Alma Regional Media to reorganise its customer service operations

Alma Media Corporation                                                   Press release 11 February 2016 10.00 a.m.

ALMA REGIONAL MEDIA TO REORGANISE ITS CUSTOMER SERVICE OPERATIONS

Alma Regional Media is planning a reorganisation of its customer service operations. The goal is to create a model that would better support digitised media consumption and customer service. At this juncture, possibilities will be explored to achieve closer cooperation between customer services and the circulation service. Alma Regional Media will commence statutory personnel negotiations to prepare for potential impact on employees. According to the provisional plan of the employer, the required reduction in workforce is 34 person-years at most.

“Our goal is to merge and harmonise operations and processes in customer services and the circulation service. We must be able to extend our customer service to be available in the evenings and on weekends. This is why we are looking into the possibility of outsourcing some of the services,” says Pauliina Makkonen, Sales Director for Regional Media, Content Sales.

According to Makkonen, there is a need to refocus customer services towards sales and customer advice. The use of various automated and self-service channels is also on the increase.

“One incentive for the planned reorganisation is to make sure we are ready for the system changes following the changing customer needs,” Makkonen says.

Customer services is a shared function within Regional Media. There are customer service advisors in all regional papers and the largest local papers. The negotiations will concern approximately 50 employees.

Alma Regional Media is Alma Media Corporation’s business unit publishing regional, local and city newspapers throughout Finland. Its best-known titles are Aamulehti, Satakunnan Kansa, Lapin Kansa and Pohjolan Sanomat.

For more information, please contact:
Pauliina Makkonen, Sales Director, Content Sales Director, Alma Regional Media, +358 50 3470281
Kari Juutilainen, Head of Unit and Senior Vice President, Alma Regional Media, tel.+358 50 4354159

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is a media company focusing on digital services and publishing. In addition to news services, the company’s products provide useful information related to lifestyle, career and business development. The services of Alma Media have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central Europe. In 2014, the company employed an average of 1,830 professionals (excluding deliverers), of whom approximately one quarter worked outside Finland. Alma Media’s revenue in 2014 totalled approximately EUR 295 million. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.

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