Background
Introduction of new digital technologies are promoted and celebrated for enhancing innovative and effective working life and business, but research in this field has often reported shortcomings in respect to the users’ needs and prerequisites (Alasoini 2015). Thus, the expectations of the benefits of introducing new technologies are higher than the real outcomes and the problems related to the implementation are commonplace. In addition, benefiting the available technological infrastructure is limited due to the problems related to the shortcomings.
A significant trend in financial administration is the embeddedness of digital infrastructure to the work processes and services, which is strongly related to transformation of work mode, i.o. methods, knowledge base and competences (Tuomivaara, Ala-Laurinaho & Perttula 2019). However, the introduction of digital technologies varies between the companies (Taloushallintoalan toimialaraportti 2019). A proportion of the companies have digitalized their services only to minor extent, for their clients don’t have suitable technological devices, systems and competence; the most digitalized companies supply only digitalized services and provide a variety of services, for example, consulting and legislation, in addition to accounting and auditing. With time, the digitalization will replace the traditional mode of services in near future.
With digitalization, the tasks, job descriptions, work methods, knowledge and competences and organization of work are transformed. However, the studies in this field also report negative phenomena related to the digitalization: first, for the personnel in the companies, the opportunities for learning new competences are not equal; with the team silos with differentiated tasks, the interaction between the teams decrease; those employees with lower educational achievements may find the new work mode excessively challenging (Bordi et al. 2021).
At the moment, a trend of polarization into small companies providing basic services and to large, multinational corporations with their multiplicity of services takes place (Taloushallinnon toimialaraportti 2019).
The companies providing services of financial administration compete in the same market, but they may also get networked, co-learn and collaborate. For the small and medium-sized companies with their limited resources of learning the digital work mode, collaboration and sharing knowledge may be particularly important. With the project, a social innovation for promoting co-learning and collaboration is developed.
Goal
The aim is to, first, study, the transformation of work with the introduction of digital environment in financial administration and, second, promote developing of the business and quality of work in small and medium-sized companies with workshops. With the approach of action research, networking between the companies and sharing knowledge, learning and good practices are the targets.
In the business of financial administration, work is increasingly carried out in digital environments and the communication is multi-channeled. For promoting the competences, the project aims to study and support developing of co-learning for reinforcing organization of work, productivity, innovations and expertise of the personnel and work wellbeing. New research-based knowledge is produced dealing with the challenges and problems related to digitalization and related solutions and action. The knowledge is applied and benefited in the processes of co-learning.
The aim is to study the benefits, challenges and problems related to the introduction of digital systems and devices, and the needs for developing competences. The data are collected by interviewing the management and personnel in 10 companies.
The research-based knowledge is benefited in the workshops addressed to the companies in the industry. The companies at the early phase of digitalization and the companies with a variety of digitalized services participate in the workshops. The research-based knowledge is reported and discussed, solutions for the challenges and problems are searched in collaboration and good practices and knowledge is shared among the participating companies. The workshops may be organized into two sessions, addressed to the managers and to the personnel of the companies or the workshops may be unified. The standpoint for the workshops are the needs that have emerged in the interviews.
The method of the project is action research, i. o. research-based knowledge is produced and on the basis of the knowledge, solutions are searched in collaboration for existing challenges and problems. The phases of research and development are interrelated. According to the idea of action research, the management and personnel participate themselves in the development in collaboration with researchers, for it promotes analytical problem solving and critical thinking in respect to their own activities, practices and thinking (Kuula 1999).
Impact
The outcome of the project is increasing expertise and development of work organization of work that promotes capabilities in respect to the digital environment. The participants may continue peer learning with the new-born networks. The networking promotes professional identities and involvement in the of community, which reinforces meaningfulness of work and work well-being. On the basis of the project, articles and popular texts are published and presentations in media and seminars and conferences are carried out.
Funding
ELY-keskus
Partners and co-operators
Palta ry., Ammattiliitto Pro ry. ja Taloushallintoliitto ry.