Practical training at Walki Oy, Pietarsaari by Alexandra Olusanya

I had worked at Walki Oy already two summers, so the place itself was already familiar and the great colleagues welcomed me with open arms and big smiles (although virtually due to Covid19). I was however facing a completely new position than during previous years and we all knew that some challenges were definitely ahead of us. However, I was already familiar with the support that Walki’s team of sale co-ordinators offer to each other’s, so I was not afraid of the incoming challenges. Well, some of the challenges turned out to be major and some mistakes were made, but never did I face any judgment or negative feedback or complaints. One thing Walki’s organization is very good at, is accepting simple human errors, because let’s face it these happen to all of us.

Walki is a rather big multinational company with sales offices and production plants all over the world. My job was to receive customer orders and enter them into the system. I sent out order documents and other related documents. I organized transportation for the goods, both truck and sea freight, and created delivery documents and invoices. I had clients both inside and outside of Finland, even as far as Sri Lanka. The biggest task was however the everyday customer contact and care via phone and email.

I think I learned as much, if not more, during this summer than during my two previous summers at Walki. The difference between handling only domestic customers and handling customers all over the world is quite big and a lot of things I only learned along the way. The skills I acquired this summer will definitely come in hand in my future jobs, wherever those may be.

Author: Alexandra Olusanya