Finago Wanted an International and Experienced Training Partner

Finago has grown rapidly in recent years, and that growth continues. Today, its personnel represent more than 12 different nationalities. Rapid growth, changes in ways of working brought about by acquisitions, financial targets, and a multinational working environment all place a wide range of demands on leadership.

“As part of our organizational change, we wanted to create a new, shared way of leading people and handling interpersonal situations, while also supporting and strengthening our organization’s shared culture and values: trust, respect, courage, and future. From the perspective of employee experience, it is important that every employee can trust that all our managers have received high-quality training and guidance to ensure good leadership,” says Pirki Väisänen, VP People Operations.

Internationally Scalable and Diverse Leadership Training

“Our international nature and strategic international goals required us to find a partner with experienced international trainers. We also wanted a partner that is internationally recognized and able to offer a training program that supports the changing needs and responsibilities of managers as they progress in their careers,” says Pirki Väisänen.

“Educo represents Blanchard in Finland, which gave us access to Blanchard’s extensive global network of trainers and concepts. With the help of Educo’s experts, we were able to select the most suitable trainer and themes for our needs. We gained an internationally highly experienced trainer, Rares Manolescu, who served as our lead trainer throughout the entire extensive training program. This was extremely important for the success of the whole,” says Pirki Väisänen.

Finago’s leadership training was not assembled from separate, disconnected training days on different themes. Instead, it was designed as an impactful learning journey based on the company’s situation and strategic goals. At the heart of the learning journey was Blanchard’s SLII®, the world’s most widely taught leadership model, which helps leaders learn to use the leadership style that best matches each employee’s needs. This was deepened with two themes that are essential to good people leadership: trust and coaching skills. The program made use of Blanchard’s Building Trust and Coaching Essentials® training programs.

The learning journey was delivered through a combination of in-person training, diverse digital learning solutions, and online learning discussions facilitated by the trainer. More than 75 leaders were divided into five groups, which started at staggered times. However, within six months, all groups had completed the same learning journey.

“The pace was fast, but it was important for us to get everyone, so to speak, onto the same page as quickly as possible. Operationally, this was an ambitious goal for us, but because our management team was committed, we were able to make the schedules work. It was excellent that we found a partner who understood our strategically important need for alignment and was able to meet the timeline while ensuring that the same high quality of learning and training was maintained for all participants,” says Pirki Väisänen, VP People Operations.

An Impactful Partnership and Learning Experience

“We have been extremely satisfied with our partnership with Educo—Educo has met all our expectations. Together, we were able to define the areas that mattered most to us and ensure that the entire training program supported our company’s goals in every respect. The training has been strongly linked to KPI metrics and company objectives. In our most recent employee satisfaction survey, leadership scored an outstanding 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5. Our employee turnover is also now among the lowest in our industry,” says Pirki Väisänen.

One of the managers who took part in the training was Customer Service Manager Inka Heikkilä. She, too, has been very pleased with the training.

“I really enjoyed the training. It was refreshing to hear about other theories in addition to coaching-based leadership. I had long been wondering whether there were other schools of thought in leadership besides coaching, because during my career, coaching has not been suitable for every situation. This training also opened my eyes to seeing people’s competence more as separate skills rather than as one overall whole. That makes it easier to guide people in the right direction and help them develop,” says Inka Heikkilä.

“The training has given me a deeper understanding of why people react differently, for example in change situations, and how they can be supported. It has also helped me understand that leading in just one way does not produce good results. It was great to notice that some of my team members gave me positive feedback quite soon after the training on how I had changed my leadership style. I also noticed myself that leadership became easier when my toolbox included options beyond coaching-based leadership,” continues Customer Service Manager Inka Heikkilä.

Educo’s digital learning platform, Blanchard Exchange, where the entire learning journey was built, also played a significant role in the overall experience and learning impact.

“We have also been particularly pleased with Blanchard Exchange and the support that individual managers can receive through it after the training has ended,” adds Pirki Väisänen, VP People Operations.

Investing in Manager Training Pays Off

Future organizations will stand out through strong frontline leadership. More and more organizations are also systematically building this competitive advantage by training managers throughout the organization.

“The role of managers is becoming even more important as the world shifts increasingly toward hybrid ways of working. Change is faster, and the crises around us affect everyone. For these reasons, it is important to invest more in leadership and ensure that managers have the tools they need to succeed in their work,” says Pirki Väisänen.

She recommends partnering with Educo for this. International organizations in particular should choose a partner that is genuinely capable of delivering high-quality leadership training that scales internationally.

“In our view, Educo’s broad and customizable training solution is an excellent choice especially for multicultural companies and organizations aiming to build multicultural teams,” Pirki Väisänen specifies.

Finago is a software company specializing in electronic financial management. It offers a full range of electronic financial management solutions for different organizations and accounting firms. Its software is used by more than 3,000 accounting firms and over 200,000 companies in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia. Finago’s vision is to provide the best digital solutions to support its customers’ business operations.

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