A new, more inclusive take on strategy

The Infra Contractors Association in Finland, INFRA ry, was in need of a new strategy. Ellun Kanat created a fresh new strategy for INFRA ry during a one year strategy project that involved the whole INFRA ry membership. The members of the registered association consist of more than 1600 different companies.

The Need for Change

INFRA ry hoped that the new strategy would be conducted in a manner that would bring members of the association closer together, simultaneously creating prerequisites for the future success for all of the INFRA ry member companies. The object of our cooperation was to create a realistic image of the present state of INFRA ry and to define the most central points for improvement.

The Vision

To get a preliminary understanding of the strategy process ahead, Ellun Kanat conducted a comprehensive background analysis of INFRA ry as well as the present challenges and opportunities of its operating sector. The analysis formed a steady base for building a new, more inclusive strategy.

The members of INFRA ry were carefully and broadly involved in co-creating the content of the strategy: we facilitated nine dialogic and precisely planned strategy workshops all around Finland. Through work that was done within these workshops, we were able to create a comprehensive image of the operating principles and the improvement areas the members of the association perceived most important. The construction of the strategy was done by a separate sparring group which consisted of the key figures of INFRA ry and the Ellun Kanat team.

The vision, strategic emphases, operational principles, changes in the INFRA ry’s operational environment and measures for following up the realisation of the strategy were all defined in the finalised strategy. The sparring group also planned pilot projects for the rooting and implementation of the strategy.

The strategy was discovered to be a functioning whole, truly offering relief to the needs expressed by the INFRA ry members. The new strategy has also brought concreteness to the daily routines of the whole association.

“With a genuine and down-to-earth manner, Ellun Kanat succeeded in bringing INFRA ry personnel and employee representatives together to work for a common goal. Almost a whole year was reserved for the strategy process and therefore the wide engagement of the whole membership was secured. It was exceptionally brilliant that after being finalized, the strategy was not put aside, but the pilots that we had defined together ensured that concrete steps towards the strategic goals were actually taken.”

Paavo Syrjö, the CEO of Infra ry