Listening to people is at the heart of success.

Inessa builds bridges between experts and customers.

When Inessa started at Sako in 2017, she jumped into a fixed-term export assistant position. Today, as a project manager in the government and defence business, she steers one of the company’s most significant undertakings.

Inessa’s journey is a story of the courage to take on challenges that others might avoid, and of a desire to build order where potential is waiting to be seized.

Quality is a promise of safety

The worldwide reputation of Sako’s products is based on uncompromising quality. In this industry, the requirements for safety, reliability and an uncompromising sense of quality are exceptionally high. For Inessa, quality is not just a technical term but a deep responsibility. In the government and defence business, a product has to work precisely when conditions are at their most critical.

When I moved to the defence side, the importance of the product’s quality and reliability grew even further. It is about what you can rely on at the moment you set out to defend your country. That carries an enormous significance,” Inessa emphasises.

Inessa

In everyday work, this shows as a strict commitment to standards such as AQAP 2110. Under the AQAP model, the buyer receives information about the supplier’s operations throughout the entire procurement (including risk management, processes and methods, and the prevention and elimination of problems). Inessa has played a key role in bringing transparency and traceability to operations, all the way from concept to delivery.

Quality is an everyday matter you cannot bend on. We have certain quality standards, which the contracts also define and which therefore drive the way we work.

Inessa

A work community where you can be yourself

Inessa works in a matrix organisation, where she leads a group of experts without direct reports. This role highlights the ability to meet a person as a person. She believes that openness and an understanding of each other’s work create the foundation for success.

The unit is also united by a distinctive sense of humour that acts as glue in the middle of the rush. “We have a bad sense of humour. For me, that was a sign that this is where I belong.” No one is left alone. Inessa emphasises the importance of dialogue: “People are more important to me than mere tasks. I want to create understanding and connections between the different roles, so that everyone knows how their own work affects the whole.”

Developing competence and growing courage

Inessa’s own career at Sako has been continuous learning. She sought out her current position even though it was described as challenging, mainly because of the strict contracts.

I have grown bolder as a negotiator. I now trust more than before that I know what I am talking about. To keep this whole thing running, you have to understand things from a really wide range of expert perspectives,” she describes her development. If you are ready to develop your own work and to look beyond your own role, Sako offers really varied opportunities to develop, according to Inessa.

Inessa

Financial strength brings peace of mind and continuity

Stability, reliability and strong ownership make Sako an employer you can commit to for the long term. A long history and a strong financial position are not just numbers to Inessa – they make it possible to focus on the essentials. Sako’s financial strength brings a security that is reflected in everything we do.

Financial strength means we dare to experiment and develop the way we work. Stability frees up bandwidth for the rest of life, when you don’t have to wonder whether there is work available or whether wages will be paid on time. On the contrary, there is as much work as you can manage.

Inessa

Pride in shared success

Asked about sources of pride, Inessa returns to people and to the customer relationship. The whole that Inessa leads as project manager has required new ways of working and expertise from the company, and its success feels rewarding.

I am most proud of the whole that gives the customer a feeling of safety. They can rely on us. I am proud of everyone in this chain, from design to manufacture. Everyone has a critical role.

Inessa

Inessa’s message to anyone interested in Sako is that if you are open, courageous and want to shape your own work, Sako is a place where you can really make a difference. “This just keeps getting to be a better and better place to be.”