Sonja Erola - Service Manager

It would be fair to say that making a thesis for Elo set the tone of Sonja Erola’s career story. Sonja began her speech communication studies at the University of Tampere in 2006, but while working on her bachelor's thesis, she decided to change course and applied to the Tampere School of Economics. Her studies at the business school began in autumn 2010, with a major in insurance science and risk management. In addition to her studies, Sonja was actively involved in the activities of student organisations and held positions at Kela, LocalTapiola, and Pohjola.

Can you tell us about your career path?  

- In social insurance courses, I found the Finnish social security and pension system interesting, and I chose the social responsibility of earnings-related pension companies as the topic for my thesis. When I began my thesis, I contacted Elo, and I’m still on that path, Sonja says.

Around the same time as completing her Master's thesis, Sonja started working at Elo as a substitute for a regular employee’s parental leave, and was tasked with phone and online customer service related to TyEL insurance. After getting a permanent employment contract and a few years of work experience, in 2016, Sonja started as a team manager in a customer service team of about 10 people and initially also did some customer service work with her team. 

The next step in Sonja’s career took place in 2021, when she returned to expert work as a development manager after parental leave. 

- In my new position, I expanded my competence from TyEL insurance to YEL insurance. The work involved a great deal of project and development work, and I got to be involved in introducing new things at Elo by training our Bot, for example. The work also included a lot of customer communication, including the implementation of website updates and appearances at customer events. 

Sonja had found supervisory work to suit her, so when a service manager was sought for Elo’s work ability solutions to manage a team of 15 people, Sonja was interested and got the job.

- This latest career move almost feels like a new job altogether. The substance, business processes, colleagues, everything was completely new to me when I started. Actually, the only thing I was familiar with was working as a supervisor and Elo’s HR processes, Sonja says.

What are your main tasks/responsibilities?  

In her current role as a service manager, Sonja is responsible for the work ability issues of Elo’s largest corporate customers, and her team supports, among other things, the HR departments of these companies in matters related to vocational rehabilitation.

- My task is to manage, plan, develop, organise – everything that helps my team members to succeed in their work. However, I don’t do this alone. I involve the team and we do the developing together.

What is the best thing about your current job?   

- The fundamental aspects of supervisory work are what I enjoy. Helping team members and supporting their ability to work, achieving goals together and pursuing them, that is, everyday team work. It’s rewarding to see how your own work can help others cope with their work and improve their everyday lives. The supervisor position is also a vantage point to develop activities, as it offers a general view different from that of an expert deep in their field of expertise.

Sonja feels that Elo supports supervisors well.

- In my first supervisor position, I received team work counselling with a few other new supervisors for about a year. Regular supervisor meetings are also held, where we discuss topical issues. The HR Partner model ensures that support and consulting are always available.

- Right now, I’m satisfied with my position as a supervisor and I have a lot to learn about work ability management services. However, I’m open to the idea that I could one day move back to an expert position. Both have their merits, but the deciding factor is how interesting the tasks are, Sonja concludes.