I have worked with Minna in a very challenging project of re-organizing and developing the commercial functions of a large media company. I was the business owner and Minna was the Change Director. Never in my career have I received such professionally competent and dedicated help from a partner. Minna is highly skilled in planning and executing the process of putting through an organizational change project. She is diligent and hard working. Just the kind of sparring partner I needed.

– Jaakko Lintunen, Commercial Director, Keskisuomalanen Oyj, 2017

A significant change in personal customer sales was made in Turva in spring 2019. The aim was to renew and clarify operations and increase sales. In the change, the operating model of sales was reformed, some managers changed and retail and corporate sales were differentiated. The scale of the change as an organisation of nearly 200 salespeople and the need to renew operating models was so great that they wanted to make use of outside help to ensure their success. Minna Valonen from CC Valonen and Jaakko Lintunen from Kasvupuoti (https://www.kasvupuoti.fi/) assisted Turva with this change.

External assistance was utilised in workshop facilitation, sales and management coaching, and as a long-term and goal-oriented individual coaching process for all the managers in change.

“In the reorganisation of retail sales, a large number of key personnel had to take over a new position in a relatively short time. This was achieved beyond expectations, and sales targets were also achieved within the originally set timeframe. It was a very good solution to use two external experts to support the change. We are very pleased with the ability of Minna and Jaakko to help in a change situation, to highlight the right issues and to support their managers in implementing the reform. We can recommend them for change projects,” says Ville Raunio, Managing Director of Turva.

– Ville Raunio, President and CEO, Mutual Insurance Company Turva, Change Support 2019-2020

I was a project manager in our organisation’s internal project, where Minna was as the expert. Minna has an uncomplicated way of being present in a situation, whether it is a video conference, a telephone conversation or a face-to-face meeting. During the project, we were able to utilise her knowledge and expertise in many ways. Minna presented her ideas clearly and with justification, while leaving room for joint reflection within the project team.

– Sanni Marttinen, Usability Engineer, Elomatic, 2019

”The best thing about coaching was the concrete examples given by the coach.”

In coaching, the usefulness of the coaching package 4.9/5 and the coach’s expertise and enthusiasm 4.7/5.

– Customer coaching, 2020

Minna was absolutely brilliant and I have received a lot of concrete tips for my work.

– Participant, Customer Coaching, 2020

Minna provided us with specialised and practical managerial training for remote management. Minna brought a lot of concrete examples and insights into practical situations, and we also got new tools for developing managerial activities. Although the training took place remotely, Minna succeeded very well. I warmly recommend Minna as a coach to others as well!

– Henri Ketola, Human Resources Manager, Diktamen, , Managerial Coaching 2020

Minna as a coach is knowledgeable, inclusive, inspiring and practical. In the training of the coaching manager work held for our network, the recommendation feedback was exceptionally good:

How likely would you be to recommend an opportunity to your colleague (on a scale of 0 to 10): 9.5

– Sari Raivo, Executive Director, TBC Network, 2019

When I started as a manager in Sales Development and Support Services, my own manager proposed individual training to support my transition to a new role. We met with Minna about once a month for six months. We covered everything from my own role, process development, work planning and time usage to the different situations and challenges of management. The most important thing for me in the process was that through training I got support and tools for managing change and my daily management work. The training sessions were good places to stop and reflect on your own work together with a professional. I feel that the training also developed my way of thinking about things in a more multilateral way. I learned and understood a lot about different personalities, their natural orientation and how to individually adapt the leadership style to the personal qualities and needs of each person. I also learned a lot about process development and effective communication. “I warmly recommend this kind of individual support when transitioning to a managerial role, I benefited much more from this than any group management training,” says Emma Mattila, Development Manager in charge of Turva’s Sales Development and Support Services.

“I wanted to offer Emma support for transitioning to a new role to ensure the success of the change and also to enable her to have outside support in developing her own managerial skills. Individual training using coaching methods is goal-oriented and fully tailored to the needs of the participant – which is why it is also more effective than traditional managerial training,” says Emma’s manager Tiina Kemppi, Sales Director.

Minna CC from Valonen Oy carried out an individual managerial training for Emma using coaching methods after Emma started in a new role. The process lasted about six months and included six 1.5-hour meetings. The objectives of the whole process were agreed in a tripartite cooperation.

– Tiina Kemppi, Sales Director & Emma Mattila, Development Manager, Mutual Insurance Company Turva, 2022

Minna participated in the work of the LSK Group’s management team. In addition to HR tasks, Minna quickly noticed things that we could develop. She built reasoned proposals on these, and following the decisions of the management team, she was responsible for implementing the changes.

Minna has strong experience of strategic changes and employee involvement in them. With the help of Minna, our management team got off to a good start with how we can use modern and good-thinking tools to involve all the personnel in the planning and building of LSK’s future. I’m sure we’ll continue to work with Minna.

– Perttu Ryynänen, CEO, LSK Group Oy, 2019

Collaboration with Minna has been invaluable to us as an organisation. At last, there is an active person available who can help and guide you in matters that are not at all unambiguous. Working on a personal level has also been pleasant and rewarding! I have also received valuable guidance for leadership in challenging situations.

Each organisational leader should have their own Minna via regular meetings and phone calls. It makes the work lighter and more straightforward, and allows for a more sensible use of time.

Thank you very much, Minna!

– Jaana Hirsikangas, Executive Director, UN Women Suomi, 2021

In the beginning of 2021 we were working hand in hand with Minna. There was a business transfer to take place, which we needed support on, and Minna was recommended for us to partner with. When I think back, we couldn’t have managed so well without Minna. In the end, she was always there and available, ensuring that everything went perfectly. Amongst other things, she provided us with:

💎 Highly competent HR manager power, with experience on organisational changes and how to tackle integration challenges

❤️ Extremely appreciated human touch by listening and interviewing everyone individually, opening an extra funnel to reflect, empowering adoption

😊 True business oriented mindset, immediately understanding our business case and what we were after

💪 Valuable capabilities to help with every step, from planning to finalisation, and even further

🔎Experience and spot-on insight on legal aspects on HR and business transfers

🔥 Extra helping hands willing to take care of any bigger or smaller tasks we needed help with, no complaints, quickest possible top notch delivery at all times, and always adding value to our request

Not to mention, Minna is so fun to work with! 🙂

Thank you Minna for the successful change!

– Katri Laatu, Head of Operations, Zalaris, 2022

I’ve had the privilege to work with Minna, and the list could go on and on showcasing the positive impact it has had on me both professionally and personally. With that said there are a few things I’d like to highlight from our collaboration that I found extremely important, valuable and life-changing, and which I will be forever grateful for:

– Minna’s ability to ask the right questions that naturally helps you navigate your life (personal & professional) puzzle that really matters for to you

– Minna’s ability to unlock hidden/undiscovered capabilities

– Minna’s ability to build upon and expand your own insights and perspectives, and transform them into actions

– Sandra Berggren, Catalyst for Change & Managing Consultant B2B at Avaus, 2021

Coaching has been a great tool for me, both in my transition to CEO duties and in developing the competence of the key people. It is important to make use of external sparring partners if you want to unleash the full potential of your staff. With the help of an external coach, the competence of a capable employee can be boosted and maximised. Coaching is also a way to invest in key players as it engages people in their work and organisation.

Minna is an effective coach. She is wise and good at observing both people and issues. Our staff has repeatedly commented on working with Minna as eye-opening by stating, for example: “Again, I understood completely new things about my work, even though those solutions have been in front of me all this time. Darn, how can she figure out so much of me so fast?”

I warmly recommend Minna to anyone who is looking for a personal or organizational development booster. However, as with any expert service, the willingness to change existing operating models is also essential. That’s how you get the most out of coaching.

– Emma Storbacka, CEO, Avaus, 2019

Minna has strong experience of strategic changes and employee involvement in them. With the help of Minna, our management team got off to a good start with how we can use modern and good-thinking tools to involve all the personnel in the planning and building of LSK’s future. I’m sure we’ll continue to work with Minna.

– Perttu Ryynänen, CEO, LSK Group Oy, 2019