Customer experience sets your company apart
I n a couple of years, customer experience
has become a buzzword an increasing
number of companies swear by.
– Customer experience is a tremendously underutilized, strategic opportunity, which can help companies
climb mountains, says partner Janne
Löytänä from Futurelab.
A company can try to influence the
experience positively, but ultimately customers create it themselves. It is a set of
experiences, expectations, images, and,
nowadays, to a growing extent, reviews
and testimonials of peer networks.
– If companies want to turn customer experience into a competitive factor, that’s a strategic decision, which is
made by the company’s senior management and Board of Directors, Löytänä
stresses.
Many different companies can benefit from customer experience, be it a law
firm, a game developer or a real estate
investment company.
Game developer Housemarque has recently moved to shiny
new premises in central Helsinki. Pictured in the kitchen
Mikko Eerola and Anu Tukeva.
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TEXT ELISA HELAVUORI, PHOTO MIIKA KAINU
SPONDA STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE | AUTUMN 2013
Helsinki-based Krogerus is one of Finland’s biggest, but not necessarily the
most traditional law firms. At least if
you conclude something from the shimmering white walls lined with modern art, modern Scandinavian decor
and happy chatter by the office coffee
machine.
Krogerus, which specialises in corporate law, received – as the first ever
Finnish law firm – a prestigious recognition for its work this year. The Cham-
1
ber Award for Excellence bestowed by
the independent organisation Chambers Europe is, above all, recognition for
the firm’s persistent work, says Managing
Partner Juha Pekka Katainen.
– The award signals that we have
managed to build a right kind of corporate culture. In the long run, customer
experience determines a company’s success; it’s the measure of everything.
People are at the core of Krogerus’
business. In terms of staff size, Krogerus
isn’t a small law firm.
– The industry is demanding and
stressful, so it’s important that this is
counterbalanced by a friendly and positive atmosphere, Katainen says.
Housemarque is a medium-sized Finnish developer of digital downloadable
games. Millions in sales are yet to be
earned, but the company has had positive reviews and has grown.
Housemarque, which moved to new
premises on Kasarminkatu in Helsinki,
wants to start bringing new games to
the market also by publishing them on
its own. Then the primary client is not
a game publisher but those millions of
consumers to whom the game products
are offered. Operational risks and possible gains are also bigger.
– We are focused on creating rewarding, and at the same time challenging,
gaming experiences for our customers,
Housemarque’s CEO Ilari Kuittinen
sums up.
Sponda has two focal points in its strategy. One is environmental responsibility, and the other customer experience.
– Clients are a core asset for every
company. For us, customer experience
is a strategic process. With customer experience in our focus, we can build confidential relationships with customers and
gain a competitive advantage, Customer
Experience Manager Mika Ollikainen
notes.
Customer experience is integrated into the whole service path, which is often
very long in the real estate industry. The
search for new premises takes time, and
rental agreements are signed to last several years.
– When we understand the needs
of our customers well, we are able to
offer them tangible benefits. We also want to ensure that our operations
communicate the values and practices
we believe in. We should convey a professional, innovative and customer-oriented image.
New premises must support clients’
businesses. Sponda has a wide range of
high-quality properties situated in prime
locations.
– We must be able to understand our
customers’ needs as well as have a strong
knowledge of the properties we offer.
Also multi-channel customer service
is important. Every good experience in
customer service encounters strengthens confidence and engages partners,
Ollikainen stresses.
Anita Riikonen
SPONDA PLC
Korkeavuorenkatu 45
P.O. Box 940
FI-00101 Helsinki
www.sponda.com
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Alma 360
P.O.Box 502, FI-00101 Helsinki
www.alma360.fi
Translations: Nina Garlo-Melkas
Layout: xxxxx
A Good Future as Company Strategy
KARI INKINEN
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editorial
CEO
I
n early September, we renewed our business strategy. We
have an ever stronger focus on the ownership, leasing and
development of office and shopping centre property in the
Helsinki Metropolitan Area and Tampere – in other words
in those business segments and regions where we have
already showed strength.
We have continuously adjusted our business
operations according to current economic and
market conditions, but several years have passed
since our previous strategy update. In that time
the needs and consumer behaviours of our
customers have changed. We want to, and we
will be able to, respond to these changes even
better than before with the help of our new
strategy.
Our goal is to be the number one choice for
customers looking for new office space. With
business models altering, and the ways our clients
perform their daily work also changing, we have
to be ready to develop our business operations
to meet new demands. And this is what our
strategy renewal is all about.
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The main goals of our new strategy are profitable
growth, the simplification of our business structure,
and an increase in our property offering in our key
market areas. By focusing on the areas where we are
already strong, we can offer our customers more choice.
Customer needs can be ideally met when business
processes are clear and straightforward and when the
exchange of information runs smoothly within an
organisation.
In order to be able to take steps in the right
direction, we must keep our eyes fixed on what lies
ahead. What will office work be like in the future,
what type of office space will be ideal for performing
work, and what will be the role of shopping centres
tomorrow?
A forerunner is also required to offer services that
customers do not necessarily even know they could ask
for. Our highly professional staff is very well acquainted
with different types of real estate, and is able to offer
suitable business space solutions to meet various needs.
The end result is a successful customer experience – a
win-win situation for everyone.
2
Technology Experiences
in Flagship Store
In early August, the first-ever Nordic Samsung Experience Store was
opened in collaboration between Samsung and Finnish telecoms operator DNA at the Citycenter shopping mall in Helsinki. Samsung’s new flagship store has the hottest mobile phone models, tablets, laptops, cameras, as well as accessories on display.
Samsung Electronics Finland’s Vice President Peter Roos says that
choosing Finland as the new home for Samsung’s concept outlet was no coincidence: Finns are known for grabbing on to new technology very quickly,
and this makes the country a good test market for introducing new technologies and solutions.
– Just recently, Samsung opened a research and development facility in
Finland, which demonstrates the company’s interest in Finland’s technological
know-how and the industry’s positive attitude towards innovations, Roos says.
The purpose of the new Samsung Experience Store is to act as a source
of inspiration for consumers, unlike traditional multi-brand selling outlets,
which focus largely on selling basic phone models and their accessories.
Finding business premises at the heart of Helsinki, which fit Samsung’s
needs perfectly, took a long time.
– We didn’t settle for a second-class business location – we wanted premium-class commercial space. Our location in the centre of Helsinki, right
next to the Helsinki Central railway station, helps us reach a larger group
of customers easily.
Roos says that the number of shop visitors is already in line with expectations.
– In the consumer sector smart phones are going to be the next big thing,
and we expect the demand for tablets to surge as well.
TEXT NINA GARLO-MELKAS, PHOTO MIIKA KAINU
Real
EDITOR IN CHIEF
IT Services from a Beanbag
or Standing Up
The pink, lime green and blue furniture and rugs structure the white open plan
office. The glass domes in the ceiling bring in natural light, giving the office an
even more spacious feel.
TEXT LINDA PYNNÖNEN PHOTOS MIIKA KAINU
I n August, Europe’s leading information technology services company, Atos moved into
their own premises in Mäkkylä, in Espoo Finland. For the
past two years, the 400 employees of the Espoo offices worked
in their former parent company
Siemens’s premises. The transfer to the new offices was only
some 600 metres and the relocaSPONDA STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE
tion of all items took only a day
in August. But the mental leap
was more demanding.
The company, which offers
technology, outsourcing and payment transfer services as well as
consultancy and application support services, doesn’t have personal work stations for each employee
in their new premises. Instead, all
work stations are shared.
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The premises have quiet, soundproof rooms for telephone conferences. Conference and teamwork rooms offer
a space for quiet meetings, and
in one meeting room the tables
and chairs have given way to
impressive beanbags and creative work.
– In our old premises you
might spend the entire working
day sitting at your own work
station. Now you have to move
about because different functions have designated areas,
Tapio Korhonen, the man in
charge of the transfer project
from Atos, explains.
Enjoyable and secure
The company chose the Sponda-owned property because it’s
3
a good size and in a familiar area
that’s easy to reach. In the designing stage, careful attention was
paid to improving enjoyableness
but also information security.
– Within these walls there is
a lot of information relating to
our customers, which is meant
for certain eyes only. We wanted
to be sure that this is what really
happens, Korhonen says.
In the meeting rooms, flip
charts were replaced with big
touch screens which can be connected to laptops. In this way,
notes written in each meeting
can be saved and shared with
the persons involved, and not left
there for the next people occupying the room to see.
Atos delivers services to the
manufacturing industry, commerce, transport and health care
sectors as well as the public sector. In the IT sector, there can be
a sudden call for expansion, and
the new premises have been designed with this is mind.
Various small but smart solutions make the work space at
Atos more enjoyable. For example the height of the tables can
be adjusted by pressing a button
so it is easy to find an ergonomic
working position.
Even though the work spaces are comfortable, the heart of
the premises is the break room.
Decorated with bright pink and
green, the room is like a combined kitchen and lounge. One
end houses an efficient and superior-looking coffee maker.
– The kitchen has literally
been built around the coffee machine – the first step was choosing the coffee maker. We wanted
a machine that makes first-rate
coffee instead of the traditional office battery acid, Korhonen
says.
Sponda awarded
for sustainability
reporting
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Frantic’s digital planning and production is made
with pure love.
The premises have been custom made for Frantic by Sponda. Relander says the set of rooms was
effectively blown up and built afresh. Now the office is one continuous space with a podium for work
stations in the middle. On either side of the podium
long tables offer room for team work. Only meeting
rooms along the sides of the office are behind doors.
The open space with its team work elements reflects the company’s work culture.
– Our work method is fast and interactive. Because client projects come and go at a fast pace, we
must be flexible and able to work with different people. This calls for a mobile mind.
TEXT MARITA KOKKO, PHOTOS ARSI IKÄHEIMONEN
T
he property on Kalevankatu 30, Helsinki, designed by architect Ole Gripenberg,
was completed in 1928. Originally it was
used as a factory by Ab Oxygenium Oy.
The building was badly damaged during the wars
and was later turned into an office building. It was
completely refurbished in 1999.
The digital agency Frantic moved into the building situated in the centre of Helsinki slightly over a
year ago. The property has a purposely traditional
factory feel.
– We were looking for a stark contrast, depth in
our operations. Or to put differently, we didn’t want
our digital work to be framed by shiny new structures and glass walls, says Sami Relander, CEO of
Frantic.
Frantic is 17 years old and Relander brags it’s the
most experienced digital agency in the country. It was
among the first bringing the business into Finland.
– We design services to people and to places,
where people already are. New services come to
the market continuously, the hottest new services
as often as every six months. It’s the name of the
game, Relander says.
The doormat heralds the stark contrast between
the staircase and office space. It reveals that the
4
Kitchen Mecca in Helsinki
The front door opens to an intimately lit space. One wall houses knives in several rows, another is decorated with brightly coloured pots and the back of the shop is taken over by a rustic
kitchen complete with a kitchen island and bar stools. At the
back is where you can also find the owner of Kokkipuoti, Kiira
Öhblom. She says it’s sometimes good to call the kettle black.
– If food gets burnt continuously, the fault is not necessarily
in the chef, Öhblom says and advises to invest in quality equipment, even if you are not a master chef.
– Our customers are both foodies and people who are puzzled
by the sheer amount of pans or who find choosing a good knife a
challenge. Ingredients are, however, the same for every chef and
a good utensil makes cooking easier, Öhblom sums up.
Inexperienced chefs should come to the shop on Korkeavuorenkatu in Helsinki, although products can also be ordered online. Öhblom says these days it’s difficult to operate without an
online shop but the best advice for cooking conundrums can be
found from the well-located shop.
– We advise our customers a great deal and ask them about their
wishes and experiences. Visiting our shop allows you to explore
the products, see their colours in the flesh, and try how they feel.
There is a pile of muffin and cake tins next to the front door.
The second coming of coffee cakes and the hands-on trend are
witnessed here, as are other trends. One interesting phenomenon is children chefs. Cooking is now as acceptable a hobby for
children as is any other.
– People now want to do everything from scratch and finish off
their pastries with decorations. Fantasy cakes and cupcakes have
long been popular. Food is slowly cooked for hours and sausages
are homemade, Öhblom says.
TEXT ANNA KAUHALA, PHOTO ALEKSI POUTANEN
Digital, with Love
Sponda has been successful
in environmental responsibility programs. In the Global Real-Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) survey, Sponda was amongst the top quarter of companies. The report
is based on data gathered
from 543 property firms, which
reached on average 43 points
out of a total of 100. Sponda
scored 61 points.
Sponda also received betterthan-average points in CDP report, which provides companies
with a global system for measuring environmental information. The Nordic average was 73
points out of 100, and a C-rating. Sponda was ranked somewhat higher than the Nordic
average with its 78 points and
a B-rating.
– We are delighted that our
work has been recognised. We
have focused on the right issues by continuously developing our business together with
our customers and our other
stakeholders. A company that
is transparent about sustainability is also interesting in the
eyes of the investor, says VeliPekka Tanhuanpää, Senior Vice
President at Sponda’s Property
Development division.