Until autumn last year, I was on a temporary assignment with the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk). As a communications coordinator in the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) team, I supported research projects with messaging and media relations, and helped the university showcase its efforts in “internationalisation” and “regional impact.”
One of my favorite projects was launching the university’s presence on Mastodon, making Xamk the first Finnish higher education institution to do so. This was around the same time that many Twitter users were seeking alternatives due to changes on the platform. Mastodon and the broader fediverse provided a new home for microblogging and a refuge for those disillusioned by Twitter’s new direction.
Xamk is a large organisation with educational facilities in four major cities in South-Eastern Finland and numerous applied research locations. As the largest Finnish UAS in terms of RDI spending, onboarding there was a complex task. I had to familiarise myself with the organisational structure, ongoing and future projects, branding practices, a compulsory information security course, the labyrinthine intranet, external web services, and a myriad of digital tools. The sheer volume of information was overwhelming.
As a result, I found myself asking numerous questions, often from the wrong people, trying to navigate the onboarding process. While I eventually found my footing, it was not without its challenges.
A game-changer for onboarding
Eighteen months later, a solution to my onboarding challenges would have been available. Enter Mainio, the AI virtual assistant developed by Mindhive, which could have transformed my onboarding experience and saved both me and my colleagues significant time and effort.
Mainio immediately stood out to me as a solution for onboarding challenges. While the Mindhive team envisioned Mainio for various applications, including customer service, recruitment, and process validation, its potential as an onboarding assistant was particularly compelling.
Mainio is a virtual assistant tailored by Mindhive to meet the specific needs of an organisation. It handles repetitive and straightforward tasks that would otherwise require human intervention.
Real-world implementation
Mainio can serve as an onboarding buddy, helping new employees get acquainted with the organisation, understand current projects, and grasp the specifics of their roles. It can answer their questions, assist with navigating the intranet, and continuously improve its support based on interactions with employees.
In my case, Mainio could have been my “onboarding buddy”, guiding me through the essential information, directing me to relevant sources, and answering many of my questions. This would have saved me considerable time and minimized the interruptions to my colleagues.
You can see Mainio in action on Mindhive’s website at https://mindhive.fi. The chat feature in the lower right corner is powered by Mainio. It has been trained to interact with visitors to the website, with specific information about Mindhive and its offerings. It provides detailed responses, qualifies prospects, and maintains a friendly and professional tone.
Mainio’s recieves much of its language and reasoning capabilities comes from the Large Language Model (LLM) that it makes use of. This can come from OpenAI, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, or even a combination of them.
Similary to taking on a customer service or onboarding assistant role, Mindhive can train, develop and maintain Mainio for many other work roles within professional organisations. The company also provides the expertise to integrate the AI tools to existing ITC infrastructure.
Can you see it?
For transparency, I’m involved in helping Mindhive create visibility for Mainio and their AI courses. Having experienced these offerings firsthand, I only promote what I genuinely believe in.
Mindhive is currently seeking a few pilot partners for Mainio, offering the service at cost price. If you can envision how a virtual assistant like Mainio could benefit your organisation or if you’re curious about exploring possibilities, feel free to reach out.
No obligation—just an opportunity to discuss how LLMs and foundational AI models could enhance your operations.
If this sparks your interest, please contact me via one of the links below.
