Co-Presidents lead Swiss outplacement industry association

At the last General Assembly of the Swiss Association for Outplacement (ACF Switzerland), the members unanimously elected Carine Dilitz and Regula Mäder Steiner as new Co-Presidents. Together with current board member Roland Bartl Andreoli (Finance), they will form the new ACF Switzerland board as of June 1, 2022. While Carine Dilitz represents the association in French-speaking Switzerland, Regula Mäder Steiner is responsible for German-speaking Switzerland. They take over the leadership of the association from the previous president, Pascal-Laurent Favre, who during his 10-year term of office was constantly concerned with promoting and developing the association of the leading providers of career management and organizational development in Switzerland in a rapidly changing environment and also increasingly presenting the association in the media. "After ten years, it is time for me to hand over the leadership of the association to new hands, and I am very pleased that with Regula Mäder Steiner and Carine Dilitz we have been able to win over two outstanding personalities and experts from our industry to do so," explains Pascal-Laurent Favre on his resignation.

Outplacement market is changing

In the past ten years, the environment and the outplacement market have changed drastically, Favre continued. This is also reflected in the market study on outplacement and newplacement consulting published annually by the association. Digitalization, globalization and demographic change have led to far-reaching upheavals in human life realities and greatly changed ways of working, "including in our profession, key words being remote working and coaching," confirms the outgoing president. "The demands for support in professional reorientation are continuously increasing, and professional and modern outplacement and newplacement must position themselves much more clearly in the context of digitalization and increasingly offer individual solutions."

This is also the view of the Co-Presidents. Regula Mäder Steiner explains: "This is where the association and our members will continue to be challenged in the future. Topics such as demographic change, the shortage of labor, resulting market trends such as new work models, changed employment processes and generally new questions of the different generations about their own careers will bring great challenges for the Swiss labor market, both for companies and employers as well as job seekers. As an independent association of Swiss Career Firms, we would like to become more visible in this regard in the future and be available to politicians and the business community to answer questions with our expertise."

Increasing demands on modern consulting in outplacement and newplacement

In addition, the aftermath of the pandemic, war, rising energy and raw material costs, interrupted supply chains, inflation and the shortage of skilled workers are increasingly becoming a burden on the economy, presenting companies with growing problems in this regard. Co-President Carine Dilitz is therefore convinced: "There will be no quick return to the status quo ante, even in Switzerland, despite a high employment rate by international standards. Professional advice and support for companies and job seekers with programs and measures for successful reintegration into the Swiss labor market is therefore of great importance. A key concern is therefore that we as an association set the right priorities and want to get involved in the political process - increasingly also with partners and allies."

A brief portrait of the Co-Presidents

Carine Dilitz is Managing Director and Partner at Oasys Consultants. Together with Béatrice Elattar, she acquired the majority of shares in the company in 2021. She has 15 years of successful experience in management and organizational development as well as in supporting career transitions in an international, national and regional environment. After earning a master's degree in psychology and a post-graduate diploma in criminology, she completed her studies with an Advanced Management Program in Business Management. She is also certified in Emergency Psychology and has also participated in the recruitment process of Swiss Army officers through assessment centers. Carine Dilitz is a native French speaker, but is also fluent in English, German and Swiss-German.

Regula Mäder Steiner has been the owner and managing director of Mäder & Partner AG New Placement since 2009, with offices in Zurich, Basel, Baden, St. Gallen, Olten, Bern, Lucerne and Zug. She has many years of management experience in outplacement, leadership coaching and in supporting companies in change processes. As a member of the management team in Human Resources at the largest Swiss life insurance company, she was responsible for the development of internal outplacement. As an International Certified Coach and Assessor with a Master's degree in HR Management and a Bachelor of Science degree, she advises and accompanies teams and individuals in the areas of leadership and team development, 360° feedback, coaching for managers and specialists, assessments for all hierarchical levels and functions, and change management. Since 2005 she has been a lecturer at two universities of applied sciences in the field of human resources on the subject of change management. Regula Mäder Steiner is fluent in German, English and French.

Source: ACF Switzerland