Construction company YIT ensures a high-quality service experience for its customers throughout every stage of residential living. YIT Plus provides a centralised source for all information related to the construction of a new home, moving and everyday living. It also enables communication and interaction between multiple operators.
YIT Plus Service
The first version of YIT Plus, known as Plus, was launched in 2014 and was similar in style to social media platforms. Since 2016, Ambientia and YIT have been developing Plus to better meet the needs of residents and support YIT’s business objectives.
Today, the service functions as a clear information hub and communication channel for residents of YIT homes, while also providing a wide range of self-service features. Plus can be accessed on both desktop and mobile devices.
"The previous version had an outdated user interface. Today, Plus is like a loyalty service for YIT residents, with features that can be tailored to the needs of individual housing companies," explains Jukka Hyvärinen, Development Manager at YIT Finland.
YIT Plus Simplifies Living and Customer Service
YIT Plus has significantly simplified everyday life for both YIT’s customer service teams and its customers. All key home-related documents and housing company information are available in one place, which has virtually eliminated related email and phone enquiries.
Communication between residents and YIT is also handled conveniently through the service. Residents can communicate with property managers, housing company boards and neighbours through Plus.
"Open communication related to housing brings greater consistency to our resident services while freeing up our customer service teams’ time for other tasks. YIT Plus plays a central role in delivering a great customer experience, and the data collected from its usage helps us continuously improve our services," says Hyvärinen.
Through the service, users can:
- Store home and housing company documents securely in one place.
- Follow the progress of their future home's construction.
- Select interior materials and home appliances for homes under construction.
- Share and receive information about housing company matters.
- Contact property management and maintenance services.
- Communicate with neighbours.
- Monitor water and electricity consumption as well as indoor temperature.
- Make reservations for shared facilities within the housing company.
- Order moving and everyday living services from partner companies through the service marketplace.
An Effortless Digital Service Builds Trust Among Residents
YIT aims to differentiate itself through services and concepts that support its business, with an excellent customer experience at the centre.
Within YIT’s business model, Plus is a value-added service that is free and voluntary for housing companies and residents. When residents can manage their housing-related matters effortlessly throughout the entire lifecycle of living, a strong relationship and trust in YIT is created. Thanks to Plus, YIT is more than just an anonymous developer to the residents of its homes.
"When YIT provides relevant services, customers are more willing to stay connected with us when looking for a new home. This not only helps us improve customer satisfaction but also supports our business," Hyvärinen summarises.
Usage Continues to Grow
The latest version of Plus was launched in spring 2021 and was then rolled out extensively in Finland. The renewed service has received very positive feedback.
The service now provides access to renovation companies, cleaning service providers and other businesses offering housing-related services. The redesign also included updates to the YIT support chat, which has not only improved information sharing with residents but has also increased the first-response rate for customer enquiries.
"Registration and usage rates for Plus have increased significantly following the renewal. Ambientia has been able to respond quickly to our changing needs. We have also received valuable suggestions for the future development of the service," Hyvärinen says.
”Ambientia has been able to respond quickly to our changing needs. We have also received valuable suggestions for the future development of the service.”
Jukka Hyvärinen
How YIT Plus Was Built
The starting point for developing YIT Plus was to create a meaningful customer experience through a single, easy-to-use channel. Achieving this required relevant housing-related data and the ability to analyse it, the involvement of the right stakeholders, effective design methods and the capability to evaluate how technology choices would impact YIT’s business.
Service design was used to identify the needs of homeowners and different end-user groups. Architectural design ensured from the concept phase onwards that YIT Plus was both technically and commercially viable.
The technical implementation was largely based on native Microsoft Azure services and integrations between various systems.
The development of Plus involved Ambientia’s business designers, service designers, UI designers and developers, software developers, a data analyst, a mobile developer and application architects.
Valuable Lessons from a Small Pilot Group
YIT operates in ten European countries. The development of the new service involved addressing numerous integration and migration challenges. Security-related requirements also required careful consideration.
These challenges were overcome by developing the service incrementally and expanding the user base in a controlled manner.
"The new Plus concept was first tested through pilot projects in individual countries. Development then continued using an agile approach, with close attention paid to the needs and feedback of pilot users. At the same time, we have taken on a stronger role in the development and expansion of the service," says Harri Nieminen from Ambientia.
Today, YIT Plus is used in seven countries, approximately 600 housing companies and 30,000 apartments.
"Working with Ambientia was straightforward, and different versions of the prototype could be developed based on real business and customer experience needs."
Jukka Hyvärinen
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