The Federation of Finnish Enterprises and the Foundation for Private Entrepreneurs once again presented the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the National Entrepreneurship Days gala in Jyväskylä on Saturday, September 25, 2021.
The Young Entrepreneur of the Year is Eerik Säkkinen of Järki-Saaneraus Oy. The competition also recognized Topi Jokinen and Heikki Jussila, founders of Vertia Oy, as well as Irina Nurmi of Smooth it Oy.
The activities of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year nominees highlighted responsibility, innovative leadership, risk-taking, and creativity. More than 400 young entrepreneurs from across Finland entered the competition.
Vertia is a construction company with no managers. Under its self-managed operating model, the staff makes all decisions, from strategy to salaries. Both customers and staff are extremely satisfied, and the company’s growth and profitability are top-notch. Together, these factors make Vertia an exceptional company.
Vertia, which aims to improve construction quality, offers quality assurance and surveying services to construction companies, prefabricated home manufacturers, and private builders. The company has annual revenue of 2.5 million euros and a staff of 28.
A collaborative operating model
Topi Jokinen and Heikki Jussila have developed a collaborative operating model within their company.
The company, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, has undergone an internal transformation from a family-like teamwork environment to a fully self-directed operating model.
The culture of collaboration was already strong, but ultimately, the company’s management made the final decisions. The goal was to create a self-directed operating model in which the staff makes all of the company’s decisions. They are supported in this by a shared decision-making model, in which they must always seek advice from colleagues when making major decisions.
“Work should be fun, but a collaborative model also involves difficult issues. When we think things through together, it can sometimes be a grueling process,” says Topi Jokinen.
Employees decide their own salaries
“Developing our operating model is a work in progress. We have a salary committee that sets the salary budget. Talking about salaries is difficult, but we’ve made some good decisions. Now we’re thinking about how we can streamline the process,” Jokinen and Jussila explain.
Entrepreneurs believe that making decisions together has made the workplace more attractive. This is also confirmed by a study conducted on the company.
− The study found that work engagement and well-being are at exceptionally high levels among our employees.
Through experimentation and success, the collaborative operating model created by Vertia continues to evolve. In recent years, significant progress has also been made in developing service offerings.
Vertia Oy at a Glance
- The goal is to improve construction quality
- Quality assurance and surveying services for construction companies, prefabricated home manufacturers, and private builders
- Over 12,000 buildings surveyed
- Average customer rating: 4.72/5
- Number of employees: 28
- A unique self-directed operational model for the organization
- Revenue of €2.5 million and profit of €273,000 (July 2020)
- On the Financial Times' 2021 list of Europe's 1,000 fastest-growing companies
- Helsinki Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2021
- The owners are the founders Topi Jokinen, Heikki Jussila, and Miska Jylhä, as well as the staff and advisory partners
- Founded in 2011, it celebrated its 10th anniversary in May
Sources:
Additional information:
Topi Jokinen, CEO, Vertia Oy, tel. 040 835 1440, topi.jokinen@vertia.fi