Enabling a Process-Driven Government Agency Merger at Suomenlinna
The Governing Body of Suomenlinna is the state agency responsible for managing Suomenlinna, Finland’s most prominent UNESCO World Heritage site. We supported the merger of the Governing Body of Suomenlinna and the Finnish Heritage Agency by analysing and modelling the Governing Body’s key administrative processes. Our process-driven insights provided a clear roadmap to support the merger, identifying critical success factors, potential challenges, and key operational strengths to be preserved.
“Navigating a state agency merger is a complex task with many moving parts. Vuono Group’s rigorous process analysis provided clarity and actionable insights we needed.”
The Starting Point
The Governing Body of Suomenlinna was preparing for a significant merger with the Finnish Heritage Agency. To ensure a smooth and successful integration, the agency requires a clear and unified understanding of all its key administrative processes, from finance and HR to property management and IT.
The challenge was to map these complex, interconnected workflows and identify critical success factors prior to the merger. The agency needed to pinpoint potential integration risks while also ensuring that valuable, specialised local expertise and effective operating models were not lost during the transition.
The Solution
Our approach focused on providing a comprehensive, top-down analysis of the agency’s operational backbone. In close collaboration with management and process owners, our team conducted a thorough process analysis to capture process insights and mapped key administrative functions into visual process models. This provided a clear, shared visual language for all stakeholders and established a data-driven baseline for the integration.
The analysis covered all critical administrative areas, including:
Finance and procurement
Property management
HR function
IT and information management
Safety and risks
Agency communications
Key Achievements
Our analysis supported the merger by transforming complex operational knowledge into actionable insights for leadership.
1. Identified Critical Success Factors for the Merger
The project demonstrated that the merger’s success would be fundamentally dependent on active leadership and robust change management. We provided clarity on where management focus would be needed most.
2. Pinpointed Key Integration Challenges
We identified specific risks and challenges that needed to be addressed proactively. These included the controlled integration of IT systems and data assets, the importance of preserving proven local operating models, and the need for clear communication and support for personnel navigating role changes.
3. Highlighted Core Strengths to Preserve
The analysis identified the Governing Body’s unique operational strengths, including the multidisciplinary expertise of its staff, a deep understanding of market-based business operations, and a strong, participatory safety culture. We provided clear recommendations to ensure these valuable assets were successfully transferred and embedded into the new, combined operating model.
About The Governing Body of Suomenlinna
The Governing Body of Suomenlinna is a government agency operating under the Ministry of Education and Culture, which restores, maintains, administers and provides information about Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.