What does a day at a Lumo Home Centre look like? Join us for a visit to the Turku office on a sunny Wednesday and learn more about the daily work of Kojamo employees!
In addition to the head office in Helsinki, Kojamo has seven smaller offices around Finland. The regional offices known as Lumo Home Centres employ about a third, or one hundred, of all Kojamo employees. At Lumo Home Centres, sales negotiators, property managers and technical managers work together to serve the area’s customers and are responsible for the maintenance of the properties.
Working actively together
The Home Centre in Turku employs two property managers, two sales negotiators, a project manager, a technical manager and two summer employees, one in sales and the other in property management, who all work under the supervision of the area manager. Compared to the head office’s team of over two hundred employees, the Turku Home Centre’s team of nine is tight-knit. Everyone knows each other, and even though they all have their own tasks, they also work together often.
“At the Home Centre, everything related to housing is handled efficiently with a small team, and the employees often work together,” says Area Manager Katri Kronström.
The sunny Wednesday begins with a team meeting and a pie from a local bakery. A group of nine people gather around the same table to discuss current issues and the latest reports under the leadership of the Area Manager. Even though there are plenty of matters that need to be addressed, the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.
Old and new Kojamo employees in the same group
After the meeting, Sales Negotiator Noora Keski-Rauska walks into her office to finish a few apartment descriptions and list a vacant apartment in the webstore. Keski-Rauska, who started working at Kojamo nine months ago, has got off to a good start and praises the workplace atmosphere, the people-oriented approach as well as the versatility of the work. Keski-Rauska works together with her sales partner Jari Hirvonen, who has worked for the company for almost 25 years. The pair work well together.
“Even though I’ve worked at Kojamo for nine months and Jari for 25 years, I sometimes feel like we’ve both worked here for 30 years,” says Keski-Rauska.
The Home Centre in Turku also employs a good mix of both newcomers and long-term Kojamo employees. They are all an equal part of the team.
At the Home Centre, a typical workday usually involves not only office work but also plenty of apartment visits, including inspections and viewings. Next, we jump in Keski-Rauska’s car and proceed to Yliopistonkatu for an apartment inspection and to take new photos of the building for the webstore. The Turku Home Centre is located in the city centre, and most of the Lumo buildings are only a short distance away.
Help is always near
After the visit to the apartment building, it is time for a lunch break with colleagues on a terrace on the shore of Aura River. Casual news are exchanged at lunch and, of course, the praise for Turku is abundant. After lunch, we head back to the office where Inka Nyström edits the new photos, which are then added to the webstore.
Nyström is a summer employee in the Turku sales team, but she is already familiar with the tasks due to her previous experience at Kojamo as a sales negotiator. The friendly team and pleasant tasks drew Nyström back to the company. It was easy for her to get back into the familiar work tasks, but there was also a lot to learn. Nyström calls out to Hirvonen in the next room to see if he can help with the photos, and Hirvonen pops in to give advice. In the small office, you can easily ask a colleague for advice or exchange ideas in the hallway.
“Everyone here is always ready to help,” says Nyström. The new photos are successfully uploaded to the webstore.
New challenges for experienced Kojamo employees
Property Manager Hanna Virtanen pays a visit to the Ratapihankatu apartment building, where new residents have just moved in after the renovation. Virtanen attaches a few announcements to the staircase notice board and checks the equipment in the washing room.
Virtanen started working as a property manager about a year ago, but before that she worked as a sales negotiator at Kojamo for about ten years. The new role has brought interesting variety and challenges. Even though she was already familiar with the organisation and has observed the work of a property manager for many years, there have been plenty of new things to learn.
Employees feel at home at the Home Centre in Turku
The office is quiet for the rest of the day, but there are still plenty of things to do, and the front door continues to open and close as the Kojamo employees come and go. The day is over quickly.
The great atmosphere, interesting work tasks and nice colleagues make the same people return to the Home Centre in Turku year after year. Open positions are rarely available. However, when new people are added to the team, everyone is warmly welcomed.