We are developing services to meet the needs of our customers
Service responsibility comes under the UN Sustainable Development Goal of peace, justice and strong institutions (16).
- We create excellent customer value
- We produce better customer value by focusing on customer insight and experience and the promotion of digital services.
We measure customer satisfaction comprehensively
We measure customer satisfaction comprehensively both at the general level and through individual advisory channels, websites and digital services.
In the assessment of customer satisfaction, we have identified areas contributing to satisfaction, on the basis of which we have prepared clear statements for measuring them. The areas have been given weightings on the basis of which we calculate the average of overall customer satisfaction.
Overall satisfaction in 2024 was at the same level as in the previous year, or 4.0 (on a scale of 1–5). Read more about customer satisfaction in our annual report.
Customers at the heart of our operations
Our customers are actively involved in developing the services right from the beginning of the process. We ensure that the design choices made during the development work well by means of regular interaction with customers so as to ensure that the resulting services are as customer-oriented and easy to use as possible.
We utilise various service design methods, such as in-depth interviews and workshops, in customer engagement and concept planning.
Customer-centricity is at the core of our operations, and its development is an important part of responsible and customer-centric official activities. In order to promote customer-centricity, we have commissioned a customer-centricity maturity model that helps us evaluate and develop our operations systematically.
The maturity model has five levels, and it describes the development of customer-centricity from the beginning level to visionary activities. The model is used to examine customer-centricity in five key dimensions: strategic management, a management model for customer-centricity, developing the operating culture, utilising customer insight, and creating a good customer experience. The maturity level is assessed annually. The maturity model helps us identify strengths and development targets and set concrete measures to improve the customer experience.
The maturity level of the PRH’s customer-centricity was measured in 2024 as a self-assessment, in which the personnel and management assessed the level of customer-centricity with regard to 25 capabilities. The management and personnel had their own evaluation targets and statements. The measurement results were confirmed separately in the management group workshop. As a result of the assessment, the maturity level of the PRH as a whole was set at level 3 (established), which means that customer-centricity is regularly reflected in processes and thinking.
The PRH is an active player in the central government customer relationship network, which brings together customer relationship managers from different agencies and experts in customer relationship work to promote customer relationship thinking in central government.
In 2024, the network implemented the eOppiva training “Customer-oriented activities in central government” in cooperation with the HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management. The PRH participated actively in the planning and implementation of the training. The aim of the training has been to strengthen customer-oriented thinking and operating models in government agencies.
The PRH receives honourable mentions of customer-oriented work and the promotion of good language
In 2024, Anna Lauttamus-Kauppila, Director of the PRH, received an honourable mention of customer-oriented culture change work at the PRH. The award was awarded by the award panel of the Customer Experience Award competition.
The honourable mention was given in recognition of Lauttamus-Kauppila’s long-term and bold culture change work to develop the PRH’s customer orientation work and customer experience management as well as its efforts to inspire the state’s customer network.
The PRH’s Hyvä kieli groups for good language use received an honourable mention of developing clear and understandable customer communications in the Vuoden selväsanainen 2024 competition for clear language use. The recognition was distributed by the Institute for the Languages of Finland.
The main reason for the honourable mention was that the PRH has developed the clarity and comprehensibility of written customer communications over the long term. The Hyvä kieli work, which started as a project, has been established as part of the development of texts. In line with the objective of the competition, the PRH is an inspiring example for others.
Online services accessible to everyone
In 2024, we commissioned accessibility audits on all our new and renewed online services and websites and scheduled the necessary accessibility corrections. Accessibility ensures that all our customers can use online services as easily as possible.
We also organised refresher training on the basics of accessibility and a screen reader demo for all PRH employees. The topic of the annual accessibility briefing was understandable and clear language.
We also introduced an automatic accessibility testing tool for online service projects. The tool can be used to automatically check the technical accessibility of an online service or website already during the service development phase.
Aiming for comprehensive online services
The PRH’s aim is that as much as possible of its services are provided online and that the utilisation rate of the online services will increase and remain high.
Our key development projects in 2024 were the introduction of the registration processes required for corporate sustainability reporting, the reform of the information service of the trade and foundation registers, the introduction of automated decision-making in trade register matters, the use of the new patent search tool and the reform of the patent online filling service.
We measure the progress of digitalisation at the PRH, for example, using indicators describing online filing.
Percentage of matters managed online by our customers
Year |
Percentage |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 93.3% |
| 2023 | 93.5% |
| 2022 | 92.3% |
| 2021 | 90.8% |
In patent and trademark matters and notifications regarding associations, online services have in practice been the exclusive channel.
On the other hand, the degree of digitalisation in trade register services is somewhat lower. However, the share of online start-up notifications of limited liability companies has increased significantly in recent years, reaching 93 per cent last year. In 2026, companies must submit all their trade register notifications online.
Predictable and secure services
The primary objective of information security is to ensure the continuity of the PRH's services in all circumstances, including disruptions and emergencies. In this way, we ensure the smooth functioning of our services for our customers and the reliability of our operations. This is a prerequisite for the management of trustworthy official activities.
To ensure secure services, an external information security audit is always carried out for new and updated online services and information provision interface solutions before they are made available. Several information security audits were conducted during 2024.
The PRH maintains a situational picture of information security on a regular basis. The state of information security matters are reported to the management four times a year on a report prepared in accordance with the information security management model. Critical incidents are reported immediately to the management.
No hacking or serious information security breaches were reported in 2024. We dealt with a small number of major information security incidents during the year.
Developing information security in 2024
With the information security management model introduced in 2022, we monitor the implementation, efficiency and appropriateness of information security measures and regularly assess concrete development needs related to information security. In 2024, we continued to operate in accordance with the management model.
In order to protect data, it is important that the instructions for data processing are up to date. During the year, we reviewed and updated documents and information security guidelines that guide information security. The work of the information security group also continued with an established operating method.
We developed the protection, availability and continuity management of hardware, systems and data processed in them.
The operations of the PRH depend on information and systems, which is why special attention is paid to the management of information risks. During the year, we carried out a risk assessment of information security, which is part of the PRH’s overall risk assessment.
Information security training for personnel
In December 2024, we published an online training on secure practices for the entire personnel, in which the rules on the processing of confidential information were reviewed. Each PRH staff member and employee had to complete the online training by the end of February 2025.
During the year, we also arranged a number of information security training courses for the personnel. The PRH also participated in the Digiturvaviikko event on digital security, organised by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
Our agency also participated in the Taisto 2024 exercise carried out by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in the same way as in previous years. Based on the experiences gained from the exercise, operating methods were developed.
Enabling the data protection management model
In 2024, we continued to implement the operating methods specified in the PRH’s new data protection management model to ensure better data protection. We strengthened our internal guidelines. We reduced the number of privacy statements by replacing the privacy statements for previous basic registers with one new statement.
We also prepared for the introduction of a new security incident tool to implement centralised management of data protection incidents.
In 2024, we processed 35 data protection deviations. No serious deviations were identified.
Examples of customer work: Engaging customers in the development of the Patent Service
Our new Patent Service is designed to replace the previous system used by IPR professionals only. The user base of the new service will also be expanded to private inventors, but features specifically aimed at IPR professionals require a deep understanding of their needs. For this reason, the development of the new service focused especially on professional users, the most important of whom were IP administrators.
The IP administrators put together a group from among themselves, which was closely committed to developing the service. Weekly meetings were held with them in spring 2024 to discuss different development themes and their needs and wishes. If it was not possible to implement the wishes directly, we worked together to find alternative solutions that work almost as well.
The Patent Service is built on the code template of the European Patent Office (EPO), which means that it is not possible to make major changes to the user interface and functionalities of the service. However, engaging customers helped develop the service to meet their needs, also taking into account the more stringent marginal conditions.
Thanks to customer cooperation, we gained valuable information about the customers’ working methods and what matters to them at different stages of the work. Although we were already familiar with the nature of our customers’ work, the cooperation further deepened our understanding and helped develop the service to better meet the needs of our users.
Read the presentation of the Finnish Association of Intellectual Property Administrators in our annual report.
Proposals for acts of responsibility
Actions proposed for “We create excellent customer value”
| Proposal | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Customer experience training for all PRH employees | Ongoing |
| Customer impact assessment included in the activities | Ongoing |
| Clarify the role of customer value in internal service | Ongoing |
| Specify responsibility targets for customer paths | From 2026 |
| Clarify “value creation” and other concepts | From 2024 |