Aiming for a five-star customer experience

26. October 2015

The smooth cooperation between Technopolis and SOL is founded on a detailed service plan. – In a complex organisation, it is of the utmost importance that everyone knows their own role, Satu Hurme-Tikkanen, Group Service Manager, Workplace Design and Services at Technopolis says.

Titta Paananen, Service Manager, Helsinki Metropolitan Area at Technopolis, characterises the service concept of Technopolis as unique.
– We work to make our customers succeed. Our aim is to make their business prosper. We offer optimal facilities and services for companies of different types and sizes, allowing them to focus on their core business.
Satu Hurme-Tikkanen, Group Service Manager, Workplace Design and Services at Technopolis points out that Technopolis offers such a vast selection of services that each employee must know their role and tasks inside out.
– In a complex organisation, everyone must know who to contact in different situations.
Camilla Ottosson, Account Manager at SOL Palvelut says the cooperation with Technopolis dates back to 1999.
In Finland, the two companies cooperate in the cities of Espoo, Lappeenranta, Jyväskylä and Oulu. SOL provides cleaning, property and laundry services for Technopolis.
Hurme-Tikkanen does not see many differences between the Technopolis offices located in different cities.
– In Oulu, the companies often have more office space, some as much as 700 square metres. In Espoo, on the contrary, there are more small enterprises.

International partnership
Technopolis is becoming more international at a rapid space, and the SOL partnership model has been adopted in St. Petersburg and Vilnius. In these cities, the cooperation follows the same principles as in Finland.
– We use the same service concept everywhere, staying in regular contact with St. Petersburg and Vilnius, for example, with video conferences.
Paananen sees partnership with SOL as a vital element of putting the Technopolis goal and motto of five-star customer experience into practice.
– Our facility services include all the services that are important in the everyday life of companies. Lobby services, conference and restaurant services, temporary working spaces, cleaning, IT services, Paananen lists, not forgetting to mention laundry, hairdressing and children’s day care services.
– We started offering SOL laundry services to the personnel of Technopolis customers first in Oulu, Ottosson says.

– Our customers can leave their laundry with the lobby services and collect their clean clothes from the lobby. Who would not like that, she adds.

Our goal is to make life easy
– Making life easy. That is how we describe the Technopolis service plan and that is what we are offering. It is more than a concept, it is way of making the concept reality. We can achieve our mission when our personnel is dedicated and knows the common goal, Hurme-Tikkanen says.
– Some companies can choose to buy only cleaning services, for instance, but we have chosen differently. We look at the big picture from our point of view, Paananen notes.
– It is important to think about the end client, not at Technopolis, when buying the services, she adds.
Paananen and Ottosson both agree that a clear concept and operating model make everyday life easier. They share the vision of a well-functioning model that is founded on a clear set of rules.
– Even small deviations from the original agreement must be recorded, so that we can process them and address any problems, Paananen adds.
She says the meeting practices of both companies are very similar. However, this does not mean sitting around the same table every day.
– Every week, we hold a meeting where we discuss the practical side of things, and every three months, we organise more extensive meetings where we plan the operations together with service managers and site supervisors.

Controlling quality together
Ottosson says the aim of the monthly quality assurance meeting is to ensure everything works as agreed.
– We also conduct our own quality assurance checks and inspections, she adds.
Hurme-Tikkanen notes that the Finnish have a tendency to note on the negative rather than the positive.
– Sometimes, all that it takes is that a new cleaner arrives instead of the old, familiar one, she says.
– Thus, proper site orientation of temporary workforce – for example, during summer holidays – is crucial, Ottosson adds.
Every year, SOL organises a training session where the representatives of Technopolis are also present.
– At these meetings, we share our ideas for new operating models and, should they prove good, we implement them on a global scale.
However, Hurme-Tikkanen notes that the preliminary plan might not be enough at all times.
– If we did everything by the book, Camilla and I would only hear from each other twice a year, she laughs.
– That does not mean we call each other just to say hello. I leave the management of the operations entirely to SOL, but the idea is to address and resolve any everyday matters at once.
Hurme-Tikkanen says the Technopolis bonus system is designed to serve the goal of making life easy.
– It is a considerable incentive which we pay to our partners, based on the customer satisfaction survey and score. The prizes reflect customer satisfaction, and we are happy to pass them forward. Last year, Lappeenranta was selected as the best unit in Finland.