Wanted: bold recruiters

It is hard to help noticing how few women are on the boards and executive groups of Finnish companies. In this respect we are, unfortunately, not any further along than the rest of the world. On closer inspection we can see that the management teams of Finnish companies are usually an extremely homogenous group both in terms of education and work history.

Finland is known for its first-class engineering expertise, which we have every reason to be proud of. Our reliance on it has, regrettably, gone too far and, in addition to financial people, most top positions are held by engineers. Recruiters want to play it safe, but is this any way to find the expertise and, above all, ideas that would push Finnish companies to the top? I’ll answer my own question: we could do better.

Finnish recruitment seems to be plagued by a silo mentality. Specific training and work experience are required for a particular type of job and recruitment companies do as they are told. The convergence of different areas of expertise and experience in organisations has been reduced to a minimum, except in startups where increasingly innovative, customer-oriented solutions are developed to meet various problems or needs.

Finns are a creative and skilled nation, but our economy seems to be running on low power and the general mood is somewhat glum. A bolder recruitment process could be one key to a successful and more dynamic society where new ideas blossom and people bravely grab the bull by the horns.