Customer orientation is a core principle of occupational health care. The customer-oriented approach can be defined as a partnership between occupational health care and the workplace based on trust and contracts. Well-functioning co-operation between the workplace and occupational health care enables the development of the client relationship and adds value and impact of the occupational health care measures. The customer-oriented approach considers the starting point and environment of the client company. When it comes to the development of customer oriented social and health care services, a historical change process is taking place. At present, clients are required to have an equal role as an influencer and developer with the service providers in the service system. Responding to customer needs, customer orientation in service operations and customer involvement are central to the change process. Customer orientation and the development of customer-oriented services is also a key objective of the program of the current Finnish Government (Inclusive and Competent Finland). One strategic component of the Government Program is the improvement of social and health care services. The goal of service development is to provide care in a timely, equitable, effective, cost-effective, holistic and flexible manner.

The development work was carried out as a case study and its purpose was to develop a customer-oriented approach for a private service provider to develop occupational health care services. The aim was to make occupational health services more customer oriented.

The research material of the case study was collected in three ways: a customer survey for client companies (n=64), occupational health care nurses managing client companies were interviewed (theme-oriented interviews) (n=4) and workshops were organized in client companies (n=3). Based on this material, the cooperation between client companies and occupational health care was described, as well as the needs and aspirations of client companies to develop occupational health services. The customer-oriented approach was created based on theme interviews with occupational health care nurses and workshops organized in client companies.

In the customer oriented operating model, the following points emerged as key is-sues: utilization of multi-professionalism, customer- and need-based approach, availability of services and communication of the content of occupational health care. In the future, it would be a good idea to focus on these issues in the development of occupational health care services in order to ensure and improve customer orientation.