“I would probably just have laughed if someone had told me when I started at Fresh Servant that six years later, I would be working in a supervisory role. I never would have believed that these kinds of opportunities would come my way. But I have also worked hard for all of this.”
“Have you seen that a company called Fresh Servant is constantly looking for employees?” Silla’s friend asked her on WhatsApp in 2013. “I replied that I already had a job.” Still, her friend managed to persuade Silla to apply for a job at Fresh Servant, even though she was not seriously considering changing jobs. “What I remember from the group interview is that I had never laughed so much. One moment that stayed with me was when I was asked whether I spoke Swedish. Back then, I only knew one line that summed up all my Swedish skills: ‘Nog kan jag liiti men int så myki’”, Silla says with a laugh.
Silla did not resign from her previous job right away, as her plan was to first see what working at Fresh Servant was really like. During the first week, she spent her mornings and afternoons in Fresh Servant’s training sessions and then drove straight to her former workplace, where there was a crisis. The company had undergone an acquisition without the employees knowing, and the work was coming to an end. That was how Silla joined Fresh Servant in 2013 – with a dressmaker’s qualification and as a food industry employee.
“Back then, we only had two tray lines at Fresh Servant, and volumes were much smaller than they are today. As an employee, I was active and always did my work as well as I possibly could. I wanted to show that I was really good at my job and that I wanted to move forward. Soon, I became a line operator.” As the company grew quickly, many new employees were hired. This also created new roles, one of which was the role of onboarding trainer. The cheerful and social Silla was offered the role, and she was happy to accept it.
Silla had not been in this meaningful role for long before new opportunities came her way. “I heard that one of the production supervisors was leaving and that the position would soon become available. I expressed my interest in the role.”
“At Fresh Servant, I have been able to grow and develop. There are not many places where someone with a dressmaker’s qualification would have the chance to move into a supervisory role.”
“I needed more challenges, and I certainly got plenty of them when I was selected as a supervisor.” At first, Silla’s role was to make sure everyone was present and that the work ran smoothly. Fresh Servant continued to grow, so the supervisor’s job description was expanded. “The leap into the new responsibilities felt big when each supervisor was given their own team of just over 20 people. You had to take responsibility for your own team, monitor sick leave, care about people and be inspiring,” Silla says.
Silla says it felt both good and frightening to be trusted with so much responsibility for people. Silla also appreciates the professional training in frontline leadership that Team Leaders were able to complete during working hours in a neighbouring town: “At Fresh Servant, I have been able to grow and develop. There are not many places where someone with a dressmaker’s qualification would have the chance to move into a supervisory role.”
Silla worked as a Team Leader for six years and had the opportunity to deepen her leadership skills through a vocational qualification in frontline leadership and a specialist vocational qualification in production management.
When Silla started at Fresh Servant, she did not understand Swedish or English. Today, the situation is completely different, as Silla speaks three languages fluently. “At Fresh Servant, we have people from nearly forty different cultures, which makes it possible to develop language skills in a pressure-free environment.”
Silla says that the best part of her work is the people and succeeding together. “It is people who make things happen and enable us to succeed. I am grateful for every person we have in production. They are fantastic people, and it is easy to work together with them. At Fresh Servant, there are no high barriers between people – we are all one family.”
“I come to work in a good mood because I know there will be plenty of joy and laughter waiting for me.”
Silla knows how to be grateful for the opportunity to come to work every day. In previous workplaces, job continuity was not something she could take for granted. She sees Fresh Servant as a secure employer, as the future outlook remains very good even after many years and the company continues to grow. In her work, Silla sees the development of work practices and different processes as especially important. “In just two years, we have seen tremendous development, for example in how employees are trained and guided.”
After 13 years on Fresh Servant’s path, Silla has now moved from the role of Team Leader into administrative work as an HR developer.
“The new role is really interesting because I get to learn about the whole organisation, onboard others and get to know people across the company. Developing people and building career paths are close to my heart.”
“When an employee wants to develop themselves and grow their skills, they are also building their own career path. When they find a role at Fresh Servant that supports their growth and strengths, it is a jackpot – for the employee, for the company and for me. Sometimes, the direction of a career path needs to be shown when new people are being recruited for open roles.”
It is important to talk about company culture in an understandable way and in everyday language. At the same time, it is good to remember that people make things happen: even as technology develops, people are still needed. Training people is important, and that is why Silla finds her new role highly meaningful. “I am also very honoured to have been chosen for this role.”
“Fresh Servant has so many opportunities to offer to everyone who is active, takes initiative, keeps an open mind and has a positive attitude.”
