Customer Experience Interview

Company: Funidata Oy

Interviewee: Mikaela Kivinen

Can you tell us briefly about your company and your role?

Funidata is a Finnish software company that develops and maintains learning and teaching management systems for higher education institutions. We build smart and sustainable digital services for the changing needs of learners and higher education institutions.

We are a team of over 70 experts. I work as a People Partner myself, and at Funidata my area of ​​responsibility includes recruitment and competence development.

What were your biggest challenges in competence development before implementing Skilbit?

One of our key challenges was that strategic capabilities had not yet been defined for our new strategy period, on the basis of which competence development could be systematically planned and guided. This caused uncertainty about what kind of competence would be needed in the future, and how current competence should be developed.

Why did you decide to invest in skills mapping and visualization?

We wanted to build a clearer foundation for skills management and development. Defining strategic capabilities and linking them to everyday skills was seen as a critical prerequisite for being able to target skills development correctly, support staff development and ensure that our strategy is also implemented at the skills level. Skilbit offered us a concrete way to structure and visualize skills.

Problem and need

What concrete problems did you identify before implementing Skilbit?

Our biggest challenge was that we did not have a clear overall picture of the strategic capabilities and skills that would help us achieve the set strategic goals. Skills were identified at individual teams or individual levels, but we lacked a unified view of the skills situation in the whole organization.

How did these problems affect business, employee development or decision-making?

Without a comprehensive understanding of the current state of competence, it was difficult to prioritize development activities or target learning in strategically important directions. We also did not see clearly what kind of strengths we already have and where the skills gaps exist.

Skilbit implementation

How did the implementation go?

The implementation progressed in stages in cooperation with Kined Consulting’s Kaisa Savola. We started with workshops, attended by our management and People & Culture teams. In the workshops, we defined the capabilities that were essential for Funidata's strategy and linked the key skills to them.

Then, these capabilities and skills were linked to our job profiles in Skilbit. The first skills view was created from our staff’s self-assessments in Skilbit.

Cooperation with Kaisa went very well – we received concrete examples and support in structuring and verbalizing the capabilities.

Which features of Skilbit have been most valuable to you?

Skilbit's visual skill views have been particularly useful. With them, we have gained a clear picture of the entire organization's skill profile and existing skill gaps. In addition, we’ve been able to view capabilities and skills at an individual level, supporting in personnel growth discussions.

Results and impacts

How has the skill and skill data changed with the use of Skilbit?

With the introduction of Skilbit, we now have much better visibility into Funidata's skills. The skill data is now collected in one place and is easily visualized. This has enabled us to plan skill development with new precision - we now know more clearly what skills we want to strengthen in the future and what kind of skill gaps we need to close.

Can you give examples of how the insights gained from Skilbit have improved decision-making?

Skill data has been used concretely in skill development and management. We have been able to make informed choices about development targets and direct resources to the right places. In addition, individual-level self-assessments have been utilized in one-to-one discussions between team leads and employees.

Have you seen any progress in competence development or employee engagement?

Skilbit has supported constructive discussions about competence at both individual and organizational levels. Although we are still at the early stages of the development path, self-assessments have been seen as useful and have opened up new perspectives on one’s own competence and itssignificance for Funidata’s goals.

Lessons learned and future plans

What advice would you give to companies considering a competence-based approach?

It is particularly useful to stop and think about which capabilities and skills are central to the organization’s strategy. It is important to be clear about the direction in which the organization wants to develop and how capabilities supports this journey.

Defining strategic capabiities is key to targeting capability development correctly.

What are your next plans for skills development and workforce planning?

Mapping the current state was an important first step forus, which will help us make skills development more strategic.

We will continue to systematically develop skills and utilize Skilbit data, because skills development is an ongoing process, and with Skilbit we can monitor developments and take necessary measures.

How do you see Skilbit supporting your organization in the future?

Skilbit data can be utilized in a variety of ways, both at the organizational and individual levels, and helps us ensure that development projects and skills development are aligned with the strategy.

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