My Oulu: Anastasia Brant was amazed by winter cycling and lack of paperwork in Oulu

Anastasia Brant spent a week-long job shadowing period in the city of Oulu in January. The period was a short-term employment tour as part of the Erasmus Programme. Brant arrived to Oulu from Germany, where she works as Senior Recruiter for the city of Augsburg.

Brant visited Oulu during the Capital of Culture year’s opening week and was impressed by President Alexander Stubb’s speech on the snowy marketplace. Stories about Polar Bear Pitching and the World Air Guitar Championships stuck with her.

”I heard that if you want to stand out here, you need to do something strange.”

Additionally, Brant experienced what she had always wanted to: she saw the northern lights. In Rovaniemi, though – and they were not quite as green as she’d expected.

”I was worried about how I would survive the cold in Oulu, but I did. Now that I am back home in Augsburg, it feels like spring.”

Brant found it both fun and shocking how people cycle during the winter in Oulu.

”Pretty athletic. Lights were used to indicate cycling paths which I found ingenious. Oulu really is a cycling city, even in the winter”.

Intrigued by the city of technology

During the week, Brant toured the city of Oulu’s communications department, central administration, HR department, vocational training, and protocols. She has studied business administration herself.

Brant chose Finland as she was interested in learning more about the education system that is considered among the world’s best. The city of Oulu already had a partnership agreement with the city of Augsburg. The two cities are of similar size, and after the week, Brant realized they have very similar administration styles as well.

”To be honest, I did not know anything about Oulu beforehand, but when I was looking for a spot in Finland a year ago, I noticed Oulu and knew it was a technology city. This field interested me greatly since Germany is not as advanced when it comes to the everyday use of technology. It was interesting to see how little paper was used in working life.”

Small differences

Brant sees that administration systems are similar in Augsburg and Oulu – for example, the city’s executive teams are of similar sizes. However, the amount of paperwork makes personnel administration in Germany much heavier than in Oulu.

”Because of complex processes, we need more employees. I also noticed that some tasks in Oulu are not internal like in Augsburg, but are handled externally, such as secretarial work and security services.”

Brant found discussions with women older than herself in leadership positions especially inspiring. They discussed both team leadership and personal stress management.

She came to understand the importance of coffee breaks in a brand-new way: she learned that breaks should be taken exactly when it feels like you have the least amount of time for them. It re-energizes your work.

Brant did not see any significant differences in the work cultures.

”People in Augsburg are quite down-to-earth. In Oulu, people are more serene and they don’t boast about their status. Everybody sits at the same coffee table, regardless of job title.”

Oulu’s high youth unemployment shocked Brant.

”On the other hand, it showed how important my own work in youth recruitment is.”

Brant has lived in Augsburg for 26 years. Originally, she was from Oulu’s sister city Odessa, Ukraine. Augsburg is located in the state of Bavaria in southern Germany, located 60 kilometers north-west from Munich. The city of Augsburg is over 2 000 years old and one of the oldest cities in Germany.