"We are brave consultants with big hearts"

Harriet Wikström is CEO of TechSverige member company Xlent in Sundsvall. We asked her four questions about the company and the tech industry in the region.

What exciting milestones is Xlent Sundsvall facing this year?

No milestones directly, but more challenges to operate well in a challenging market. After many years of very good demand, we in the IT industry are currently facing a weaker demand quite simply. We need to sharpen our offer and find the opportunities that are still "out there". 

What do you do to be an attractive employer?

First and foremost, we have a culture where we care about each other. We live by the motto that together we can do anything and we usually say that we are brave consultants with big hearts. Employees are offered exciting and developing assignments, which is of course a matter of course as we are a service company that lives entirely from our expertise. A flat organization characterized by everyone helping with everything creates commitment and also makes us flexible and agile in a changing time. Many social activities are mixed with joint training sessions and loud laughter at the coffee tables. All the things we do and have done for many years we have gathered into an initiative we call "Sustainable Consultants", which is about sustainable work culture in the consulting industry. Quite simply, we want to feel good at work.  

What are the challenges for the tech industry in the region?

The constant challenge is skills supply, where we must continue to work hard to get more people into IT education. We in the industry can also get better at accepting LIA students from vocational colleges. 

How are you working to secure the need for tech skills?

We offer graduate jobs to university students and we are involved in vocational training. We host LIA students every semester. So far, we have received over 30 over the years and of these we have hired 8.