In the 2021 season finale of the Smart Workplace Sessions, we met up with Finland's largest bank, OP Financial Group, to learn more about their workplace evolution from office-based working toward a hybrid work model. We discussed the importance of holistic workplace development, experimentation culture, continuous improvement and data driven decision-making within corporate real estate.
Revolution or evolution? The path toward flexible working practices and a hybrid work model is not as straight forward and clear cut as some might imagine. There is no ready model to implement, no blueprint to follow, no silver bullet to solve all questions. But there are some principles one can use. Some frameworks to use as guides. Best practices for getting organized to lead holistic change. Some processes and methods to use. And good leading examples to draw inspiration from. Even for industries that may appear more conservative than others at times - such as the banking sector. If they can do it, can't we all?
Watch the recording with Anna Haaman (Senior Expert, Hybrid Work Product Owner | OP Financial Group), Tuula Laakso (Premises Manager | OP Financial Group) and host Pontus Kihlman (Head of Business Development, Optimaze) in a talk aired on December 8th, 2021. Learn more about the Group's workplace evolution from office-based working toward a hybrid work model. In some very concrete terms, their discussion tackled questions and examples around people and culture, the balancing between individual and team needs, and how OP has leveraged proptech and smart office solution Optimaze Worksense to empower employees working at their campus.
Here's a teaser of what to expect: at OP Financial Group, the number of office days is an irrelevant question. There will be no senior management statement declaring how many are required. More important is the well-being and workload of the staff, and the productivity boost within teams, that is the result of better pre-planned workdays when responsibility and accountability is given alongside freedom and autonomy. The idea of the static one-size-fits-all hybrid model is being challenged by agile, continuously evolving team-level agreements around ways of working - but based on commonly agreed group-level principles.
To learn more about the entire webinar series and review recordings of past webinars, click here.
Optimaze at a glance
OP Financial Group in short:
OP Financial Group is the largest financial services group in Finland, offering banking, non-life insurance and wealth management services for over four million customers. OP Financial Group, owned by its customers, has the mission to promote the sustainable prosperity, security and wellbeing of their owner-customers and operating region. OP Financial Group is made up of 137 OP cooperative banks (31 Dec 2020) and the central cooperative which they own, including its subsidiaries and affiliated entities. Over 2 million owner-customers own the OP cooperative banks and thereby the entire OP Financial Group with a staff of over 12,000. The Group’s business is based on the cooperative principle: cooperation and sharing the fruits of success with customers, meeting the needs of the community. OP Financial Group's business consists of the following three business segments: Retail Banking (Banking for private and SME customers), Corporate Banking (Banking for corporate and institutional customers), and Insurance (Insurance customers).
