeps one busy”.
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Scanpole is part of Iivari Mononen Group.
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