ELTel

Common terminology for finance across borders
and better project profitability

At first, difficult and complicated. Since Bonanza, a cinch. Below is the brief summary of Eltel's multinational commitment to a better understanding of finance by the field organization, which has created a more profitable business.

"Communication between our Swedish headquarters and offices across the country was functioning poorly due to the multitude of district managers, supervisors, and technicians.  None of them were truly understanding the financial reporting system. Misunderstandings and errors created irritation that lead to poor controls and monitoring of projects. We moved ourselves simply with different names for the same thing. It also appeared that the understanding of the general finance context was a little this and that," says Karin Bartholf, HR manager at Eltel in Sweden, who continues "when we decided to do something radical about it. Across the board we needed a better understanding of the finance part of our organization, particularly with a common terminology. We also needed a better understanding of how individual behavior affects the profitability of projects. Financial Literacy Programs, in other words."

Only the best is good enough

Karin got in touch with a few different training companies to get an idea of what they could put up with in terms of concepts and methodology. Together with the company's controller and CFO, she scrutinized these companies, mainly calling for the enforcement of a common terminology and ability to engage employees so that the results in terms of long-term effects could be measured. "Bonanza was  who we best understood and their programs contained the dynamics we were looking for " says Bartholf. "Their approach and methodology allowed them to explain complex financial relationships in an enjoyable and engaging manner with true conviction. In addition, because of Bonanza's experience with other highly decentralized organizations like ours, they were able to get the programs off the ground quickly and effectively."

"Together with the Bonanza Team in the form of two-day programs - first with the district managers and then with the production leaders - with the theme "The deal of focus". The foundation was The Rodeo-KBF Program supplemented with specially designed exercises that explained simply and taught the concepts of profit and cash flow statement. "Aha-experiences" were experienced by many of the participants. What had previously created frustration in the financial reporting process was now crystal clear and even fun.  By understanding the cause and effect of how a customer order is calculated, conducted and followed up from the financial perspective, they were able to affect the company's profitability.  This had a lasting impact."

Changed attitudes and behavior

Karin Artholf again, "Figures have always been important at Eltel, but because not everyone understood them before, the figures did not mean so much to those who work with orders and production. Now the difference is obvious. In practical terms, we have reorganized accountability and identified supervisor financial responsibility for projects. They now understand what happens to profitability if they make a decision one way or the other. In the case of district managers, they have a different way to view the overall business responsibility avoid reviewing the wrong details. Another effect is that everyone understands how our bonus system is affected by everyone's behavior. The individual employee is now clearly interested in the profitability of each project and ensures linkages with the outcome in terms of their bonus. Figures have been really interesting."

While in Helsinki

At Eltel Group's headquarters in Espoo near Helsinki, Finland, they were having similar issues as the ones experienced in Sweden. The group had grown considerably in a few years with the acquisitions of new businesses in a number of countries.  The businesses were in the construction and maintenance of electrical and telecommunication networks. Corporate cultures are varied, as some activities were spin-offs from state-owned network operators - and the focus on business and profitability was poorly developed. The CEO identified the problem and decided that a thorough training in the understanding of financial business concepts was needed. He said that the need was both customer-driven and investor-driven. An important key word became predictability - customers would know and trust what they were told and at what price. In-house, everyone would know what was promised and delivered in a timely manner and at the right price.  Investors would feel confident about Eltel's ability to meet financial targets.

Seven countries, seven languages

"Apart from Sweden, it was about Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, where powerful educational resources were needed. The requirements were: high degree of interactivity (learning by doing, not lecture), and that training could be carried out by skilled local facilitators in seven languages with some adjustment to the national characteristics of Eltel activities. Administrative responsibility for the international project was given to Lea Lillkåll, who along with Laura Kauppinen, Group HR manager, prepared the specifications. Lillkåll says, "With our tough requirements, there were only a few training companies we could turn to. As our Swedish companies had great experiences with Bonanza, they were on our list. The question was: Could the company cover all countries and languages?  After thorough review of potential operators, we decided to choose Bonanza."

Focus on earnings and cash flow

"Even for us, the starting line was short. We chose to base the training on 'The deal in focus' that has been run in Sweden," says Lea, "and the common theme was 'Click Business Finance'. But the material needed to be adapted and translated for different countries. We also split up the training into two main sections. One on the good general understanding of basic financial relationships and reports, and the other on specific Eltel projects with particular focus on what creates revenue and how the cash flow is affected. We tested the presentation first in English material with a pilot group before we started with our district managers. They need to understand some of our business approaches when planning customer orders."

Workshops with long-term effect

"The Bonanza model with smaller workshops appealed to us. With over 600 people that needed trained, there is the risk that some could hide or doze off if the forum was too large. Now activate all - practical exercises in small groups, individual questions to the supervisor, accounts groups, and concrete proposals for improving their own work. It simply clicks with many of the employees.

The result can most easily be summed up in one word: Fantastic! Since we historically have had different reporting systems in different countries, we have now laid the groundwork for a unified system. In Poland, there were three systems required. It is easier to communicate across borders when we mean the same thing. Misunderstandings and unnecessary work has been eliminated.

We must not rest on our laurels. We have some work to do and the training must be continued and refined for us to get the maximum benefit. It is also for all managers to ensure that each employee receives this training within Eltel Academy," concludes Lillkåll.

Comments from other Eltel managers

Hannu Tynkkynen, Poland 
"In our Polish company, it was a bit of a double clash of cultures when we started training. First, we agreed on a common terminology for the finance discussion, which was complicated by the fact that Poland had three different financial reporting systems that created a rather confused picture for your staff. Where Bonanza was a groundbreaking work. Since it was about learning to understand what distinguishes the profitable projects from unprofitable (not always obvious in a previous finance reports) and that they as individuals could influence the outcome. Also in this respect, was Bonanza effort exemplary - and happily engaged."

Juha Luusua, Finland and the Baltics
"Cash is King was one of the lasting lessons that our Finnish and Baltic colleagues took to himself. Bonanza, simplifies and clarifies, by starting from the employees own private finances and then compares with the company finances, it becomes crystal clear. So when we talk about action plans to improve cash flow, we all understand why and help with ideas. The employees also know that the result will actually be visible in their wallets. In addition to a common understanding, we have gained a good platform to work on from there. Thanks Bonanza!"

Sonny Nielsen, Denmark
"By participating in this training program, the employees were motivated to take the knowledge home as they have directly benefited, so the investment in time and money was beneficial. During my years at various sites, I have often seen the opposite. But when my 40 employees at Eltel are still talking about the Bonanza, they didn't expected the training to be really fun and useful with tangible examples from our own activities. Now I see the results in their daily work - well, then I can only conclude that we bet right. World class, simply!"

Laura Kauppinen, Group HR Manager
"We had many talented leaders with technical backgrounds. In contrast, the commercial leadership was weaker. Figures have been perceived as a necessary evil. Historically, the organization had cost centers converted into profit centers, but employees have been out of step with the change. A broad training in-house would provide answers to a number of Why and concentrate on a deeper understanding of the business process. We thought it was wise to seek help. The challenge was to find an arrangement that the group management approved and which could also be accepted on a different level of subsidiaries. Bonanza solved it elegantly, and feedback from employees has been extremely good."