Management

FCG has Finland’s most extensive experience in developing management for municipalities, municipally owned companies and wellbeing services counties, as well as in supporting elected members and change leadership. Our specialists help you improve management by assessing the current state and supporting the next steps in change. Services cover management-system development, strategic management, political–administrative dual leadership, executive team effectiveness reviews, and DiSC leadership profiles.

It is important for organisations to evaluate their activities objectively to identify development needs. FCG’s specialists help choose the appropriate level of analysis and carry the evaluation through end to end. Within a comprehensive evaluation framework, we use the CAF self-assessment model – a systematic tool for public-sector organisations. Services include reviews of elected-member working, development of strategy work, and workplace climate and engagement surveys.

The CAF model (Common Assessment Framework) consists of nine criteria and 28 sub-criteria covering the organisation’s activities. A key strength of the model is how it links results with ways of working. CAF serves as a tool for development, supports interaction between management and staff, and increases the organisation’s documented information. We help design the self-assessment process, guide its progress and support the preparation of the development plan.

FCG is a leading actor in public-sector strategy work in Finland. We have helped around 200 municipalities, wellbeing services counties and publicly owned organisations renew their strategies and create programmes that translate into practice. A good strategy underpins every area of organisational development. We also support digitalisation and conduct annual surveys to assess resident and customer satisfaction.

In service-network reviews, we map current provision and accessibility and anticipate future needs. We use our ART foresight model to create evidence-based scenarios that support well-managed change. We support all key sectors — from health and social care to library networks. In strategy assignments, we co-design the process with the client and involve the necessary stakeholders. Our services include municipal strategies, climate plans and integration programmes.

Emergency preparedness and contingency planning are statutory duties that rest with the municipal manager and the executive team. We assist in preparing the statutory emergency preparedness plan, drawing on models from the Emergency Services Academy Finland. The plan covers strategic and operational arrangements and arrangements for exceptional circumstances. A crisis communications plan can also be prepared. Our specialist plans, facilitates and drafts the plan in collaboration with the municipality’s executive team.

FCG helps develop public- and private-sector organisations by producing high-quality information to support management and decision-making. We carry out a wide range of studies, research and situation reviews to meet organisations’ information needs. Our clients include Finland’s largest cities, municipalities, wellbeing services counties, ministries and government agencies. We analyse the data and turn the results into conclusions and development recommendations.

Our research services cover analyses of service costs and operating context, trends in municipal vitality, resident surveys and customer-satisfaction studies. We use statistical analysis and benchmarking systems to produce clear, actionable information. Our survey products include Yhdyskuntatekniset palvelut (TEKPA), Kaupunkipalvelut (KAPA), Kuntapalvelut (KUPA), as well as migration surveys and customer-satisfaction surveys that enable comparisons between municipalities.

The Electronic Wellbeing Report (SHVK) is an easy-to-use tool for municipalities and wellbeing services counties to prepare statutory wellbeing reports and annual reports. SHVK enables cross-administrative collaboration, supports data-informed management and produces comparative information by population group. More than 80 per cent of municipalities have licensed the tool. SHVK is owned by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, and FCG maintains and develops it continuously to meet clients’ needs.

FCG has decades of experience in public-sector financial consultancy, and almost every municipality in mainland Finland has used our services. In addition to municipalities, we serve wellbeing services counties, parishes and the private sector. Comprehensive financial analysis and evidence-based planning are our core strengths. We help clients anticipate change and prepare for it from a financial perspective.

Our services cover municipal and county financial adjustment, studies related to municipal mergers, property tax base reviews, and financial analyses and their implementation. In financial and operational planning we prepare financial pressure projections, financial and operational analyses, and investment and profitability appraisals. We help you find the right solutions even when there are no easy answers.

Our particular speciality is balancing municipal finances when a municipality is in crisis and cannot recover without external support. Our adjustment measures are always based on thorough financial and operational analysis and financial pressure projections that reveal the municipality’s financial history and outlook. We carry out the consolidation process with a steering group, and our comprehensive approach includes measures that both increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Our goal is to secure financially sustainable operations and preserve the municipality’s independence.