Challenge
The Nordic business services and advisory partner replaced a tangle of Excel files and LinkedIn recruitment with a scalable contractor management platform, transforming its interim consulting network into a strategic growth engine. Learn how Aspia turned its contingent workforce into a competitive advantage.
Aspia is Northern Europe’s leading business partner for technology-enabled accounting, payroll, tax, advisory and interim consulting services. With more than 3,000 employees, over 100 offices and 30,000 customers across the Nordics, Aspia combines specialist expertise with digital innovation to help businesses grow. A core part of Aspia’s offering is connecting clients with the right specialist expertise, quickly and confidently. However, prior to implementing Worksuite, the underlying processes made it difficult to consistently deliver on this promise at scale.
Previously, client requests — such as delivering five pre-vetted candidates within 30 minutes — required significant manual effort. As the business grew, existing workflows struggled to keep pace with increasing demand.
When Linnea Hellman Hanna joined Aspia, the contractor program relied heavily on Excel files and Word documents. There was no centralized overview of the contractor network, which at the time consisted of approximately 180 contractors and subcontractors. For assignments in all regions of Sweden , the team often relied on LinkedIn, which was not optimized for structured talent matching.
“We lacked a clear, strategic overview of our network,” Linnea explains. “It was difficult to track interactions and maintain consistency in our outreach.”
— Linnea Hellman Hanna, Service Management Leader, Aspia
These limitations led to inefficiencies in the placement process. Identifying suitable candidates could take several days, and without a shared system, there was a risk of duplicate communication with subcontractors. This created challenges in maintaining the level of professionalism expected from a premium brand.
Administrative processes also required significant manual handling. Timesheets were submitted via email, then manually consolidated into spreadsheets before being transferred into the invoicing system. As volumes increased, this process became increasingly time-consuming.
As demand for interim expertise continued to grow, Aspia recognized the need for a more scalable and structured way to manage its specialist network. The ambition was not only to improve operational efficiency, but also to strengthen its ability to deliver high-quality interim consultants in finance, accounting, payroll, HR, tax and ESG – often within very short timeframes.
Solution
Aspia had been using Worksuite in a limited capacity — around 180 economy-focused subcontractors — when Linnea joined. What changed was how deliberately they built it out. Over four years, they expanded the platform to cover their full business: Finance consultants, accounting specialists, HR consultants, payroll specialists, tax advisors, finance transformation experts and ESG consultants. They built custom skill taxonomies so contractors could self-report niche expertise during onboarding. Aspia and Worksuite configured a tiered rating system to track quality and assignment history across the entire network.
The answer wasn’t LinkedIn or spreadsheets; it was a platform purpose-built for relationship-driven contractor management at scale.
The initiative aligns closely with Aspia’s broader strategy of combining specialist expertise with modern technology, automation and data-driven ways of working. By creating a structured contractor ecosystem, Aspia strengthened its ability to match clients with qualified expertise quickly, consistently and at scale.
The result was a capability that LinkedIn and spreadsheets never offered: precision filtering at scale. "When a customer wants exactly this skill," Linnea explains, "we can be very on point with that request. Things run faster." When an urgent assignment comes in today, the search is immediate — pre-rated contractors sorted by previous history and skill match surfaced in seconds. The 30-minute delivery window, once impossible, is now routine.
Time reporting made the same leap. What was once a monthly email-and-spreadsheet marathon is now a single click. Subcontractors apply for assignments, submit time reports — all within the same portal, without leaving it. "It's like their little homepage," Linnea says. "They can see news, apply for assignments, contact us easily." Aspia also uses the platform to share benefits with contractors — webinars, niche lunches, access to internal legal and tax expertise — deepening the relationship long after the placement is made.
“Time reporting used to be manual and complex. I was managing three different spreadsheets manually every month. Now it’s one click, and everything flows directly into our invoice system. I am so thrilled with that.”
— Linnea Hellman Hanna, Service Management Leader, Aspia
Result
In four years, Aspia scaled its contractor network from 180 to more than 5,000 plus — a 27x increase — while keeping the internal managing team lean, and the quality bar high. The inhouse team grew from 5 to 12. Worksuite scaled alongside them without friction.
A team of 12 now manages 5,000+ contractors across Sweden, without sacrificing the quality or personal touch that defines the Aspia brand.
The growth has enabled Aspia to further strengthen its position as a leading interim consulting partner in the Nordics, providing organizations with rapid access to highly qualified specialists for both operational and strategic assignments.
Time-to-placement has been reduced from several days to approximately 30 minutes. A key factor is Aspia’s established network of 600 pre-qualified and actively engaged subcontractors, providing immediate access to relevant candidates without starting from scratch.
“We have around 600 pre-qualified subcontractors in our network,” Linnea explains. “This allows us to work more efficiently and avoid restarting the process for each new request.”
As a result, when urgent client needs arise, suitable candidates can be identified quickly and directly within the Worksuite system.
But the shift wasn't just operational. It changed how Aspia thinks about its network. Contractors who engage through the platform — applying, reporting, communicating — build a relationship with Aspia over time. Senior contractors who've had good experiences come back as future clients, bringing new assignments or asking Aspia to staff their own teams. "It's just not a list of people," Linnea says. "It's really a relationship tree."
This reflects Aspia’s ambition to build long-term relationships that create value in both directions – supporting clients with expertise while creating opportunities for specialists throughout their careers.
“We couldn't imagine working without Worksuite anymore. If you want to scale, and operate more professionally as a relationship-driven business, this is the place to be.”
— Linnea Hellman Hanna, Service Management Leader, Aspia
