Swiss boards of directors: shortage of skilled workers threatens innovative strength
Corona has not slowed down the innovation activities of Swiss companies, but rather boosted them. But innovation requires qualified personnel, and there is a shortage of them, as the new swissVR Monitor shows: Board members currently see the lack of skilled workers as the greatest obstacle to economic success.
Since 2017, the swissVR Monitor has been published, jointly authored by SwissVR, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and the auditing firm Deloitte. In its eleventh edition, the focus topic is innovation. Swiss boards of directors of listed companies but also of SMEs from all relevant industries were surveyed on this topic between December 1, 2021 and January 10, 2022. A total of 413 people took part in the survey.
If you want to play in the Champions League of the global economy, you have to be innovative - whether at the level of products and services or in terms of business models and processes. This is well known. Swiss companies have also recognized the importance of innovation, according to the swissVR Monitor. Accordingly, it attests that the Swiss economy has the necessary "will to innovate.
Pandemic was not a brake on innovation
The swissVR Monitor finds that the pandemic has spurred innovation activities: 19 percent of the companies surveyed have expanded their activities in the course of the Corona crisis, according to the report. 32 percent have also realigned their innovation focus and implemented digitization projects, for example. Only just 2 percent of respondents have scaled back their innovation activities, while 7 percent have temporarily frozen them. As in the previous year, digitization and related topics such as robotics and automation were the top agenda item on boards of directors in 2021. However, this is likely to change this year. The shortage of skilled workers is taking center stage, as the survey shows. According to the 413 board members surveyed, the topic of talent will set the tone over the next 12 months. That's why the majority would like to focus even more on attracting innovative and well-trained employees: 57 percent of BoD members see potential for improvement in recruiting and training qualified personnel.
Swiss board members are dissatisfied with politics
When it comes to recruitment, companies are also heavily dependent on the economic and political framework conditions. 69 percent of the Swiss board members surveyed hope that politicians will find solutions to limit the shortage of skilled workers. If this does not succeed, the economic upswing could be slowed down. Board members are currently 9 percentage points less optimistic about the business outlook than in the last survey six months ago (66% versus 75% positive expectations).
"Attracting and retaining qualified employees is the top priority for companies, because they are crucial for their innovative strength. Tax incentives or public subsidies can be helpful, but they are not a sufficient lever for innovation. To alleviate the shortage of skilled workers, companies, policymakers and educational institutions must pull together," Reto Savoia, CEO of Deloitte Switzerland, sums it up.
Boards of directors must initiate innovation
Qualified employees, an open corporate culture, and support from management - these are the three most important success factors for innovation from the board's point of view. Financial resources are a problem for only a few. However, there is a need for action in internal processes: 45 percent of board members see silo thinking as a major obstacle to the development of new products and innovative services.
But the board of directors itself must also become active: There is room for improvement in the board's innovation competence as well as in the exchange with the development departments. 30 percent of board members have little or no contact with the relevant people in their company. Around a quarter of boards have no board members with innovation expertise, and for just as many this is not a selection criterion when appointing new members to the executive board. "More innovation competence is needed on boards of directors. The board of directors must bring appropriately qualified members on board and act as a catalyst for innovation projects," says Christoph Lengwiler, lecturer at the Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Half of Swiss board members believe cooperation is essential for innovation
The swissVR Monitor also shows that cooperation with external organizations is at least as important as the company's own research department. A considerable proportion of respondents rely on collaboration with other companies (51%), universities and research institutes (40%) and investments in start-ups (18%). The external view of innovation topics is also becoming increasingly important. "Open innovation" is on the rise: 38 percent collaborate with external stakeholders such as customers. External consultants (41%) are also increasingly involved in innovation processes. "The future of innovation lies in collaboration. Companies need to join forces with other players from business and science. Even within companies, collaboration across different departments and silos is necessary, because innovation often arises at interfaces. Going it alone is no longer an option," says Cornelia Ritz Bossicard, President of swissVR.
Source and further information: swissVR / Deloitte AG / Lucerne University
