Nokian Tyres is the world’s northernmost tire manufacturer that offers peace of mind in all conditions. Our know-how stems from our Scandinavian roots and values. Sustainable safety and eco-friendliness across the entire life cycle are the goals for our passenger car tires, truck tires and heavy tires. Our Group also includes the Vianor chain, specialising in vehicle maintenance and tire services. In 2019, the company’s turnover was approximately EUR 1.6 billion and it employed some 4,700 people. Nokian Tyres is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

Nokian Tyres has had a brilliant growht story during the last decades. One of the key players in the success has been Susanna Tusa, Head of Legal for the Group. Susanna has actively participated in and supported the development of the global company. She has always been very committed to the firm; partly due to the fact that she´s from town called Nokia, the hometown for the company, herself.  After 13 years of legal matters she made a significant decision to move to specialist role in business development from the role of superior and member of the management board. What was behind her decision? And how it was possible to do such a special career move?

Coaching was a way forward

Minnariikka Rajala from Delficon started co-operation with Susanna Tusa with perfect timing. It clearly was time for Susanna to think of new, even ground breaking, ways to work for Nokian Tyres.  Susanna still felt that she definitely wanted to stay in the company she was very committed to, but her role needed to change. For several years she had wanted to work more ”hands-on” in business development. Her position as Head of Legal meant in a global listed company that main part of the job consisted of administrative tasks and that was not what motivated her anymore.  With Minnariikka they started to find the new path. The first task was to figure out with different kinds of tests and exercises what it is that Susanna really wants to do. Important part of the coaching was confidential and open discussion between Minnariikka and Susanna. When one is making special and not-so-common career move there is several matters to think about. How the organization takes the change? What about the new colleagues and their feelings about the situation? Susanna wanted to learn new things and get new challenges at this point of her career. But also make sure, that maybe later she can return to superior roles if that is inviting her again.

Results and benefits

It was possible to keep motivated, important and competent person in the company, because Nokian Tyres was open and compliant to the career move Susanna wanted to make. Susanna is especially thankfull for her new colleagues for the excellent and warm welcome she had in the new position. New role and new work tasks have been smoothly learned and embraced thanks to whole organization supporting her bold decision.

”I am very motivated and excited about my new work and the opportunity to learn new and challenge myself every day. In some way I even feel more usefull for the company now.  I am again very enthusiastic about my work”, explains Susanna Tusa.

Delficon´s and Minnarikka Rajala´s help and support was in a major role for Susanna´s career move. When big changes are made, it is very usefull to have discussions with someone outside the company, who can look things objectively and openly, keeping both advantage of the person and the company in mind equally.   ”Susanna has had a great career in Nokian Tyres. I had a priviledge as a coach to work with her in a situation where completely new role had to be found inside the company.  I am very impressed that a person like Susanna, who is very committed, broad-minded and eager to learn new, finds excatly right new direction for herself without having to change the company or resign.  In my opinion Susanna is very brave and bold leader for all of us: our career doesn´t have to always go by the beaten paths and what is expected. We all need to pause and listen to our inner voices. What is it that we really want? What do we need on a daily basis in order to be happy and content in our job?  If the current role is not completely satisfying, I strongly recommend thinking of other options inside the company. In this case the end result was very succesfull for both Susanna and Nokian Tyres”, tells Minnariikka Rajala from Delficon.

Erillisverkot is a wholly state-owned special-purpose company. We secure the critical leadership and information society services in all circumstances. We provide secure and reliable ICT services for public authorities and other critical operators of national security - for those that ordinary service is not enough. Our services are extremely reliable and therefore we develop overall security and safety in society, and our operations affect nearly everyone in Finland. Our aim is to ensure that Finland is forerunner in the co-operation of security service providers.

Erillisverkot has for long invested in development of the organisation. We have started a transition process due to quick reaction to changes in our business environment. We saw that our company culture and joined rules of working needed to be clarified in order to improve our internal and external co-operation. Our Management Team created a Road Map for the development and we have systematically followed those decisions. The content of the Road Map was crafted in a intense dialogue at the organisation. In that way we ensured that all the crucial aspect for our operations were discussed and developed.

We started to develop the co-operation and solid culture by analyzing together our working rules that are based on our company values. Based on the working rules we created management program focusing on these management principles, that are crafted jointly in company.  Uusi Erve- “New Erve” - program ensures that every manager is able to communicate our strategy to his/her team. And also gets feedback of his/her management skills through different kinds of tools. Joint development is very much encouraged in our company by teamwork, also across different teams and fields.

“Methods are steered to support the desired culture. That will in its own speed up the cohesion, co-operation and the better knowledge of special fields know-how  in the company”, explains Minnariikka Rajala, CEO of Delficon, the company that has been liable for the design of the development interventions for Erillisverkot.

“Erillisverkot develops continually its´ operations in the changing environment. We appreciate partner that is able to work with us long-term and responsibly. With Delficon we have developed and brightened our company culture and its´ essential building block: management skills and know-how. Our operations are focused on securing the safety of society, so we naturally need to have very committed and motivated staff in order to be able to generate top quality services”, says Timo Lehtimäki, CEO of Erillisverkot.

What was done

“Erillisverkot reacts actively to the changes and needs of environment by developing its´operations continually. We started a systematic journey to coherent operations taking into account with respect our operations special features.  The first part of the change process was the specify our thesis for management. This work was done by every manager and most of the specialists in our company. The change of company culture was led with the coaching of the Management Team. Currently all our managers are in the coaching. Main point is that our strategy and the joint goal of company is perceived and understood in the daily work of every employee of Erillisverkot.

Important part of the coaching has also been the joint development of the company values. In that the core is that every employee understands his/hers own values on life. “We believe here in Erilisverkot that our value-based operations are enhanced best by first perceiving the personal values that guide everyone of us daily”, says Timo Lehtimäki about the development path of the company.

“It is very important to discuss development and cultural matters together in order to create joint understanding of the targets we are aiming at. Coaching has made it possible to clarify and find the core focus for the daily work”, explains Minnariikka Rajala from Delficon.

Results and benefits

It´s clearly visible that the organization is more committed after the coaching. Understanding of the specil know-how of different functions has grown and it has increased the overall co-operation of the company. Jointly agreed management principles and bringing company´s strategy to everyday work of every employee has been important part in creating more coherent company culture. In the coaching was also offered individual feedback sessions where participants learned to indentify their own strenghts. That enhanced also the self-determination of employees.

“Erillisverkot has a very motivating task as such - to ensure the security of Finland. It´s still very admirable that the organization is very committed to long-term development. In our coaching staff was very into taking organization forward. That was exprienced through carefull, thoroughfull and genuine participation to our work. It´s not possible to ensure nation´s safety if the empolyees don´t have a very strong attitude of responsibility. That has also been made visible in the joint path of change”, tells Minnariikka Rajala of the co-operation.

Kamux is fast-growing used car sales retail company operating in Finland, Sweden and Germany. Kamux has 48 showrooms in Finland, 16 in Sweden and 4 in Germany. Kamux has sold over 220 000 used cars since it's founding and 46 596 cars last year (2018). Kamux turnover was 527,8 million euros in 2018 and personnel averaged 472 in year 2018. Kamux share is listed in Nasdaq Helsinki.

Kamux is growing and developing rapidly and at the same time it's business environment is in change as well. Kamux has also increased it's operations abroad extensively and that sets additional challenges and opportunities for the company. Amidst of growth our Executive Management team has been renewed in order to meet our ambitious goals. We needed help outside of the company to strenghten the co-operation of our Executive Management team, tells CEO of Kamux, Juha Kalliokoski.

What was done?

Delficon planned and arranged in very short timetable a coaching day for our Executive Management team. In Delficon´s consultation we discussed and sparred together our main areas for improvement and development. Most of all we concentrated on self leading skills for each individual on our team. Internationalisation and our fast growth requires that everyone grows into their full potential.  Through individual growth we can build shared culture for our company and are able to find the core in which we can build our values upon. In the coaching day we especially analyzed our communication and working styles, sparred one another and really got to know each other more deeply than what is normally possible in the usual strategy days.

“Delficon planned the coaching day by making an analysis of the current situation, giving pre-exercises to the team and mapping the expectations and desires of the team. Coaching day was organized according the themes found out from the analysis. During the day the Kamux Executive Management team set shared rules for their team work and those rules applied also into the individual level. We at Delficon we´re really impressed about the amazing “can-do” attitude of the team and the strong commitment to the joined goals. The team has a very brave attitude of meeting challenges and finding open-minded solutions for them”, explains CEO of Delficon, Minnariikka Rajala coaching days´methods and results.

Results and benefits

During the coaching day our communication culture and ways of communication took a big leap for the better. During only one day we managed to create very powerful intervention to the everyday work. We paused in order to create better company culture, find joined values and skills for self-management. Even though the time used for coaching was fairly short, the benefits are significant. Learnings and insights will work as a growth elements in our company´s development for the future.

Alma Talent is part of Alma Media Group. Alma Talent publishes digital and printed media and media content as well as books, as well as providing events, training and information services to professionals and businesses in various fields. In the autumn of 2015, Alma Media purchased an exchange offer for Talentum's entire share capital. A new business unit, Alma Talent, was created and started off in early 2016.

Alma Talent's CEO Juha-Petri Loimovuori explains how positive the situation was right from the beginning: "Alma Media has been a part owner of Talentum for 15 years and we had been in the same market for a minority position. The good thing was that we knew each other well, both human and business, and we prompted each other. But the challenge in merging is always the possibility of a malicious sullenness to grow up. In particular, the successful consolidation of deliveries was at the center of the design phase, says Loimovuori.

It was necessary to reach the path of a unified corporate culture and build a well-functioning, new management team by the end of 2016. The cut-off of overlapping operations began in February from the top line, and later in the spring, a whole organization revision was carried out. At the same time a management model and a new management team were formed for the new company.

At this point, we came up with the idea that we also needed external expertise to direct our operations, to bring corporate cultures together and to spy on management teamwork. We interviewed a few alternative actors and chose Delficon, who works briskly and has special skills in creating a performance-based culture and merging projects.

What was done?

Delficon implemented Alma Talent's business culture mapping and analyzed the starting point. The survey was conducted for all business areas through personal interviews and online surveys. The study showed that Alma's and Talentum's corporate cultures were very similar, but on the other hand, the research showed that different business areas were their own "sub-cultures" that differed from each other. This information helps us focus on development measures.

In the management team work, we wanted to ensure that we would save all the best of both companies and harmonize their operations. Personal management plays a key role when strategy and plans are put into practice. It is ultimately the result of successful cooperation between people and how they work in everyday life.

Results and benefits

Delficon has taken care of their part sharp and well. Everything was done in a very tight schedule. A couple of half-day coaching, interviews and feedback were able in a short time a lot of additional information, as well as the clarity of the lead roles of group members. The process with Delficon was useful and it is now easy to carry on this process forward.

Telia has embarked on a major change towards a more customer-oriented approach and has intensified its operations. Telia's Managing Director Valdur Laid launched an organizational reform and at the same time set up a new management team. For the launch of the new organization and as the facilitation partner, Delficon was selected from three candidates on the basis of the references.

What was done

Delficon's main task is to coach leadership teams and provide support for change management. "I am a believer of a team. Construction of teams is based on trust. The most important thing was to deepen the mutual trust between leadership teams. As team members rely on each other, they do not focus on avoiding conflicts, but create a united responsibility and get free to reach the top performance. A effective team knows the strengths of each other and is not afraid to show its vulnerability. Human is in the center, "says Valdur Laid.

Results and benefits

We are not at the goal yet, and Telia's cooperation with Delficon will continue. Minnariikka Rajala is now continuing her work with the lower level teams and continues at the same time as the manager team member's sparring partner. "Minnariikka Rajala raises new perspectives. He works boldly but respectfully. As a facilitator Minnariikka also has a strong view and good human knowledge. She brings out people's know-how and is straight and precise with her feedback. "

"The change in the organization thrives from the attitude of the leader. Dare to step into your discomfort area. This is knowledge work: when a supervisor himself becomes vulnerable and is self-reliant, he will become trusted. Everyone should go out of their shell, make an effort, "Valdur Laid, managing director, decides.

Fazer Brands Finland's new management team started operations at the beginning of 2013. It was clear to Tom Lindblad that effective co-operation is based on trust and the fact that different people bring their know-how to common use. According to him, the members of the management team not only passionate with the example of the whole organization, they also bring energy to each other.

Fazer is a family business whose history and culture mean quality and fine traditions. The market in which the company operates is, however, rapidly changing. Lindblad believes that market change is a common within industry to industry. Businesses need to be able to be agile to meet the challenges. The management team needs to evaluate situations quickly and be sensitive. A management team that works well together is in the best position.

What was done

Tom Lindblad tells about co-operation with Delficon, it was in just-right stage when the new management team had been able to work together only for a few months. "Coaching came in good timing. We got to tell about our roles, goals, and what we want to highlight in the future. Coaching was not only for the group, but also for the development of individuals. In an early stage we begun to talk about ourselves as humans - about what each of us brings to co-operation. Coaching brought the process and the methods for this conversation.

Despite the fast-paced joint spirit, Lindblad sees management team training as a process with stops at regular intervals to consider development targets.

Results and benefits

According to Lindblad, the value of coaching crystallized to materialize the issues and activate the discussion. The easy-to-access consultant was able to take the conversation into the right things and asked for clarification, decisions and development from both the team and the people. "I can now say that coaching has further compounded our group and hacked together. Our group has a good and confident atmosphere, "Lindblad says.

Delficon's CEO Minnariikka Rajala explains that Lindblad has clarified the basic task of the company for his organization and has built up a supportive way of doing it. "Tom is always challenging for a renewal, but he is able to maintain joy in work. Fazer has a good mood sensation. No one is too busy to find another ", Rajala describes.

"The corporate culture eats the strategy for lunch," says Ritva Paavonsalo, Managing Director of Leijona Catering. Leo Catering employing 470 people is facing big changes. The business environment changes significantly as the services purchased by the Defense Forces are released to open competition.

What was done

Delficon implemented the foundation for the development of corporate culture analysis. Leijona Catering has also renewed its strategy and is seeking growth also among the staff restaurants. Business culture analysis was implemented for all staff. "The research process and responding went smoothly.”

Results and benefits

The analysis gave an excellent picture of the current state of Leijona with its strengths and developmental points. Throughout the process, a lively and honest conversation about the current Leijona culture was a very useful one in the course of the results. We all shared a common vision of strengths and development goals, " says Ritva Paavonsalo. Based on the results, no separate development program was launched. The results were included in the ongoing trainings and management trainings and next year's action plans.

Today’s business is increasingly based on business ecosystems and networking. New ideas are born in encounters both inside the company and with partners, and forerunner companies know how to build, support and lead networks that produce added value for customers. The success of Microsoft is not only built on widely adopted products, but more and more on partnerships that provide a strong growth potential for the business.

Microsoft is strongly involved in the renewal of working life. New operating models are sought, models that are more productive and also more motivating than old ones. The role of Microsoft’s own products is obviously important in this change, but an equally important change can be seen in new working premises that support collaboration and encounters in offices, producing new thoughts and ideas during the day.

Ari Rahkonen, Managing Director for Microsoft Finland believes that competence in networking - both within the organization and externally - is part of the toolbox of future leaders. Leaders have to know how to support their own teams and their partners to develop and to succeed, and at the same time ensure that customer promises are being delivered. Rahkonen talks a lot about a new kind of leadership, and has started the change in his own organization. In his blog posts he describes how ”the stone-aged controversy between a manager and a subordinate has to be demolished, and we should start a collaboration that involves a dialogue.” He continues: ”The implementation requires an open-minded attitude, a lot of trust and the capability to challenge and to be challenged. ”

What was done

Delficon has played the part of an external catalyst in the change within Microsoft Finland. The development work has involved management team trainings that clarified the roles of the team members and improved collaboration.

Research has been used as a basis to analyze each individual’s way of working. Tasks have been derived from these analyses – the desired change has been taken into practice and words have become deeds

The results and benefits

Both Rahkonen and Tytti Bergman, HR Director at Microsoft, consider that the key benefit of trainings has been the leadership analysis provided by an external consultant. This has helped to visualize the company situation in a new way and has provided with an honest status review as a basis for the trainings. Bergman also says that an external developer brings structure and goal-orientation into a project – something that is difficult to build from the inside.