Ensuring high-quality properties for 7,000 students, 40% of whom are international, representing over 100 different nationalities, is a complex task requiring flexibility and deep expertise. For the Turku Student Village Foundation (TYS), this is part of everyday operations—with Alltime by their side enabling smooth living through integrated property maintenance and cleaning services across their property portfolio.
A multicultural environment requires specialised expertise in facility services
Student Village Foundation of Turku(TYS) manages approximately 200 buildings across 17 different sites in Turku, Finland. The largest and most unique of these is the Student Village, which, in addition to housing, includes a restaurant, gym, and a store serving 3,500 students. A particular challenge in service delivery is the multicultural resident base, requiring flexibility and special know-how from the service provider.
During the tenancy period, cleaning and property services are the most visible and impactful indicators of customer satisfaction—often even more so than TYS’s own services, which focus on the beginning and end of the tenancy.
“Alltime’s property maintenance professionals actively offer development ideas, suggestions, and solutions to challenges,” says Pirjo Lipponen-Vaitomaa, Director of Customer Relations and Communications at TYS.
Customer satisfaction as a shared goal
TYS and Alltime began their collaboration in March 2019, which has expanded over the years thanks to excellent results. Currently, Alltime is responsible for TYS’s property maintenance, cleaning of common areas, and apartment inspections during tenant changes. Recently, Alltime’s cleaning services have also been utilised for cleaning tasks related to tenant turnover.
Customer satisfaction is monitored systematically: after a service visit, residents can provide feedback via text message on Alltime’s services. Results are reviewed monthly. TYS also tracks the response times for maintenance requests.
According to Lipponen-Vaitomaa, student housing is her personal passion. “Our property maintenance satisfaction scores have been trending upward. Last year, the score reached 8.82 out of 10, which clearly exceeds our target. This is especially important, as for many young people this is their first home, and property maintenance has a significant impact on resident experience,” she explains.
Cleaning quality is monitored through regular quality rounds and customer satisfaction surveys, with the results reviewed in joint quality meetings. “Our monthly quality meetings with representatives from property maintenance and cleaning take place in a very positive spirit. We’ve been especially pleased with Alltime’s proactive attitude,” Lipponen-Vaitomaa adds.
Pirjo Lippomaa-Vaitomaa says that student housing is a personal passion for her.
Facing Future Challenges Together
As a public procurement entity, TYS places high importance on quality criteria and staff expertise when selecting partners.
“We want to offer our residents better opportunities for sustainable living. Alltime’s professionalism in property maintenance and cleaning, along with their progressive attitude, has greatly supported this,” says Lipponen-Vaitomaa.
Currently, TYS and Alltime are working together to improve waste sorting in shared kitchens, enhance feedback systems through QR codes, and explore the use of cleaning robotics. Control rooms, system confirmations, and other digital cleaning solutions are also areas TYS wants to further develop with its property services partner.
“In the future, digitalisation will certainly play an even bigger role in meeting our service needs and development goals,” Lipponen-Vaitomaa concludes.
How can a massive 180 000 m2 shopping centre, with 7.3 million annual visitors, 300 yearly events and 80 toilet facilities, be managed smoothly and sustainably? Ideapark Lempäälä, near Tampere, Finland, has found Alltime as its trusted partner in this mission through integrated facility and cleaning services.
Ideapark Lempäälä shopping centre is one of the most visited facilities in Finland – its about 180,000 m2 see 7.3 million visits and 300 events annually. It attracts visitors from all over the country, and aims to become Finland’s largest “mini-holiday destination”. As daily visitor numbers range between 10,000 and 30,000, substantial expertise, resources, and—above all—flexibility is required from partners to create an excellent experience.
“Flexibility is key for us. Our partners must be able to respond to fluctuating visitor numbers and 300 annual events. Alltime has demonstrated its ability to meet these demands, both in terms of resources and attitude,” says Visa Vainiola, CEO of Ideapark Lempäälä. “We want a partner that doesn’t focus on why something can’t be done, but finds solutions instead. Alltime is exactly that kind of partner.”
The partnership began in 2022 with property maintenance and soon expanded to include cleaning services. Today, Alltime takes care of outdoor area maintenance, property maintenance, technical facility services, event construction, shopping cart collection, as well as both general and construction cleaning. Additionally, some of the shopping centre’s stores utilise Alltime’s cleaning services. With good reason, the partnership can be described as a one-stop-shop for facility services.
“A comprehensive service offering, agility, and willingness to solve issues are definitely the best aspects of this partnership. They fit perfectly into the fast-paced and ever-changing environment we operate in. Despite being a fairly large company, Alltime provides us with truly local service,” Tero Mäkelä, Facility Manager at Ideapark, describes the collaboration.
“We want a partner that doesn’t focus on why something can’t be done, but finds solutions instead. Alltime is exactly that kind of partner.” Visa Vainiola, CEO, Ideapark Lempäälä
Sustainability is another important theme in Ideapark’s partnerships.
The shopping centre aims to become carbon-neutral by 2030 and expects its partners to share this mindset. Alltime has demonstrated its commitment to supporting its customer reach its environmental goals by introducing electric work equipment among other initiatives.
While energy reduction is Ideapark’s primary focus, Mäkelä also emphasises the shopping center’s social responsibility. “Sustainability is made up of many factors and should be addressed comprehensively. Often, aspects like the free events we organise or the affordable spaces we offer to sports clubs go unnoticed. In terms of social responsibility, Alltime also supports us through its services.”
For Vainiola and Mäkelä, the most important aspect of responsible business is having a shared vision and objectives. As the EU’s mandatory sustainability reporting requirements come into effect, companies are already learning to navigate this challenge together.
“A hands-on attitude and the right people are what matter most to us,” Vainiola sums up.
Alltime’s cleaning services personnel at Ideapark Lempäälä
Starting January 2025, Alltime Finland’s service offering in the Tampere region will also include green space services and landscaping. The service portfolio will cover green area maintenance and construction, planting work, invasive species control, and inspections of playgrounds and recreational areas.
“We’ve strengthened our team with the addition of our new service supervisor, Noora Raitanen, which now allows us to expand into delivering green services,” says Timo Turkkinen, Area Manager, Tampere area.
Before joining Alltime, Raitanen worked as a hands-on supervisor and landscaping worker. She has strong experience particularly in maintaining green spaces in city centres.
“Our competitive advantage lies in a motivated and efficient team that manages sites professionally and effectively. The equipment we use also adds value for both our clients and our team, as battery-powered tools help reduce noise in work areas,” Raitanen explains.
Alltime’s extensive expertise in property and cleaning services provides a customer-beneficial and holistic approach for the new services. A strong commitment to sustainability will also be evident in Tampere’s green services.
“We prioritise native plant species, create habitats for pollinators, retain deadwood when appropriate to support biodiversity, and use natural materials whenever possible. We also strive to support cities’ green factor methods in our operations, which aim to improve urban greenery and manage stormwater naturally in increasingly dense urban environments,” says Raitanen.
For Alltime, successful green area services mean regulatory-compliant operations that are in harmony with nature.
Further Information
Timo Turkkinen, Area Manager, Tampere Region, Alltime Finland Tel. +358 41 318 3323 timo.turkkinen@alltime.fi
Noora Raitanen, Service Supervisor, Green Area Maintenance and Construction, Tampere Region, Alltime Finland Tel. +358 44 773 1281 noora.raitanen@alltime.fi
Alltime Group’s vision is to become a Nordic leader in maintaining built environments. We aim to provide customers with peace of mind through our proactive and caring approach in property maintenance, cleaning services and infrastructure maintenance. Our over 1,000 employees in Finland and Sweden ensure smooth and safe everyday life by taking care of properties, urban areas and waterways. Alltime Group is owned by MB Funds, a Finnish private equity firm, together with key employees.
