SEOM: The Journey towards Process-oriented Business Development

SEOM, Sollentuna Energy & Environment, is a local energy and environmental company owned by Sollentuna Municipality. With around 100 employees, SEOM’s annual turnover is approximately SEK 700 million. SEOM develops, builds, and maintains infrastructure in Sollentuna for sustainable and secure electricity deliveries, district heating, fiber, TV, water, and waste management.

Since 2016, SEOM has used 2c8 Apps to visualize its operations. We met Sara Bergström, a Business Developer and Environmental Specialist at SEOM, who gave us an insight into their work.

August 15, 2024

A need for a solid foundation for Business Development

When Sara joined SEOM in 2016, her first task was implementing an Environmental Management System. This was because they wanted to strengthen their environmental work and emphasize their environmental profile. However, in addition to the need for an Environmental Management System, there was also a great need to document the activities – which was most appropriately done in 2c8 Apps.

“There was a strong entrepreneurial spirit in the company, but to do Business Development effectively, we needed a foundation to know where we are today”, says Sara.

The first thing Sara did was create a process map in 2c8 Apps. Based on this mapping, it quickly became clear that there were “several companies within the company”.

Process-oriented Business Development

Despite the many different business areas, it was possible to start by creating a company-wide main process map for the organization. This meant there was no need to document one process for water, one for waste, and one for electricity networks. Instead, standard processes such as “Deliver and Maintain” were drawn, which could be followed regardless of your business area. A separate process was created further down the structure for those processes that needed to be unique to each business area.

“In the standard ‘Deliver and Maintain’ process, a separate process describes how we produce district heating. This is needed because it is unique to this particular business area, unlike the ‘Manage Incident’ process, which is carried out in the same way everywhere in the organization”, says Sara.

The mapping exercise allowed Sara and her colleagues to examine their working practices while developing the processes. It helped them get a clear picture of what worked well and what worked less well. Just as they had hoped, process mapping became a basis for business development, and they were able to focus on optimizing their working methods. Ineffective elements could be removed from the processes, and new ways of working were developed.

Mapping to support a growing need

Once the significant work of documenting the business processes and organizational chart in 2c8 Apps was done, the material could be used to meet other needs that arose along the way. Sara and her colleagues’ process maps visualized, among other things, the processes in which certain IT systems were used. They could then reuse the mapped Application Objects to create an overall Application Model.

“Here, we could group the various systems, appoint system managers, and fulfill the need to document the GDPR work. In this way, we could get a clear picture of our systems within the organization, which ones contain personal data, and how this is handled”, Sara continues.

Sara and her colleagues have also started work on Document Registration, where the processes and associated documents in 2c8 Apps provide firm support.

“We have had a document management plan, but when we look at the documents based on each process, we get a higher quality of work. We cut the cake from a different angle”, says Sara.

The maps have also served as a basis for SEOM’s ‘Fair Electricity Trade’ certification.

“Today, the processes acts as an aid for the entire organization”

The mapping done in 2c8 Apps was published in the organization and today supports employees. The processes with associated documents and clarification of responsibilities mean that employees have access to visual descriptions of how the work should be carried out.

“It has probably been most favorable for new employees. The models make onboarding transparent and provide a detailed image of how you should work and what is expected of you in your role. The publication means that you always have the opportunity to go in and find out, ‘How would I handle this situation again? ‘” Sara explains.

Sara goes on to tell us how even more experienced employees benefit greatly from the publication when it comes to ‘infrequent activities’, as she calls it.

“For example, it may be a purchase that some employees do not make very often. Then, they can go into the publication and see how a purchase should be handled”.

Lessons along the way

When we ask Sara what the key to success is in a project like this, she pauses before answering.

“I think a clear structure from the start is fundamental to avoid clutter. It’s good to remember that it should be easy to navigate the processes and find the information you expect to find in a certain place in the organization’s processes”, says Sara.

She goes on to discuss the importance of a pilot study before starting the extensive work. She believes that it is good to map a limited area first. This makes it easier to show the organization the benefits and set rules for documenting.