Yrjö ja Hanna: Why we got IMS – we just had to!

The Yrjö and Hanna Foundation was founded in 1996 by the YH service house. It is a nationally operating, non-profit foundation whose purpose is to support the welfare and quality of life of the elderly, disabled, children and other people needing help with daily activities. To this end, the Foundation acquires or owns real estate, and it owns or leases plots on which it builds buildings. Building flats are rented or are owner-occupied homes for the elderly, disabled or other people in need of daily assistance. The Foundation also maintains the above-mentioned buildings, offers day care and recreational activities for children, supplies housing, home, support, rehabilitation, medical care, recreation services and develops new business models.

Yrjö ja Hanna Oy was founded in 2006. Service activities were transferred from the Foundation to the company in the beginning of 2008, and service personnel became employees of the company. The company has approximately 130 indefinite length employee contracts and about 180 monthly salary contracts. The company currently has eight offices across Finland. The company's values are customer focus, efficiency, active networking and innovation.

Why IMS?

The Yrjö and Hanna Foundation’s organization is scattered across the country and maintenance of an operating system in paper form is therefore difficult, if not impossible. The organization had a need for a tool whereby information could be distributed to everyone simultaneously and consistently.”It was absolutely necessary to acquire an operating system,” says Service Director Kirsi Ala-Jaakkola.

The Yrjö and Hanna organization consists of eight different buildings which have been set up at different times for different needs. The houses have the stamp of their own regions and they have so far worked relatively independently, creating their own culture. As a result, a common approach has not formed for the entire organization. This has created difficulties with management and evaluating activities.”In general, agreeing to common practices eases many things,” Ala-Jaakkola says and continues.”The construction process is still ongoing, but already we have seen the benefits of the system and more is expected when it is completed and put into proper use."

"During the process of building the system, a number of benefits have been revealed. Activities have been reviewed at different levels of organization: Board of Directors, management team and service buildings. Our range of services has been clarified in a chart; now we know what we do and don’t do," Ala-Jaakkola observes.”Thinking together has given staff a clearer picture of the organization. Documents and forms are now available to all, and the system offers the possibility of internal communication, making operations more transparent. The aim is also to make the indicators of residents’ well-being more consistent, providing a clearer picture of the people's condition and care needs.”

Build e-Operating System – development program

Yrjö and Hanna began the nine-day Build E-Operating System development program last spring. In addition to Service Director Ala-Jaakkola, Quality Chief Marja Lehdonmäki is involved in the course.”Many people are building their own operating systems alongside their job and the course offers good support for this. It structures activity: it is necessary to achieve a final product when every day has its own clear goal to focus on," Ala-Jaakkola says and continues.”We have received a lot of support from the course in the construction of the operating system. In addition, it is financially beneficial that the course price is reasonable. A separately hired consultant would be more expensive, and even then the system would not be self-made. Now it is necessary to reflect and do things yourself.”

"One should allocate sufficient time for the work and things should not be assumed to be done in some way, but should rather be discussed with the organization. Tasks should also be distributed among multiple persons within the organization and in particular a project plan should be adhered to. The course should be attended by at least two people from the organization in order to be best utilized."

The future

Ala-Jaakkola has a positive image of the future, even though there has been little time for much thought beyond the time after the system becomes ready to start: "People have had a positive attitude towards the introduction of the system, since the problems it is intended to solve are seen in daily work. Naturally, all the benefits have not yet been seen because the system is incomplete. But results are anticipated from the indicators, so that we can see the increase in efficiency and areas of development in our activities. Overall, I hope that affairs can be taken care of with fluency and clarity – that will benefit both customers and the staff."