Viktor Gustavsson

Tell us about your role at Nordlo and the work you do
I’m a digital business developer at Nordlo in Borås, which means much of my work involves streamlining our customers’ internal processes. It could be automating processes, or improving understanding and knowledge about a new tool or a new way of working. By listening to sources of frustration and asking questions about time thieves, you can normally work out which areas to focus on. I love helping and enabling people to operate in more effective ways in their different areas of work.

Exchanging know-how doesn’t only have to mean meeting face to face – we can just as easily learn from each other online through educational content. This is something I’m working to establish among our customers – and something I’d like to work with more in future.

What have you done or worked with before?
I had a number of different positions before moving over to Nordlo. I worked with business development above all, but also digital marketing and management. Prior to that, I studied Key Account Management at Sälj- och marknadshögskolan in Gothenburg (The Gothenburg College of Sales and Marketing).

Describe a typical working day
It’s difficult to say what a regular working day is like for me, as one day is so different from the next. I run workshops and training sessions for our customers, among other activities, build automated workflows and simplify and streamline document management.

When visiting customers, I always try to apply an external perspective and encourage them to understand the value of the tools at their disposal – and how they can be used even more smartly to streamline their operations. They often have established rules about things working in a certain way, but my job is to challenge this approach. I’d say a typical working day for me is a real mixed bag of enjoyable working tasks!

What’s Nordlo like as a workplace?
Nordlo is a really “flat” organisation which allows individuals to think for themselves and make their own decisions. I also see it as a progressive company which is open to new ideas, which I think is great.

In Borås, we have different groups you can sign up for voluntarily. These are focused on various areas, such as corporate culture, training and IT security. This helps us to ensure we can better tackle issues such as how we take responsibility, our values in the office and how we retain knowledge within the organisation, etc. It means that everyone gets the chance to influence the way the workplace operates – which I see as a positive.

We go on a trip every year if we hit our targets, and also arrange kick-offs and after work meet-ups. A lot of people at the office play padel together in their free time – there’s a real sense of togetherness here.

Talk about your day-to-day challenges at Nordlo
Certain customers fixate on a tool which they believe can revolutionise the whole company. We face the challenge of getting them to realise there's so much more that needs to change – we have to create understanding that a change of behaviour is also required.

If our customers buy consultancy time and licenses for different tools but then fail to grasp that they have to take part in changing the way they work, there’s a risk we’ll fail to bring about a change of behaviour and provide fresh know-how. In these cases, it’s as if the implementation hasn’t made a difference. In simple terms, you could say it’s a challenge getting customers to understand they need the hole in the wall, and not the drill.

What aspect of working at Nordlo is most developmental?
There’s a lot of expertise within the organisation that you can benefit from, and for my part it’s really formative and inspiring to learn more. I also like being able feed off the drive and motivation of my colleagues. It keeps me curious, and stimulates my hunger to learn new things.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to work at Nordlo?
I think Nordlo is a suitable workplace for someone who is curious, confident and empathetic. There are so many skill-sets and people within the organisation, so if you have empathy and understanding for others this will stand you in good stead.

I see Nordlo as a value-based company. What I mean by this is that you need to feel as if you contribute value to customers and the organisation, rather than just focusing on selling products.

What challenges do you think the industry will face in future?
The IT sector today is extremely male-dominated. I think the industry needs to attract more women and people from different backgrounds, in order to stimulate greater diversity and draw on a broader base of expertise.