Speaking as a minority employee at Nokia in the US, the main challenges and issues I have experienced have been mostly the same as those encountered by most other Nokia employees – adapting my workplace performance to provide consistently excellent contributions toward the business goals and objectives of Nokia amidst strong competition and constant change. Indeed, the ability of Nokia’s highly talented workforce to effectively adapt to changing business needs is what separates Nokia from most competitors. New hires coming into Nokia, whether minority employees or otherwise must come prepared to learn and to contribute. Nokia provides the work instructions, performance aids, frequent and relevant line-manager guidance, and feedback, and incentives its employees need to gain and grow the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to enhance their workplace performance. The learning and development opportunities at Nokia are colorblind. At Nokia, employees are expected to take advantage of the numerous training and performance improvement opportunities made available to them. Conversely, I feel that Nokia could do a better job of recognizing workplace excellence. With so many exceptionally talented employees, good performance sometimes seems to be taken for granted. Nokia could also make efforts to ensure that minorities are considered for higher-level leadership positions within the company, not just for the entry-level and first-line manager roles.

23 September, 2020 10:29