Customer insight and service development
We develop our services based on insight into our customers’ needs.
A positive customer experience is at the core of Kela’s strategy. It is not enough that we provide good customer service and develop our services. We must also know the everyday circumstances and needs of our customers. That way, we can develop our services in the right way. For this reason, we have in recent years strived to improve our customer insight.
We develop our services based on customer insight
Customer insight means understanding our customers’ needs, expectations and use of services, along with the challenges associated with them. That understanding is based on different types of information: a broad spectrum of customer data, feedback from customers, data on the customer experience, and an analysis of customer behaviours.
We draw on data from our own operations. In addition, we use data from outside sources. We extend our data-based understanding of customer needs by using a variety of background variables, such as age, gender, nationality, etc. Further, we augment the data by engaging with our customers through interviews, surveys, workshops and a variety of other methods that can produce additional insight.
We continually follow up customer experience
Almost everyone who lives in Finland is Kela’s customer, and we annually handle millions of service events. Every customer contact is important to us.
We continually follow up customer experience at different customer contact points. Our customers are very satisfied with the personal service and we are proud of the rating 8.9 that it received. The OmaKela e-service also received a reasonable rating of 7.3 in view of the number of visitors in OmaKela. By following up customer experience, we make sure that we develop our services in the right direction.
Recognising individual customer segments helps us to develop our services in an effective, customer-focused way
Nearly all Finns are customers of Kela. In order to develop our operations effectively and to produce services that meet our customers’ needs, we must recognise different customer segments. By getting to know these segments, we can more successfully identify their needs and expectations and discover how services aimed at different segments are used.
Based on data analysis, we have divided our customers into segments consisting, for instance, of individuals in similar circumstances or similar ways of accessing customer service. As we get to know the key features of each customer segments, we can develop our services to better meet their needs. We have carried out customer segmentation among both individual customers and employer customers. The segments will be updated and made more specific on an annual basis.
- We have used our own customer data resources to carry out the segmentation. Based on customer data, we have identified three main customer segments that differ in terms of the benefits they receive and how frequently and through which channels they interact with Kela.
- In segmenting employer customers, we have used our own data on the volume of customer contacts and the channels used. In addition, we have obtained data from outside sources on enterprises and organisations, including their staff totals, sectors and finances.
Customer involvement and the forms it can take
We need our customers and partners to join us in developing our services. We want to enable as many customers as possible to participate in the development effort. We are developing new forms of involving our customers. Involvement is a process that allows customers to become involved and active. At its simplest, it can mean interviews and surveys, and at its best, a process in which customers take an active role in development efforts.
Involvement also means that we take advantage of different networks and forums in which people from varied backgrounds can come together around a common theme. Interactivity and long-term commitment are key.
Continuous involvement is part of building customer insight.
Forms of customer involvement
As a member of Kela's Customer Community, you can help us improve our services in a way that is convenient for you. By completing surveys and participating in research, you can share your valuable feedback and help us shape the future of our services.
You can choose the surveys and research that interest you and share ideas about topics that matter to you. You will get an email invitation to participate in surveys and research and can reply at a time of your choosing. All surveys will be conducted securely on our website.
Your survey replies and membership in the Community will not affect the benefits or services you receive from Kela. Your responses will also not be connected with any information about you held by Kela.
Your opinion is important to us. Warmly welcome to our Costumer Community!
We observe customer interactions at customer service points, in over-the-phone customer service, and during the process of reviewing benefit applications.
Observation helps us to study authentic situations faced by our customers, find out what types of questions they ask, and see how the customer’s case moves forward when facilitated by a customer service specialist. We alert customers visiting a customer service point or contacting us on the phone that their interactions will be observed, allowing them to opt out. Observations are usually complemented by interviews to ensure a full understanding of the different stages of the situation.
Interviews help us to deepen our customer insight. They are mainly carried out on a one-on-one basis, but group interviews can also be used. Interviews often focus on a specific theme so as to get a closer look at the observed topic. Interviewees get a small reward for their participation.
Customers can attend workshops alongside expert members and stakeholder representatives.
Examples of activities at workshops include designing new operating models, trying out various service models, or finding ideas for new types of services. Workshops are always preceded by data collection in order to outline the current situation for example through interviews. Workshops can be virtual events or the participants can be present in person.
Customer advisory boards are one of the methods we use to gain information about our customers’ views and needs, in order to benefit service development. Kela and Kanta arrange customer advisory boards on selected topics for both individual and employer customers and for partner organisations. Participants are recruited in a number of different ways, including with the help of voluntary and partner organisations.
We maintain and develop the Kanta Services together with social welfare and healthcare professionals. Permanent development networks include the Kanta Forum for Social Welfare and the Kanta Forum for Healthcare. A panel with representatives of 20 civic organisations has been set up to bring in the perspective of the general public. The representatives are selected to serve a two-year term.
We also arrange various professional workshops around larger development topics.
Good usability provides a good experience for end users, reducing the learning curve, allowing them to complete their tasks faster, and making it easier to recall functions that are used infrequently.
Usability testing is an evaluation method in which a system under development is turned over to end users in a controlled test environment. One of the purposes of usability testing is to identify, as early as possible, the parts of the system that need to be redesigned.
The usability of Kela’s online services is evaluated regularly. These services include kela.fi, kanta.fi, OmaKela, MyKanta and the online applications for different benefits.
A sufficient number of testers are recruited depending on the features that are being tested. The recruitment is done according to Kela’s processes either in-house or it is outsourced.
We use visitor surveys at Kela.fi and Kanta.fi to collect information on the visitors’ experiences.
Surveys among Kela.fi and Kanta.fi visitors
The replies are used to develop the websites. The survey creation tool for Kela.fi is Questback. Brief surveys are posted on Kela.fi three times a year, while a more extensive survey is carried out annually.
Other online surveys
Kela collects target group specific data regularly from employers, service providers and collaboration partners, focusing on service use, users’ experiences with the services and suggestions for improvement. Customer data is also collected in online surveys in connection with various projects. The target group and the way the data are collected are adjusted to the goals of each project.
We use mobile surveys to collect data on our customers’ experiences and to gain customer insight in order to develop our services further.
They provide information on daily visits to our customer service points and calls to our customer service numbers. We also collect information regularly from customers who have received a decision on a benefit application about the experiences they have had when handling their affairs. Mobile surveys are SMS-based and free to the participants, offering customers a simple way to provide feedback and to rate their experience with Kela’s services.
Kela conducts feedback surveys in the form of SMS messages, which come from one of the following numbers: 018 444033, 018 444 034 or 018 444569. There are no costs involved in participating in the survey.
For Kela, mobile surveys are a way to keep up to date on customers’ needs and experiences. Customers are sent a request to complete a survey soon after contacting Kela or after receiving a decision on a benefit application. Most respond within a few hours of receiving a request. We use the surveys to monitor customer satisfaction and the quality of service delivery.
Kela has a joint feedback system for customer and employee feedback. Its purpose is to collect feedback and development ideas. Any feedback given is treated separately from individual customers’ interactions with Kela.
The aim is to improve the customer experience and to develop the quality and efficiency of the customer relations process in a way that takes the customer into account. Feedback from the customers and personnel helps us obtain a deeper understanding of the customer. Feedback is used in developing our operations. It is both an indicator of quality and tool for development.
Feedback is monitored and utilised with the help of reports that can be generated from the feedback system. Different parts of the Kela organisation can use the reports as an easy way to keep track of feedback, and they do so actively.
Give feedback (kela.fi)
Give feedback and ask about Kanta services (kanta.fi)