Oulun Voimistelijat transitioned to the Suomisport service with the aim of systematising membership management and invoicing, while saving staff working time over a total of three operating seasons. The transition was carried out all at once and required a new approach from membership services. Nevertheless, the change proved worthwhile, says Executive Director Eeva Juola.

Oulun Voimistelijat is an active recreational and competitive sports club with 1,200 members and the largest gymnastics club in Northern Finland. For more than 120 years, the club has provided opportunities for physical activity for people of all ages – from children and young people to adults and seniors. This makes club operations both rewarding and demanding, particularly when it comes to member services.

As part of its development work, the club became aware of the significant workload caused by seasonal registrations and invoicing. The board therefore actively began to explore services that could offer a smooth and comprehensive solution for membership management and seasonal registrations. The goal was a versatile service system or platform that would automate invoicing and integrate with existing accounting systems.

Suomisport ultimately proved to be an excellent solution. Key factors behind the choice included the Finnish-language service, suitable integrations and automated payments at the point of registration. According to Executive Director Eeva Juola, Oulun Voimistelijat wanted to move away from invoicing by email and manual monitoring of accounts receivable.

– We wanted to reduce the workload for our office staff. The amount of work related to invoicing and membership management has decreased significantly. The savings have been substantial, especially considering that our activities are divided into three seasons per year, each with its own registration period, Juola says.

A one-step transition to Suomisport – communication played a key role

Oulun Voimistelijat introduced Suomisport just over two years ago. The strategy was to move all membership management, group registrations and payment flows to the new digital service in one go, without a transition period.

The decision was supported by Suomisport’s versatile integrations with various accounting and banking systems, as well as its excellent customer service. The club therefore opted for a full transition rather than a gradual one.

– We changed systems all at once. Of course, it caused some stress between the end of one season and the start of the next, but in my opinion, it was the right decision. Even Suomisport’s customer service team was a little surprised. We were able to make the change thanks to the extensive support and expertise we received at the beginning – absolutely outstanding service, Juola says.

The implementation was also facilitated by effective communication. Oulun Voimistelijat had in-house expertise in communications and marketing but also received support from the Suomisport team. Ready-made materials provided valuable support for member communications.

– We received ready-made materials for change communications, such as a YouTube video explaining how to create an account and get started. Many busy people prefer watching to reading instructions. Several ready-made templates also significantly sped up our work.”

Juola acknowledges that communication had to be extensive and delivered through multiple channels. When introducing digital services, it is essential to take different target groups into account. Oulun Voimistelijat has a strong focus on engaging older adults, and the challenges of the transition were particularly evident among senior participants. Some were even concerned about whether they would be able to continue their activities.

– We invited seniors to our office for coffee and encouraged them to bring their phones along, so that we could go through the onboarding together. In addition, we organised open Teams sessions for parents. We did not leave our members on their own, Juola explains.

Quality in club operations and member satisfaction go hand in hand

Oulun Voimistelijat’s vision is to be a high-quality and safe provider of physical activity, offering diverse coaching and instruction. The club’s activities are delivered by 60 instructors and coaches across both competitive and recreational groups.

For office work to run smoothly and the workload of volunteers to remain reasonable, effective systems are essential. Since the introduction of Suomisport, paper-based attendance tracking in different groups has been eliminated, the calendar reminds participants of training and activity sessions, and data on training and activities is automatically collected for reporting purposes, such as funding applications.

At the same time, member satisfaction is also a key consideration.

– No change is accepted instantly – initial resistance is part of human nature, Eeva Juola says with a smile.

– When you look at the bigger picture, there are more satisfied members. Of course, negative feedback can weigh heavily, even if it is smaller in volume. It is important to put it into perspective, focus on those who are satisfied and improve where needed.