ZEF’s values are made of love, passion and bravery. We want to change the world. We love what we do and want to be the best in it. We act bravely to reach our dreams. In ZEF Warrior Stories blog series our employees share their stories. When did we follow our heart? What lights up our inner fire? How do we overcome obstacles?
Imagine a hurricane making cars and houses fly all over, creating panic and chaos. From the eye of the storm walks a serene character, with a cunning smile on her face.
Meet Maija, our Customer Coach.
”Maija has a spectacular ability to complete all projects on time. Which ever customer and what ever case it is, Maija handles it!”, one of ZEF Warriors rightly describes.
Maija’s job is about visiting our customers, planning new apps – ”everything from car personality tests to product choosers and service assistants” – and educating the customers to use our products. Maija pulls the strings successfully with a graduate engineer’s background.
The Customer Coach loved by our customers tells that she especially enjoys her varying workdays and adventuring at the customers.
You never know what will happen at a customer because there are so many different cases. The most amazing thing at work is when we together with a customer come up with something that suits them perfectly and somehow helps their own customers.
Two Years as a ZEF Warrior
Our hearty multi-talent has been working at ZEF precisely two years today. So, let Maija recall her first dates with ZEF for a moment.
”The recruitment process was so fast and I immediately was presented to this ”we act now” way of doing things. I was at first interviewed by Maria (service director). Jaakko (CEO) called the next morning at 8 o'clock and woke me up. It was rather embarrassing to talk with a CEO from bed with my ’morning voice’.
”And that job interview was the weirdest ever! With Jaakko and Tuomas (CMO) we went to eat burgers. Straight after eating Jaakko welcomed me to the team.”
”You must dare to improvise”
Now, recollect that image of Maija in the middle of that destructive tornado. Yep. Maybe that’s why it’s no wonder that when asking Maija about our value ”bravery” she cannot point any specific situation where she has watched a lion eye-to-eye.
”Well, it requires certain type of bravery every time you meet a customer because you don’t know so much about the customers’ branch and you must dare to suggest even silly ideas. You never know in advance what will happen with a customer. You must dare to throw yourself into different situations and improvise.”
Playing Ultimate Frisbee in the National Team
In her free time, Maija says that she spends time ”running after a frisbee”. A rather humble expression from a national team player. Maija has won the Finnish Championship in ultimate frisbee two years in row and at the moment practices with the national team for the European Cup next summer.
I’m quite competitive and that’s why I aim high in ultimate frisbee as a team and as an individual player. Next year’s European cup we’ll try to win, of course!
As a counterbalance Maija relaxes by playing golf – and all our customers from the world of golf are in her tender loving care.
Realizing Dreams with Weird Positivity
Maija says that she’s very satisfied with her two years as a ZEF Warrior and praises ZEF to be a special place to work.
”Even when I was applying for the job and visited ZEF’s website I thought that this company seems different in a cool way. A certain kind of weirdness at ZEF is awesome. Everyone has a different personality and these personalities create a great combination of people.”
According to Maija, in the heart of ZEF is realizing dreams which at first sound impossible with an infinite positivity.
The best thing at ZEF is that people know how to think in a positive way. This is the key to realizing even some crazy things - because we don’t think that it cannot go this way. Instead we think like ”hey, what about creating a VotingAid for the US presidential elections’!
”The same attitude can also be seen in smaller issues all the time. The amount of positive thinking ZEF Warriors are capable of is astonishing and really cheers you up!”
Indeed: Every ZEF Warrior has a uniquely positive mindset – and this cheering positivity radiates especially well from Maija.
Warm congrats to Maija for your ”two year birthday” at ZEF! Thank you for doing everything in your own way and for being who you are.