Providing customer support
User support will be available for reading digital official mail as appropriate. The support contact must be easy to discover for the user, the support provided must be clear, understandable, and provided in at least Finnish and Swedish. Support must be available for activating, using, and deactivating the digital mail operator’s own service.
Support must also be capable of providing the customer with general information on how official communications are arranged. In addition to customer support, the digital mail operator must provide clear instructions for using its service.
If the customer has specific questions about the use of Suomi.fi Messages, they should be directed to the instructions for Suomi.fi MessagesOpens in a new window. or the advisory service on Suomi.fi servicesOpens in a new window.. If the customer has questions about the content of an official message, they should be directed to the customer service of the public authority in question. The duty to provide customer support cannot be delegated to a private operator without a specific reason founded in law due to its public service nature.
In practice, a digital mail operator must:
- provide general guidance to users on the operating logic of how official messages are sent;
- provide technical user support regarding its own application; and
- direct the customer to the correct public authority as appropriate.
The detailed division of responsibilities is laid down in the agreement with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
Customer support during disruptions and in preparation for them
In advance, digital mail operators must plan their customer support and communication in a disruption. This means training for personnel to respond to disruptions, what to do in the event of one, and making sure that related communications are provided in at least Finnish and Swedish.
During a disruption or threat, the digital mail operator must immediately notify its users of the following:
- estimated duration of the threat or disruption;
- instructions for an alternate method to read their official messages through Suomi.fi Messages, if the messages become unavailable in the digital mail operator’s service;
- when the disruption or threat has ended.
The digital mail operator and the Digital and Population Data Services Agency should work together to resolve the disruption, minimise its impact, and provide information to users. Joint exercises and planned communications can also help to prepare for disruptions.
Planning the cooperation model and training
As the digital mail operator prepares to display official messages in its service, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency will review the specific operating models, contact channels and persons in charge of advisory services and disruption management before production use begins with the digital mail operator.
The Digital and Population Data Services Agency may also provide training for the digital mail operator's personnel, such as their customer service to allow them to provide sufficient information on the system to the customer.
The digital mail operator must appoint a person in charge of the customer support cooperation, who will inform the operator's personnel about the questions related to performing the tasks and act as the general point of contact for ensuring operational quality.