Learning from the Candidate’s Perspective: “My own experience opened my eyes”
Technology leadership veteran Mikko Puhakka is always eager to learn something new. His most recent candidate experience taught him the true value of active, transparent communication, not only for the recruitment process itself, but for personal growth and employer branding as well.
Ropo Capital is a Finnish billing technology company and the country’s leading provider of invoice lifecycle services. Its operations are powered by its proprietary Ropo 24 platform, through which more than 170 million invoices and other documents are processed annually.
The company operates in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
“One of my key responsibilities is to develop our technology so that we can successfully expand into new markets,” says Ropo Capital’s new CTO, Mikko Puhakka.
A Well-Defined Profile Lays the Foundation for Successful Executive Search
Puhakka has worked in the technology industry for nearly 15 years, most of that time in CTO roles. Before joining Ropo Capital, he worked for the U.S.-based IT giant Oracle.
“I’ve always wanted to understand sales better, and Oracle gave me a great opportunity to do that,” he says.
But when the CTO role at Ropo Capital opened, the call of technology leadership was too strong to ignore. That’s when Puhakka entered the executive search process led by our executive search consultant.
Behind the scenes, much had already taken place.
“When evaluating potential recruitment partners, we valued references, transparent pricing, and a clear process and timeline,” explains Jenna Kokkonen, HR Manager at Ropo Capital.
After being chosen, we and Ropo Capital worked closely to analyze the company’s current business, future goals, culture, and desired leadership traits. Once that groundwork was complete, we presented a shortlist of candidates.
“We reviewed the candidates together and discussed their suitability. The conversations helped refine our view. By the end, every piece fit perfectly,” Kokkonen recalls.
Only then did we begin reaching out to the top-ranked candidates.
Mutual Openness and Active Communication Lead to Success
Puhakka describes the search process as thorough and challenging. He especially appreciated the feedback sessions he had with our consultant after completing assessment tests.
“I learned a lot about myself. That’s always valuable,” he reflects.
From the client’s perspective, the openness was mutual.
“It was refreshing to see how openly the executive search consultant evaluated their own work at the final meeting,” says Kokkonen.
Both sides also received positive feedback about communication throughout the process.
“Even though the process had many stages, I always knew what was happening and when. I really appreciated the personal phone calls instead of long email threads,” Puhakka says.
Candidate communication plays a huge role in the overall experience. In turn, it strengthens employer reputation and future hiring success.
High Growth Targets Demand a Quality-Driven Recruitment Process
“I’m proud to welcome Mikko to Ropo Capital’s team and our Group leadership,” said CEO Rickard Westlund in the company’s announcement. “Mikko is an experienced leader with a strong track record in customer-driven software development. His expertise will be key to reaching our growth goals.”
Puhakka now leads a 40-person and continuously growing IT team. Achieving the company’s ambitious goals will take more than technical excellence. It requires the right people who fit both in skills and culture.
“My own experience really opened my eyes to how much a well-run search matters. Going forward, I want to be part of building that same quality into our own recruitment practices,” Puhakka concludes.
And how can a company design a recruitment process that consistently identifies the best candidates? That’s exactly the conversation Ropo Capital and we continue to have together.