Sosiaali- ja terveysalan yritysten liiketoiminnan kehittämisen itsearviointityökalu SOLKI

This is a report on the SoLKI self-assessment tool developed for social and healthcare companies. The SoLKI tool is based on research and entrepreneurs’ experiences collected during the Booster for Social and Healthcare Entrepreneurs Project. The research and development is conducted at the Kerttu Saalasti Institute at the University of Oulu. The tool is based on research interviews among entrepreneurs in the Oulu Southern region as well as previous research and literature related to business development in micro and small businesses. SoLKI is a practical tool with terminology that is familiar to social and healthcare entrepreneurs and business advisors. Development of tool included several prepublication workshops together with business advisory organizations and enterprises. Entrepreneurs can use SoLKI to identify their current business phase and development needs. Regular business assessment helps to target resources, understand the realistic boundaries of business environment, and to prioritize operative tasks. With the SoLKI tool, micro-, small- and medium-sized companies in the social and healthcare business can predict future changes. The tool consists of five central core business processes that growth- or success-oriented companies need to take into consideration. The core processes are: 1) Entrepreneurship and business; 2) Marketing and sales; 3) Delivery of services; 4) Maintenance and development of customer-ships, and 5) Culture of continuous development. Each of these core processes are evaluated through six categories: Current state; Staff (know-how, experience, attitudes); Entrepreneur (management); Quality; Digitalization, and Co-operation (internal and external). In each core process, the categories are evaluated on three maturity levels through several claims. These claims provide ideas for further development actions. This report is a part of the project called Booster for Social and Healthcare Entrepreneurs, which is coordinated by Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The ...