OKRs brought openness to the strategy dialogue.

"Finland's best OKR guru"

VTT's strategy unit already had some knowledge and experience with the OKR model when the company decided in 2021 to begin OKR adoption across the whole 2,200-person organization. An experienced guide was needed for the journey.

"We met and compared providers in Finland and abroad who use or consult on the OKR model. There were very few in Finland whose quality of work we could verify. But we landed the best OKR guru in the country." Laura Juvonen, Senior Vice President, Strategy

OKR training and sparring at every level

OKR adoption at VTT began in early 2022, first with the management team and the strategy team, for whom Sora and Hämäläinen served as trainers and sparring partners. From there Sora continued the OKR journey with VTT, working with the leadership teams of different functions and the team managers of various research areas.

"OKR adoption is more a marathon than a sprint. It requires long-term learning from the whole organization. Henri has been our key partner in how we walk this learning journey together." Laura Juvonen, Senior Vice President, Strategy

OKR work at VTT happens at every level of the organization, in both Finnish and English. That requires a trainer with collaborative skills and an understanding of varying needs and starting points.

"Henri navigates well between the concrete and the abstract at different levels. He has experience from other similar expert organizations of comparable size." Sanna Tuominen, Manager, Operating Planning

Added value from the OKR network too

For VTT the OKR model has been a tool to lift the focus from individual technologies to the shared goals of a large organization. The model has opened up strategy conversation at every level. Somewhat unexpectedly, OKR collaboration with Sora has also brought VTT a broad network of potential collaboration partners.

"Henri invited us to OKR Community Finland, where we've met other organizations using the OKR model. It's exceptional for a partner to build community this proactively." Laura Juvonen and Maija Ojanen-Saloranta

Enthusiasm, interest and insight

"Henri has a genuine desire to help and develop our work. He has the ability to make training sessions engaging good experiences that generate enthusiasm, interest and insight. His calm personality fits this work and our engineer-heavy organization really well." Tuominen, Juvonen and Ojanen-Saloranta