Juhana Rouhiainen from Dry Kuivaus: I want to, at least, hold negotiations face to face

“In our industry, work comes out of the blue, as water damage, for example, happens without warning. Messages need to be transferred quickly within the company so that we can get help there quickly.

For quick communication, we use the phone and Whatsapp, where we have three groups: a management group, a general group and an orders group, where our secretary records orders and where employees sign off on work.

We handle more formal matters, such as holiday scheduling and absences, by email. Our Christmas-party voting was also done by email.

Our office has three open-plan office lounges where you can work, but remote working is also allowed. Half of our working time is spent in the field doing mapping, drying and measuring, and the other half is spent in the office or elsewhere.

We have 12 people in our work community, so our communication is straightforward.

We haven’t needed an intranet, and I don’t think we will need one right away. We have 12 people in our work community, so our communication is straightforward. We get on well with each other, and there is no hierarchy or bureaucracy.

There are no big challenges in communication and interaction – except the occasional misunderstandings. We can disagree and speak our minds quite frankly.

I always prefer to have face-to-face negotiations.

We hold meetings with partners after working hours and meet face-to-face. During the pandemic, we held meetings via Teams, but there is definitely better interaction when you meet people in-person. I always prefer to have face-to-face negotiations, because behind a screen, gestures and non-verbal communication are limited.

We also hold weekly meetings with the whole community, if there is a need. Not nearly every week. Staff call and ask for advice if there is any confusion or questions about anything. We message each other on Whatsapp, for example, “I’m coming to the office, let’s go through something together”.