General technology problems, a poor Internet connection and delayed meetings due to technology problems cause the most displeasure among communications professionals when it comes to online meetings. This is the result of a recent survey by news aktuell and Faktenkontor. More than 120 professionals and executives from companies, organizations and PR agencies took part in the survey.

Technology problems annoy tremendously

According to the survey, most respondents are annoyed when the technology goes wrong again, for example because no image or no sound is transmitted or the microphone doesn't work (56 percent). Every second communications manager is most likely to be upset because there is not enough bandwidth, resulting in delays or breakdowns during online meetings (51 percent). The fact that digital meetings are delayed due to technical problems stresses 37 percent.

A good one in four communications professionals is annoyed when participants in online meetings have their cameras turned off (27 percent). In addition, virtual meetings - due to the Corona situation - have generally increased considerably, which is what causes the greatest displeasure among 26 percent of the survey participants. Just as many respondents are upset when participants use the "mute/loud" function incorrectly, i.e., do not notice that they are switched to loud or still on mute and thus hinder the process and communication (26 percent).

Less disturbing: Children playing in the background

One in four communication professionals is annoyed when participants are late (25 percent). One in five respondents, on the other hand, is most annoyed by a lack of knowledge of the online tool, for example, when users send private chat messages to all participants, or when spaz filters are used in inappropriate situations (21 percent). Having to constantly see oneself in online meetings annoys one in seven (15 percent).

By contrast, the respondents take little offense at pets, partners or children jumping through the picture during an online meeting. Only seven percent find this annoying. Embarrassing or unwanted content is also not an issue: A meager two percent of the survey participants are bothered when others accidentally provide insights into family photos or shopping websites via screensharing, for example.

The 10 most annoying things about online meetings

1. General technology spins 56%
2. Poor internet connection 51%
3. Meetings delayed due to technology problems 37%
4. Participants have turned off camera 27%
5. Increased number of meetings 26%
6. Incorrect use of the "Mute/Loud" function 26%
7. Participants* late 25%
8. Lack of tool know-how of stakeholders 21%
9. Phrases like "Can you hear me?", "Sorry, got kicked out" 19%
10. Having to see yourself all the time 15%

The other places are occupied by the following "annoyances": 

• Inappropriate virtual backgrounds 15%
• Participants* eat during the meeting 12%
• Speaker late 9%
• Pets, partner or children jumping through the picture 7%
• Participants chat during the conference and thus distract from the topic 5%
• Participants jump up, e.g. because the parcel carrier rings 4%
• The 'split screen' function accidentally allows you to see embarrassing or unwanted content 2%

Source: Online survey in February 2021 by news up to date and Faktenkontor, 121 communications professionals from companies, organizations and PR agencies, multiple answers possible.

The "flat rate strategy" adopted by care4IT.ch a few years ago also bore its full fruit in 2020. Thus, despite the Corona pandemic, the company was able to record another financial year with an increase in sales of over 30 percent. This was achieved not least because the two owners Philipp Hollerer and Matthias Naber focused more attention on employee branding in addition to customer business, thereby increasing care4IT.ch's Kununu rating to a value of 4.9, which is also well above average in IT. In this way, the rapid new customer and project growth could be reconciled with the recruiting of new IT professionals.

Managed services and flat-rate IT are booming

The successful change in care4IT.ch's business model from a rather reactive project service provider to a proactive full-service provider is particularly evident in the rapid growth of recurring revenues. While management services have been growing at a constant rate of between 25 and 30 percent for several years now, income from flat-rate IT is currently virtually exploding. After around three years of introduction, the company now has a whole range of customers who have their IT comprehensively managed by means of a simple and transparent flat rate.

Sales will triple

In 2021, Philipp Hollerer expects flat rate revenues to at least triple. "It took us the last three years to understand the logic and risks of a flat rate business model in our industry so well that we could also work with it economically. Before that, we were often worried that at the end of the day we would sell our services too cheaply and therefore unprofitably" Philipp Hollerer explains the progress of the business development. "Flat rate has to be learned," he concludes his remarks.

Flat-rate IT: still a little-known model in Switzerland

"In Germany, flat-rate IT is now part of the basic offering at the vast majority of IT system houses. On the one hand, this may be due to a pronounced all-inclusive culture and the higher price pressure in Germany, but on the other hand, it has immense advantages for both customers and us as an IT service provider," explains Matthias Naber. "It helps customers to manage their IT costs transparently and predictably, and it helps us to build up a high-quality managed IT infrastructure, including specialist staff, and position it on the market," concludes Matthias Naber.

More information: care4IT.ch GmbH

There is a lot of construction activity in Switzerland. The demand for software solutions for the execution and maintenance of projects and real estate is high. "In terms of digitalization, the construction industry is a diamond in the rough, especially in the areas of collaboration and quality management," explains Axept CEO Raphael Kohler. For the Swiss software company, these considerations were decisive for its participation in the innovative platform smino as a digital tool for the planning and realization of construction projects.

Business software meets collaboration platform

Axept is the first software company to join smino. "The investment in smino demonstrates our ambition to establish Axept as a leading provider in the construction industry. smino is the ideal addition to our existing portfolio. In the future, we will be able to offer customers an end-to-end and integrated solution for handling construction projects," says Raphael Kohler. The company's declared goal is to jointly drive forward the digitization of the construction industry with innovative solutions. The investment in smino was therefore not only made for strategic reasons, but also for logical ones. It means a supplement to the PROVIS software and the AXbau solution.

Digitization of the construction industry: Many words, few deeds

"The terms digitalization and innovation are everywhere in the construction industry. However, there are only a few companies that actually live these terms and are willing to enable and drive progress," admits smino Co-CEO Sandor Balogh. "It is all the more gratifying that we have such an innovative partner at our side in Axept. Together, we will be even better able to successfully accompany our customers on their way into the future," Sandor Balogh is certain.

New perspectives for customers

The joint development work will start in April 2021. In a first step, the PROVIS software from Axept and smino will be linked to ensure end-to-end construction processes. Both companies will continue to operate independently, but there will be close cooperation in software development and operations. Existing customers will be offered new prospects as a result of the cooperation. Initial talks with larger companies have met with a positive response.

Source and further information: Axept / smino

Commerce has always been trimmed for flexibility. That's one of the reasons why Swiss retail industries have put up a brave fight overall in 2020, says Kaspar Engeli, director of Handel Schweiz, the umbrella organization for the retail industry: "Even outside of Corona, retail companies are faced with constant changes - from changing consumer behavior to problems in supply chains, price increases for raw materials or suppliers, and customs regulations that are suddenly adjusted."

Challenging year for all retail sectors

Nevertheless, 2020 was also an exceptionally challenging year for most retail sectors. However, individual areas achieved significant increases. These include toy retail, which grew by 13% in general and now sells almost 40% via online retail, which is on a par with our neighboring countries. Switzerland has thus caught up massively in just two years. Consumers are not only playing and doing more puzzles. They have also changed other preferences. Coffee cream, for example, is now mainly bought in larger bottles rather than in small portions. Mr. and Mrs. Swiss prefer to enjoy local wine, which has increased by 10%. They also used the time to plan and commission their wooden deck. As a result, sales in the trade in wood materials for wood construction increased by 20%. The drive technology of the new car was also a topic in Swiss families. In 2020, 30% more new cars with alternative drives such as electric were sold, in 2021 already 36% more. Home office and online meetings boosted sales of high-quality cameras. Textile trade was pleased with the good trend of workwear. Trade in machinery for the packaging industry also recorded an increase. In medical technology, the "Emergency" and "Anesthesia" segments were able to compensate somewhat for the slump in sales in other segments.

The assessments of the retail sectors in detail

For the Toysindustry, 2020 was a very good year with 13% higher sales. Delivery issues were a challenge. The shift from bricks-and-mortar retail to the Internet was enormous. Meanwhile, Switzerland has almost caught up with other Western European countries in this area. In 2021, this trend will continue and online trade will account for a good 40% of sales of toys.

Food the Swiss consumed largely unchanged overall in 2020. The temporary interruption in shopping tourism proved to be an advantage for local retailers. Some retail companies recorded a slight increase. The industry is looking ahead to 2021 with cautious optimism.

In the corona year 2020 was pleased the Wine trade about a good quality harvest and was able to fill the warehouses well. However, as is well known, wine is not consumed in closed restaurants. Therefore, the wine trade had to accept a decline in sales of up to 45% in the restaurant trade. Sales in the specialized trade also slumped by 45%, while the retail trade was able to increase. In January 2021, consumer sentiment was at a low point. However, there were signs of a slight recovery in February.

The Retail trade is very heterogeneously affected by the pandemic. The closure of thousands of stores over a period of weeks caused great difficulties for many retailers. In 2021, however, the retail trade as a whole is confident. A sigh of relief can be felt in the industry. One current challenge is overseas shipments, which are fraught with uncertainty, which can lead to merchandise shortages.

The trade with Photo and video cameras recorded an overall decline in sales for the year 2020. At the same time, there was a technology shift from SLR cameras to mirrorless devices. During the lockdown and in the home office, many professionals stocked up on high-quality cameras for video sessions. Now, this type of communication is widely accepted, which will lead to further user needs. For 2021, the trends are slightly negative, but the year is developing better than 2020.

The Textile trade was at a normal level in 2020; sales of textiles to retailers were stable. Trade in workwear continued to follow a positive trend. However, following the Corona restrictions in the fall, the winter collection is still in stores and warehouses and almost impossible to sell. Problems are also caused by the lack of containers for transport from the Far East and the massively increasing freight costs.

At Leather trade the development varied greatly depending on the region and customer groups. While some leather retailers saw no losses, others lost up to 40% in sales.

In specialized trade Cigars and luxury food sales declined by 20% in 2020, while Wholesale was able to maintain its volume. With 90% decrease, duty free underwent a dramatic development. Of concern is the potentially sustained decline in business travel. While sales in Asia are up slightly and the market in the U.S. is stable, business volume in Europe is down. Pricing and freight reliability are current challenges. Overall, the outlook for 2021 is nevertheless cautiously positive.

In the Medical Technology the areas developed very differently. While "Emergency" and "Anesthesia" recorded a plus in 2020, there were declines of up to 40% in surgery. As postponed operations are now being made up, the outlook for medical technology trading is normalizing in this respect. A major concern is the expiry of the Mutual Recognition Agreements MRA agreement with the EU. The EU has made it clear that it will not renew the MRA without the Institutional Framework Agreement.

Also the Trade with machines and automation for printing and Packing had to demonstrate great flexibility. While the packaging sector showed an above-average positive development, the printing press trade recorded a decline of 20%. For the current year, it is expected that the printing press trade will at least be able to maintain the current low level.

At Car trade the pandemic is causing rapid changes in the market. New car sales in 2020 slumped by 24% compared to 2019 - the worst performance since 1975, but the bright spot was provided by a 30% increase in sales of new cars with alternative powertrains. In January and February 2021, new car sales fell by 18%, with the share of new vehicles with alternative powertrains increasing further to 36%.

Also throughout the Building area the individual sectors developed very differently, affecting several trade sectors. While civil engineering continues at a high level, building construction is declining. Not only the Steel trade suffered in 2020 from delayed building permits, which were processed more slowly due to the home office of the building authorities. This fact slows down the overall development in the market. As construction is one of the drivers of the economy, the impact of this permit policy is felt in many other industries, including retail. This has also led to a difficult start in the current year.

The Interior design and event constructionwhich is suffering from the cancelled trade fairs, recorded a slump of around 10%. Uncertainties are also caused by the threatened postponement of public sector projects such as the SBB. Challenges lie in the price increases for steel, wood and plastics and the - hopefully only temporary - suspension of public sector projects. It is foreseeable that investments in the tourism sector will be restrained in the coming years.

However, despite these negative conditions, trading in particular with Wood materials satisfactory. Sales in the Wood construction increased by up to 20%. The pandemic provided a powerful boost to digitization in operational work. The outlook for 2021 is very good. Wood continues to be in vogue. The challenges lie more in material availability, price increases and high capacity utilization among producers.

Overall, the Metals trade 2020 a decline of up to 1.5%. Above all, demand from industry slumped. There was already a price increase last year, which continued in the first two months of 2021.

In trade with Construction machinery volumes declined by 6% last year. In 2021, the industry expects stable demand and a plus of 1.5%. Current challenges are the increased prices by up to 7%, longer delivery times and the EU tariffs for products from the USA.

In trade with Building materials business volumes remained stable, with regional differences such as in the Geneva region, where 15% fewer building materials were sold. In French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, construction site closures caused problems, while on the other hand year-round factory closures led to delivery delays. In 2021, the building materials trade expects stagnation or a slight decline.

The Electrical Wholesale was able to stabilize sales in the construction industry by the end of 2020 following temporary sharp declines. In industry, on the other hand, it was not possible to make up for the initial drop in sales over the course of the year. At the beginning of 2021, sales are down by 5%, mainly due to the weather. Overall, sales in 2021 are expected to be similarly restrained to those in 2020.

The trade with Floor coverings recorded a decline of around 8% in 2020. A negative factor was that the usual renovations in the tourist regions were not possible in the spring or were postponed until the fall. In 2021, sales developed stably in the first two months. Irrespective of Corona, the trend continues that pure flooring suppliers will disappear more and more. Mergers with painting companies, for example, mean that in the future builders will be able to hire "small" general contractors for the interior, who will handle wall, floor and ceiling work from a single source.

Working platforms are used in construction, industry, cleaning and at trade fairs and events. Overall, most suppliers of work platforms or aerial lifts lost 12% in sales in 2020 compared to the previous year. The industry is feeling the impact of Corona, particularly through canceled events. In addition, unsettled customers are investing less, which has a negative impact on the sale of access platforms.

Source: Trade Switzerland

Women who become self-employed with a digital business model do not do so primarily to be able to work flexibly in terms of time and location. But they use and appreciate these advantages enormously, because the variety of opportunities and the high degree of self-determination allow female entrepreneurs to creatively reconcile their ambitions with their personal life plans.

Women entrepreneurs want to do something meaningful

Many women cite the freedom and sense of purpose they associate with their own business as a reason to become self-employed. And that also motivate them to stick with it when the challenges become greater. All the women interviewed agreed
agree: the step into self-employment has been worthwhile. This is the result of the study "Digital Female Founders", which was conducted by an interdisciplinary research team from the Departments of Economics, Social Work and Engineering & Architecture at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The researchers investigated the motivations, characteristics and competencies of digital female founders and the path their company has taken from the idea to the foundation to the present. In addition, they wanted to know what challenges they had encountered, what funding and support they had used, and what additional support they would have liked to have received.

Financing always remains an issue

The question of financing occupied the founders continuously, but to varying degrees. Even though some prefer self-financing, they also approach debt financing proactively when necessary. The combination of cautious, risk-conscious action with the necessary courage at the right moment proved to be sustainable and successful in the startups studied.

In addition to these positive findings, however, the research project also sheds light on critical aspects of financing and investment issues: Women are still frequently confronted with gender stereotypes and structural inequalities. As a result, they are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to accessing investment capital, as international research also clearly shows. With another project "Funding Female Founders", the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is therefore developing measures to facilitate access to investment capital for female founders. For their qualitative study, the researchers interviewed ten female founders and analyzed the interviews against the background of the international research literature. The selection focused on the goal of representing a broad spectrum of digital female founders in Switzerland. Thus, individual entrepreneurs were represented as well as founders of high-tech startups with more than ten employees and of globally active companies; very young companies as well as those that have already been on the market for more than twelve years.

Monthly event series

The survey showed that the Digital Female Founders would appreciate an exchange of experiences with women who have similar projects and would also like inspiring role models to become visible. Thus, the research project resulted in a monthly series of events starting on March 25, the Female Founders Luncheons.

The Digital Female Founders project was funded by the interdisciplinary thematic cluster "Digital Transformation of the Working World" at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and Smart-Up, the university's own support program for start-ups.

Source: Lucerne University. More information: www.fundingfemalefounders.ch. In the print issue 3/2021 of ORGANISATOR, the topic "Female Founders" is examined in detail in a specialist article. The issue is available here. 

Beat Bühlmann will become the new CEO of Graphax AG as of June 1, 2021. He thus replaces the mandate of Ernst Flückiger. In his last position as Head of SME Sales at Swisscom, Beat Bühlmann dealt with IT, Internet and telephony as modular overall solutions. Previous positions were with HP, Dell, Google and Evernote. With his dual educational background (IT and business administration) and 20 years of practical experience, Beat Bühlmann brings with him the necessary tools to appropriately steer and further intensify the already successful digitization course of the Swiss company. Beat Bühlmann says of his future new role: "I am very pleased to be able to contribute my many years of experience in the ICT environment to one of the renowned Swiss market leaders in the DMS and ECM industry.

Graphax AG, headquartered in Dietikon near Zurich and with eight branches in German- and French-speaking Switzerland, employs around 190 people. Among other things, the company is the Swiss general distributor of Konica Minolta's print solutions. Thanks to its broad range of services, the company claims to be one of the leading providers of innovative technologies in the fields of enterprise content management, IT services, printer park management and complete solutions. Just recently Graphax AG has appointed Prof. Dr. René Hüsler as a new member of the Board of Directors.

Source: Graphax AG

Swiss industry is neglecting digitization at a strategic level. But there is very much positive news: A large proportion of manufacturing companies in Switzerland have already implemented numerous digitization projects. These are often optimizations of operational processes. This usually marks the beginning of all digitization efforts. Accordingly, 44 percent of the participants in a survey conducted by the "Digital Strategy" working group of the "Industry 2025" initiative in the 2nd half of 2020 rate the digital maturity level of their company as "medium". Only 13 percent live digitization as an integral part of their corporate culture, while 17 percent have already implemented a digital roadmap and clearly defined processes and tools.

Swiss industry lacks formulated digital strategies

Just how operationally Swiss industry is still on the move when it comes to digitization is reflected in the fact that almost two-thirds do not yet have a fully formulated digital strategy. Although digitization is one of the top three strategic topics for more than half (55%) of the companies and even the number one strategic topic for 12 percent, one in five companies (22%) does not yet have a formulated corporate strategy or digitization is not a strategic topic in it.

The survey, in which the AWK Group played a key role with Dr. Boris Ricken, Head of Manufacturing, acting as co-leader, shows that industrial companies are still focusing strongly on the digitalization of their internal processes. 70 percent describe the automation of production and processes as an "important" or "very important" strategic challenge. This is also reflected in investments: 40-50 percent are making "high" or "very high" investments in the automation of their core processes (production, sales and marketing, service and customer service, development). Another important investment topic is new digital products and services. 46 percent said they were investing a lot or very much here. By contrast, significantly less money is being invested in the digitization of support processes (procurement, logistics, HR / admin).

High investment in business software

From a technological perspective, the companies surveyed invest by far the most in information technologies (ERP, CRM, MES, PLM). 61 percent said they were making "high" or even "very high" investments in this area. Other important technologies are the Internet of Things and data analytics. In contrast, industrial companies invest little in blockchain technology, smart contracts and communication technologies. It is surprising that despite the numerous cyber attacks on industrial companies in 2020, only 20 percent of all respondents said they had "high" or "very high" budgets for security technologies.

Leveraging Corona's digitization push

Corona changes this snapshot considerably. Almost three quarters (70%) of respondents agreed with the statement that digitization has become even more important to them as a result of the Corona crisis. Only a fraction of survey participants (6%) anticipate an extensive halt to digitization projects in their own companies due to Corona. Dr. Boris Ricken, co-author of the survey, points out: "Corona has made digitization even more important for industrial companies. However, the working group's survey also shows that there is still a lot of work to be done for Swiss industry. For example, a large proportion of companies do not yet have a strategy for digitization. In addition, the focus is still very much on internal process optimization. However, we strongly recommend that the other fields of action for digitization also be taken into account: Where are opportunities for new digital products and services? How can we inspire our customers even more with digital solutions and bind them to the company?"
Philip Hauri, Business Manager Industry 2025, adds: "Our Swiss industry has some catching up to do. The Corona crisis is also a catalyst that picks winners and losers based on their ability to digitize. We recommend strategically reprioritizing the portfolio when resources are scarce. Digitization is a top management issue that needs to be driven at executive management and board level."

113 companies in Swiss industry surveyed

113 Swiss manufacturing companies took part in the survey, which was conducted in the second half of 2020 by the "Digital Strategy" working group of the "Industry 2025" initiative. 82 percent of the participants are in upper management, of which 50 percent are members of the executive board and 32 percent are at department management level. Half of the companies are active in mechanical and plant engineering (including suppliers) and 17 percent in manufacturers of electronic, optical and electrical products. 61 percent of the companies surveyed employ 1 to 249 employees, 12 percent 250 to 999 employees and 27 percent more than 1000 employees.

Source: AWK Group and Industry 2025

The role of the ERP system has changed massively in recent years, from pure enterprise resource planning to the backbone of digital transformation. More recently, it has taken on yet another key position: as the central hub for more sustainable business management. The software manufacturer proALPHA describes the areas in which a modern ERP system already contributes to greater environmental protection.

A modern ERP system saves paper

Even if completely digitized operations remain a vision: Companies that handle as many processes as possible via the ERP system save paper and thus actively contribute to the protection of forests. In administration, for example, this can be achieved through digital processing of incoming invoices. Likewise, outgoing invoices should be converted to e-invoices wherever possible. Where this is not yet possible, companies can at least ensure CO2-neutral dispatch. But even in production today, a lot still runs on paper - from parts lists and work schedules to feedback. Mobile store floor data collection (PDC) not only puts an end to paperwork, it also shortens throughput times.

Minimize resource consumption

Sustainable resource management involves using materials as effectively, economically and profitably as possible. A modern ERP system addresses this issue in several areas, for example through intelligent production planning. Orders can be combined in such a way that as little waste as possible is produced, for example in punching or laser cutting. Quality assurance with real-time data processing helps to minimize production errors and rejects: another component for reducing material consumption.

However, sustainable production does not only include low material usage. Those who want to avoid excess inventory can, for example, manufacture in smaller batches down to batch size 1. Automated production planning takes over resource planning and brings together the right amount of material at the right time with the right tools and the right personnel.

On the way to a circular economy

With the help of product lifecycle management (PLM), companies can take the first step towards a circular economy. The basic building block for this is a functioning supplier management system. This is the only way to prevent the verification of sustainable and ethical production conditions along the supply chain from turning into a paper battle. In addition, a modern ERP system allows complete traceability of batches and series back to the material source.

This goal is also supported by predictive maintenance: And not only because the service life of products and machines can be extended. Predictive maintenance also prevents unnecessary replacement of spare parts and thus excessive material consumption. In addition, the desire for greater sustainability is giving rise to new business models, from rental and pay-per-use models to take-back and remanufacturing. Manufacturers - and ERP systems - must increasingly adapt to this.

Smarter on the road

Today, more and more companies are working on practical and environmentally friendly mobility concepts for their employees. One central component: remote work. After all, those who work from their home office save themselves many trips to the office. In addition, the use of modern project management tools integrated into the ERP system makes many on-site appointments and thus business trips unnecessary. The up-to-date information that is so important for distributed teamwork can be accessed there at any time and from anywhere. ERP systems also support efficient intralogistics: For example, a real-time location system (RTLS) quickly shows unnecessary routes and transports.

Modern ERP system helps reduce energy consumption

As digitization progresses, energy requirements in data centers are increasing. In the future, it will therefore become increasingly important to use computing and storage power sensibly. Therefore, only the data that is really needed should be collected and stored. In addition to saving data, integrated, modular ERP systems also prevent redundant data storage in distributed applications and thus make a further contribution to saving energy.

The transformation to more sustainable operations involves changes in all areas. Many of them affect the core processes and thus the ERP system. The goal of sustainability can therefore hardly be achieved without up-to-date software.

Source: proALPHA

The outplacement service provider von Rundstedt conducted a large study on the topic of Smart Working in Switzerland between December 2020 and February 2021 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Andrea Martone (Director Research & Studies at von Rundstedt). A large survey was also launched in the process.

Pandemic as a Driver for Modern Forms of Work?

The study and survey aim to examine the experiences and effects of home office work on work culture and company structures and processes one year after the first lockdown with compulsory home office was declared for many employees. Is the forced home office move in Switzerland finally leading to the new work culture long predicted by Work 4.0 and Future Work? Are we on the way to Smart Working, or are we simply teleworking from home? Are Swiss companies taking advantage of this opportunity to shift in principle and permanently to a work culture with greater flexibility and autonomy in the choice of work space, time and means? Will the pandemic shock ultimately lead to a cultural change in Swiss companies? What are the first experiences with Smart Working? Does Smart Working really lead to more productivity, efficiency, quality and better results? Are Swiss companies aware that this requires more than home offices and teleworking?

Smart Working: 9 Insights

534 HR managers and executives from companies in various industries, language regions and company sizes took part in the survey. Nine findings can be derived from the responses:

1. Mainly telecommuting, but hardly any smart working: The vast majority of the companies surveyed have not introduced smart working, but teleworking. They are still working within the same structures, processes and methods and have merely moved the same work processes that previously took place in the office to a remote location (the home office). In the eyes of the study authors, this means that many companies are missing out on a major opportunity.
2. Covid as an involuntary accelerator of Smart Working: For 77.4% of the companies, Covid was the main reason for home office practice and smart working. Most companies would not have voluntarily switched to remote working until today. Smart Working is therefore currently not a choice, but pure necessity. This also explains why modern forms of work are not yet really anchored in the company and culture.
3. Too much remote working: Experts see the optimal and healthy remote time at 2 days per week. Based on Covid, over 60% of all companies in Switzerland have exceeded this mark. 46% of the companies even sent their employees 60-100% to the home office, and this last year, before the home office obligation. This is not a healthy level and is alarming, according to the study. Possible consequences are demotivation, coordination problems, declining relationship quality and endangered work-life balance.
4. Positive impact on efficiency and quality: It is often feared that the more difficult leadership and coordination and opportunistic behavior of employees will have a negative impact on productivity and efficiency. The study finds that the opposite is the case: over 75% see no drop in efficiency. Some 37% even see a clear increase in productivity. A similar picture can be seen with quality. Some 80% see no drop in quality, and 22% even believe they are seeing an increase in quality.
5. Negative impact on team and employee motivation: Not surprisingly, team and employee motivation seem to suffer under Smart Working. While the quality of collaboration remains unchanged. However, around one-third of companies report a decrease in collaboration and teamwork. 69% of companies see a deterioration in social relationships among employees. And almost half of all companies observe that employee identification with the company has deteriorated. Against this background, companies would do well to launch targeted measures to engage and retain key personnel.
6. Younger with higher readiness; older with more skills: It is not surprising that younger employees are quicker and more willing to switch to smart working and accept more flexibility and autonomy. They are also more accustomed to virtual communication than older employees. However, if we look at the ability for Smart Working, it would actually be the older employees who, with their experience in working life and in organizations, have the better prerequisites than the younger ones. Smart Working requires a good understanding of the organizational context. This should not be underestimated when introducing Smart Working to younger employees. Readiness and ability diverge here.
7. Smart working will remain in the future: Although smart working and remote working were introduced more or less involuntarily by Covid in most companies, only 6% of the companies believe that this new form of working will disappear again. The overwhelming majority of 69% believe that Smart Working will continue to exist as a work model and culture in the long term, but that it will decline slightly in its intensity and characteristics, i.e. settle into a healthy middle ground. A further 15% even believe that this changed form of working will continue to increase, spread and intensify.
8. Too little support for employees: This change in work culture and collaboration model is not easy for many employees. However, in most companies, employer support is primarily limited to the provision of technological resources and infrastructure (laptop, printer, licenses). Most employers are very reluctant to provide further financial support (e.g. office infrastructure and working environment in the home office). Too little is also done in terms of personal and individual support (training 40%, coaching 19%). Only when it comes to making working hours more flexible do a majority of employers (76%) lend a hand.
9. Opinions in management differ widely: There is definitely disagreement in management about whether Smart Working is successful, desirable, sustainable and meaningful. Various parameters point to dissent. For example, half of the managers think that Smart Working will lead to more confusion and lack of clarity in the work environment, while the other half do not see it that way. Probably the same half of the managers see Smart Working as leading to a loss of control over employees, while the other half do not see it that way. The study also locates an exciting finding in the self-doubt of managers: over half of managers believe that executives and managers have more trouble with the transition to Smart Working than employees. These figures indicate that a large proportion of managers feel they are in a dilemma.

Strategies for the future

The findings of the study have been compiled by von Rundstedt in a white paper. It also outlines strategies for the future. There is no doubt that the world of work will be different after the pandemic than it was before. That's why changes are needed at various levels: In leadership, in the measurement of productivity indicators, in corporate structures, in training, and in labor mobility. For example, leadership will have to shift more to the relationship level and focus less on processes. KPIs will be replaced by OKR (Objectives on Key Results) as measurement criteria. Corporate structures will have to become more flexible and be based on teams instead of hierarchies. This means more autonomy for employees, who will have to be trained differently. Personnel development will become more important and is likely to lead to increased demand for corresponding services.

Source: von Rundstedt

Crime is in and of itself something banal and takes place at all times and almost everywhere - wherever there is opportunity. This is how Serdar Günal-Rütsche, head of cybercrime at the Zurich Cantonal Police, outlines the situation, thereby revising the notion that criminals must be exclusively "tough guys". After all, opportunities for crime abound in Swiss cyberspace: According to an analysis by Dreamlab Technologies, a large proportion of all IP addresses in Switzerland are easy or relatively easy to attack. The analysis even identified several thousand cases where the system software is so outdated that computers are left unprotected, as it were, against the rigors of the Internet.

Cybersecurity in Switzerland becomes a top priority

However, cybersecurity in Switzerland is moving higher and higher on the agenda of political and economic players everywhere. We are now too dependent on technology to risk a total failure. And this risk certainly exists, as evidenced by recent attacks on Microsoft systems by state-sponsored actors, for example. This also means that it is no longer just "lone wolves" who are causing trouble and damage with hacks or Internet fraud. There is now a kind of "war" in cyberspace. Accordingly, security policy aspects were heavily weighted at this year's Swiss Cyber Security Days, which were held virtually on March 10 and 11. Speakers such as Army Chief Thomas Süssli or General Didier Tisseyre from the French Ministry of Defense pointed out the urgency of building up know-how in order to be able to defend against the multifaceted threats from cyberspace. The federal government and the cantons are in the process of making the federal structures more consistent in order to be able to fight cybercrime more effectively.

Innovation offensive in cyber security called for

Important stakeholders in this endeavor are also the companies - and thus also the SMEs. They are the ones who could generate know-how for cyber defense. An innovation offensive is needed, as André Kudelski, President of Innosuisse and CEO of the Kudelski Group, demands. There is currently a lack of investment by SMEs in research and development. That's why better access to venture capital is needed - combined with a change in mentality: promoting entrepreneurship with more courage to take risks and less Swiss caution. In addition, it is important to prevent innovative startups from being sold abroad too quickly.

But there are also concrete steps to report: At a time when there is a growing need for meaning and support to ensure the future viability of a business, it was also announced the creation of the digiVolution Foundation, a new strategic force to better master cyber-bio-physical convergence and digitalization.

Companies lull themselves into a false sense of security

What makes sense strategically still seems far from reality operationally in many places. A Study by gfs-zürich recently showed that many companies in Switzerland are not yet taking the issue of cyber security seriously enough. All the more so because the home office obligation has multiplied the attack surface. The reasons are manifold: Many decision-makers are overburdened or overestimate the capabilities of their own IT departments. Many see the issue as settled when technical measures such as firewalls are implemented, forgetting that organizational measures are also needed. This was the criticism of keynote speaker André Duvillard, delegate of the Confederation and the cantons for the Swiss Security Association. Nicolas Mayencourt (CEO Dreamlab Technologies) and Marc K. Peter (University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW) were in the same vein: "The digital transformation brings a massive increase in complexity and a high dependence on technology. This has just been highlighted by the Corona pandemic, which has massively accelerated the digital transformation. "2020 became a record year for cybercrime," Mayencourt said. Much still needs to change, he said: while detailed standards and regulations are in place for fire safety, for example, there is a lack of anything comparable for cybersecurity. And cybersecurity is far too little discussed in education in Switzerland. And last but not least, cybersecurity is also a question of leadership: it cannot simply be delegated, but must also become a management issue in companies.

Impressive example of the damage cyberattacks can cause

Nisa Meta from Swisswindows AG, a company with 150 employees at three locations, showed what consequences a cyber attack can have on an SME. It started in May 2019 with an email that seemed unsuspicious: It appeared to be part of a pre-existing conversation, but carried a compromised attachment. Accordingly, the recipient was sure everything seemed fine. The consequences of clicking on the attachment were ultimately fatal: it was ransomware that encrypted the company's data, coupled with a ransom demand. Swisswindows did not respond to the demand and reported the incident to the police and MELANI. The company was initially offline for 10 days, project data was lost, and for a month the company had to switch to manual work because the production control system was also down. It took two months before the machines could be started up again, and six months before the main interfaces were working again. The resulting loss of production and sales coupled with the high repair costs ultimately led to the company's insolvency. Nisa Meta derives the following recommendations from these experiences: Rely on reliable external IT partners who have the appropriate expertise for production operations, in addition to building an internal IT team for first level support, implement crisis management, ensure cost buffers and train employees in cybersecurity - so that opportunities for cybercriminals are identified before it is too late.

Meeting place for cybersecurity in Switzerland

The third edition of the Swiss Cyber Security Days brought together more than 1,800 people live online, creating countless interactions between experts, service providers and participants. The main presentations were each simultaneously translated into French, English and/or German, a digital tour de force that - with a few "bumps" - was successfully implemented. The conferences now remain accessible to the public throughout the year on the "SCSD 365" platform. The exchange and information platform is accessible free of charge and enables the cybercommunity to get in touch with each other all year round. The exhibitors' marketplace on the SCSD365 platform was used for around 1,200 contacts over the last two days and almost 4,000 messages were exchanged. The next Swiss Cyber Security Days will take place on April 6 and 7, 2022.

More information: Swiss Cyber Security Days

Tips for IT security can be found in the book "IT Security for SMEs"