Benefits of Suomi.fi Messages for wellbeing services counties – 5 key perspectives

The services of the wellbeing services counties apply to almost every Finn. At the same time, a great deal is required of customer communications: decisions, appointments, invitations, requests for clarification and instructions are sent in huge numbers, and they must be as clear as possible. The significance of electronic and secure communications is further emphasised when services are provided by several service providers and the customer’s service paths comprise multiple phases.

In this blog, we explain five key things about Suomi.fi Messages that can help wellbeing services counties in customer communications.

1. Savings where communication volumes are high

One of the most concrete benefits is that traditional paper letters are being replaced by electronic communications. The number of messages sent within the wellbeing services counties is considerable. Paper, printing and postal charges are a major expense, which also consumes the time of employees.

Suomi.fi Messages frees up resources from the time taken mailing paper letters while also bringing savings to wellbeing services counties. Letters no longer need to be printed, put in envelopes and distributed. Instead, Suomi.fi Messages takes care of whether the message is sent to the customer by electronic or paper mail. This will allow the personnel to focus on tasks that produce more value for the customer and the wellbeing services county.

A wellbeing services county can send appointment and invitation letters and instructions for appointments or studies to Suomi.fi Messages. Suomi.fi Messages also enables the submission of various requests for information. This can be built so it facilitates two-way communications allowing customers to also initiate communications with the wellbeing services county. Other common uses in wellbeing services counties include the sending of various decisions and notifications. Wellbeing services counties can also send invoices through Suomi.fi Messages. The service is being steadily developed and is gradually expanding to new uses.

2. More efficient communication and multi-location services

An electronic message reaches the recipient immediately. A notification or decision that has previously been sent by paper mail can now be read almost in real time in Suomi.fi Messages. This shortens processing times and can at best speed up decision-making and the initiation of further measures.

The up-to-date and fast flow of information also reduces uncertainty and the need for separate enquiries. This may reduce, for example, telephone services and failure demand when the customer receives the information as soon as it is ready. At the same time, the organisation has the knowledge that the message has been delivered reliably to the correct recipient.

Suomi.fi Messages supports multi-location services in everyday life. The recipient can read their messages regardless of their location: at home, on a commute, in the locality where their studies take place or at their holiday home. It is no longer necessary to ensure that important mail has been delivered to the correct address or whether you might miss out on information tied to a deadline. Electronic messages support a mobile lifestyle and help customers with multiple addresses or changing life situations.

3. Improved customer experience and findability of messages

When all official messages arrive in one digital mailbox, they are easier to find and keep track of. Customers do not need to search for letters in stacks of mail or worry about losing them. Important official mail is easy to access anywhere, anytime.

Consistent and centralised communication improves the customer experience and makes transactions clear and reliable. The customer can return to the messages later, check the contents and deadlines in decisions and manage their own transactions in peace. This helps make services accessible and customer-oriented.

In practice, the affairs of numerous customers of the wellbeing services county are managed by a person close to them, such as a family member or other trusted person. Suomi.fi Messages also supports smooth services when acting on behalf of another person. This allows individuals acting on behalf of another person to keep up to date on important messages and decisions made by the authorities that have been sent to the person close to them. The possibility of acting on behalf of another person makes it significantly easier to handle matters, reduces misunderstandings and supports the timely initiation of matters. At the same time, the customer and those close to them feel that the service is progressing in a well-managed and safe manner.

4. Strong identification provides security

Messages are sent via Suomi.fi are sent to a recipient Messages using their unique personal identity code. Received messages can be read when logged in through strong identification. This provides two key benefits:

• Messages will without fail reach the correct recipient and cannot be accidently sent to someone with the same name.
• The risk of abuses and data leaks is reduced compared to traditional paper mail, where the message may disappear or end up at the wrong address.

Suomi.fi Messages is built in accordance with high information security requirements and operates in a secure production environment. The importance of information security cannot be emphasised too much, as messages often contain sensitive personal data or official decisions. Strong identification ensures that data is only processed and read by those entitled to the data and those authorised to do so.

5. Communication that can be monitored, integrated and automated

If necessary, organisations can monitor the delivery of messages and notifications confirming receipt.

For example:

• Has the message been delivered as expected?
• Has the customer opened the notification sent to them?

This increases the transparency of the process and supports customer-responsible activities. Suomi.fi Messages can be integrated directly into an organisation's own systems. This reduces the amount of manual work while also reducing the risk of human error. The interface solution has many functionalities for which automation can also be built. These have been designed, for example, for targeted SMS reminders.

Wellbeing services counties have the opportunity to modernise their communications cost-effectively and safely by introducing Suomi.fi Messages. In practice, Suomi.fi Messages offers much more to organisations than the communication channel required by law. The benefits of the service are concretely reflected in costs, saved working hours, processes, and a better customer experience.

Eva Mattila, Senior Specialist, Digital and Population Data Services Agency