In keeping with the motto "Companies help companies", Schuler St. Jakobskellerei and the participating wineries jointly donate the sales generated from "Help with a bottle.today". The entire sales revenue flows into a gastronomy aid fund and is distributed in Switzerland via Jeunes Restaurateurs, GastroSuisse as well as GastroSchwyz and donated to the catering industry in Germany via equivalent organizations. Particular attention is being paid to young restaurateurs, as they are often particularly hard hit by the current situation. "As a retail, online and mail-order merchant, we are fortunately not as dramatically affected by the lockdown due to the Corona pandemic. The gastronomy, which is a very important partner for the wine trade, even more so. That is why we are supporting the gastronomy with this project. As a tradition-conscious and one of the oldest trading houses in Switzerland, this is a particular concern for us," comments Nikolas von Haugwitz, Chairman of the Management Board of Schuler St. Jakobskellerei. He thus underscores the company's partnership with the catering industry. The target is a total donation of around CHF 500,000.

Help and enjoy

The charity wine edition, consisting of one first-class typical Tuscan and Mallorcan red wine each, as well as a fine drop from the Valais, is limited to 30,000 bottles. Anyone who wants to "Help with a bottle.today" can order "their" charity wine in Switzerland and Germany via helpwithabottle.today. The retail price for an auxiliary package of six bottles is CHF 110 / € 99.

With a little help ...

The project also triggered a wave of helpfulness among the relevant implementation partners for design, print, marketing and communication. In keeping with the Beatles' song "With a little help from my friends," the respective companies provide their services free of charge or at a special charity discount.

This charity action was initiated just two weeks ago by Schuler St. Jakobskellerei and Ses Talaioles, two family businesses. This is no coincidence. While Schuler St. Jakobskellerei has been family-owned for over 325 years and in its 11th generation, Ses Talaioles is still a young family business. What both have in common is an entrepreneurship for which cohesion and solidarity have high value.

A recent survey by BAK Economics and the Swissmechanic association, in which more than 400 companies participated, shows how severely SMEs in the MEM sector have been affected by the Corona crisis. Despite some dramatic developments, however, most companies are confident that they will be able to successfully overcome the crisis.

SMEs in the MEM sector particularly hard hit

The Swiss MEM industry is one of those sectors that has been particularly hard hit by the negative consequences of the Corona pandemic. There was already a slowdown in growth in 2019. The inevitable cyclical downturn was exacerbated by an additional reluctance to invest caused by political uncertainties. The appreciation of the Swiss franc presented the MEM industries with further problems. The Corona crisis is therefore hitting the MEM industries in an already difficult phase.

A company survey conducted between April 6 and 24 by BAK Economics and Swissmechanic sheds light on the immediate impact of the Corona crisis on the SME sector in the MEM industries, as well as the measures that companies have taken in response to the crisis situation.

Corona pandemic hits SMEs on the supply and demand side

Throughout the first quarter, order intake and sales deteriorated again at the majority of companies. In the wake of the pandemic, order cancellations then occurred at almost one in two companies (45%). On the supply side, the Corona crisis is making itself felt at 42 percent of companies in the form of interruptions in the supply chain for the procurement of raw materials and semi-finished products. In addition, one in four companies reports staff absences due to illness, quarantine or care obligations.

SMEs in the MEM sector respond with cost savings

The financial impact of the crisis is already clear, according to the Swissmechanic survey. Around a third of companies (35%) reported liquidity problems. About one in three SMEs (34%) had applied for a state bridging loan, according to further survey results. The most important government support is short-time work compensation. Two out of three SMEs have registered for short-time work. For their part, companies are responding by cutting costs: 16 percent made layoffs, 72 percent imposed a hiring freeze, and 68 percent are responding by halting investments.

The order backlog of SMEs has deteriorated significantly

Capacity utilization at companies fell significantly in the first quarter, averaging 74 percent. The longer the economic crisis lasts, the thinner the air becomes for SMEs. At more than half of the companies (53%), the order backlog will not last a whole month. In January, the figure was still 41 percent. The average order backlog for all companies surveyed is currently 7.6 weeks, less than two months.

Majority of companies also expect order losses in the second half of 2020

Only one in five companies (21%) expects the phase of pandemic-related demand shortfalls to be over after just three months. The majority expect the lean period to last longer than one quarter. Around 40 percent of SMEs expect demand shortfalls to last for 4-6 months. Nearly one-third of companies (31%) estimate it will last 7-12 months. One in eleven companies (9%) fear order losses for more than 1 year. On average, companies expect order losses to last until about the end of 2020 (7.5 months).

Majority of companies confident of overcoming the Corona crisis

The majority of SMEs in the MEM sector are confident of mastering the crisis. Only a minority of companies see their existence in acute danger. Thus, 6 percent of companies report a serious risk of bankruptcy, while 2 percent of all companies state that they are planning or have already completed a plant closure as a result of the Corona crisis.
Even if the crisis is overcome without a wave of bankruptcies, its effects will be felt for some time to come. Many SMEs will have to struggle even longer to pay off the increased debt burden. The financial scope for being able to make the necessary investments in digital transformation has become even narrower with the Corona crisis. This could have a negative impact on the growth potential of the industry in the long term.

Source and further information: Swissmechanic

In an online flash survey conducted by Visable, the operator of the B2B platform "Wer liefert Was" (Who Supplies What), 8.7 percent of the SMEs surveyed said that they would be insolvent if the lockdown lasted even longer, and another 12.6 percent do not know how long they will be able to maintain their business. In short: fears of insolvency are on the rise. After all, a quarter of businesses (26 %) are counting on government support and hope to be able to secure their existence by drawing on government funds. This contrasts with 40.1 percent of companies that believe they can get off lightly and continue to exist after the crisis.

Increased short-time work and production downtime

The new survey, which was conducted between April 21 and 26, makes it clear that the situation for SMEs in the DACH region has worsened since the beginning of March: The number of companies sending their employees on short-time work has more than doubled in comparison: 40.5 percent of respondents now say they are working short-time. At the beginning of March, this figure was still 20.7 percent of companies in Switzerland.

More than one in four companies (25.5 %) is also affected by the complete closure of operations due to official orders. Production comes to a standstill in around eight percent of the companies surveyed. More than two-thirds (37.6 %) suffer enormous losses in sales. In some companies, despite all this, the working day is still going on: 22.4 percent of the companies are working with respirators in normal operation. 28.9 percent work from a home office.

No fear of insolvency among CFOs of larger companies

By contrast, according to a survey conducted by PwC, Swiss CFOs are becoming less concerned about the impact of COVID-19. In the current wave of the survey, only 47% of respondents expressed great concern, compared with 58% and 75% in the two previous rounds of so-called CFO Pulse surveys, which the accounting firm has conducted every two weeks since the start of the Corona crisis, according to PwC. Swiss CFOs (along with their counterparts in Germany and Denmark) still seem less concerned about the COVID-19 crisis than their global counterparts. Only 47% of respondents in Switzerland now believe the outbreak has the potential to significantly impact their business, compared to 70% of respondents in all areas surveyed.

However, compared to the previous two waves of the survey, the number of CFOs in Switzerland expecting a recovery within three months has dropped significantly - from 90% in the first wave and 72% in the second to just 50% in the latest round. Interestingly, CFOs in Germany have a more optimistic expectation that the economy will "recover," with over 70% of respondents expecting a recovery within three months.

Various effects of the crisis

The Corona pandemic is having the effect of accelerating digitization, especially in procurement processes. Visable reports significantly higher access numbers to its platforms. "The current state of emergency is proof that purchasing, procurement, but also marketing and sales must completely reposition themselves in the long term and become more digital in order to be prepared for the future," says Peter F. Schmid, CEO of Visable.

However, SMEs threatened in their existence could find salvation in an acquisition by a larger company. CFOs surveyed by PwC, for example, report an "increasing appetite for M&A activity" (17 % in Switzerland versus 11 % of the global sample. Swiss CFOs also express one of the highest levels of confidence in the long-term stability of their M&A strategy across the sample. It remains to be seen whether a wave of takeovers will really follow, especially since many SMEs currently suffering the consequences of the Corona pandemic are active in sectors that are already under constant economic pressure - low margins, saturated markets.

Sources: Visible, PwC

Boss Info AG, now represented at eight locations in German-speaking Switzerland, is expanding further and will become the new Premium Gold Service Partner of the Step Ahead Group as of May 1, 2020. The ICT service provider will not only take over the team, but also the service responsibility for Step Ahead Switzerland's offerings. The location in Ehrendingen in the canton of Aargau is now under the management of Thomas Frei and his 17-strong well-established team. The company, which now has around 180 employees, is thus strengthening its strategically important ERP solutions division with an expanded range of solutions and experienced specialists. Boss Info AG has been offering ICT infrastructure and business management solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics since 1998.

Win-win situation for all involved

The conclusion of the contract enables the German Step Ahead GmbH to focus on its transformation into a software provider, which is why it is handing over customer support in Switzerland to Boss Info. As a growing Swiss SME, this ICT service provider has the optimal structures and resources as well as the expertise to meet the current and future high demands of its customers, according to the statement. The integration of the Step Ahead team into the Swiss company, which serves well over 1,000 customers from industry, the food sector, retail and the service sector, also means that product know-how can be retained. The new customers can be confident of being fully supported with state-of-the-art tools for all their business ICT challenges.

Grown Boss Info Stack with great innovative power

"Our customers are always our focus. We need the best solutions to be able to optimally accompany the companies in their challenges. In Boss Info, we have found a modern employer with great innovative strength. We find ourselves in their DNA in terms of spirit and lived values. The broad solution portfolio of Boss Info and the new partnership with Step Ahead offers customers the greatest IT business process optimization potential on the German-speaking Swiss market," says Thomas Frei, site manager Ehrendingen. Simon Boss, owner and CEO Boss Info AG adds: "As an ICT service provider with many years of experience and an extensive range of services and products, our customers benefit from a high level of expertise and professional services. My team and I look forward to delighting our Step Ahead Switzerland customers as well."

Source and further information

Protective clothing such as masks, goggles and protective suits are still in short supply. Numerous small businesses such as hairdressing stores, nurseries, dentists, physiotherapies and many others could reopen since Monday, but many lack the necessary protective masks for staff and customers.

Protective masks for SMEs delivered quickly

To alleviate the emergency situation, the online platform Dein Deal and m3 Groupe have taken the initiative: Last Sunday, a special transport plane of SWISS Cargo from China landed in Zurich Kloten. On board were three million masks especially for SMEs in Switzerland. Allen Krief, CEO of Dein Deal AG: "We've pulled out all the stops to get these beleaguered small businesses back to work as quickly as possible." As of now, SMEs can access yourdeal.com three-layer protective masks at 70 centimes/piece incl. delivery and VAT. A maximum of 3'000 pieces can be ordered per company. The first deliveries will start from Thursday, April 30 directly to the customers. Thanks to the cooperation with the distribution partners dpd and Sieber, this is possible, as allen Krief further explains.

A logistical masterpiece

"We have ensured that since the beginning of the "airlift", during which we have been importing protective equipment, priority has been given to hospitals, emergency services and pharmacies, as well as companies and individuals. Companies need to protect their customers and employees so that a return to normalcy is possible." Abdallah Chatila, President of m3 GROUP, explains. He goes on to explain: "In our group of companies, 50 masks per person are available for all employees. With this, we want to do our part for the economic recovery".

Dein Deal AG and m3 Groupe work around the clock in the logistics center in Geneva to control and deliver the ordered protective equipment. Due to bottlenecks at the post office and other delivery services, a special distribution system was set up. This makes it possible to deliver the three million protective masks now flown in directly to SMEs throughout Switzerland in the same week as the order.

Other solidarity actions for SMEs

In addition, DeinDeal.ch has already been supporting Swiss companies for three weeks by selling vouchers for e.g. cosmetic treatments and medical massages, restaurant menus or hotel stays on its online portal. As a gesture of solidarity, Dein Deal AG offers its partner companies a cash advance on these sales and assumes the financial risk. To its end customers, the online retailer guarantees greater security by extending the validity period of the vouchers and the possibility of converting them into credit if they could not be used.

Source and further information: Your Deal AG

The topic of company succession is highly relevant despite - or perhaps because of - the current Corona crisis. According to a study by Bisnode B&D, more than 75,000 companies in Switzerland are currently facing an open succession issue. Accordingly, the need of the companies concerned for information and competent support in the succession process remains high.

Successor magazine to cover high demand for information

The topic of "succession planning" has always had a fixed place in the editorial section of the SME trade magazine ORGANISATOR. Since 2018, there has also been a media partnership with the Nachfolgebus.ch initiative: In the form of a roadshow, succession experts toured a total of 14 cities in German-speaking Switzerland in a vintage bus in 2018 and 2019. The team of experts was available for consultations with interested entrepreneurs.

In 2019, the idea matured to cover the high demand for information with an additional communication channel. In partnership, ORGANISATOR, Nachfolgebus.ch and Companymarket.ch subsequently developed the concept for the successor magazine. This is to be published annually in the future and is available immediately with its first issue - initially digitally as a PDF. The publication, which is jointly published by the aforementioned partners, conveys bundled know-how on all aspects of corporate succession. Checklists, practical cases and expert contributions provide an introduction to and in-depth knowledge of this complex topic. What's more, the topic of sharing adds a further aspect that shows SMEs various options for mastering crises and managing succession. The succession magazine is available until May 31, 2020 at preferential rates of CHF 15 for the complete issue and CHF 10 for the checklists (PDF & Word) and the expert directory from May 1. as PDF download available.

Succession is rethought: expert talks digital - Succession Day - Phoenix Award

The succession magazine is just one of various other innovations with which the Nachfolgebus.ch initiative will be back on the road from 2020. Sellers and buyers interested in succession can now conduct their personal expert discussion digitally via video call with one of the 15 succession experts and directly book via the website nachfolgebus.ch. It will start on May 7. The first Succession Day is also planned for September 17, 2020, with workshops, keynotes and panel discussions on the crucial stages of succession. And the Phoenix Award for Long-Term Swiss Entrepreneurship is intended to give a stage to SMEs that have already successfully mastered business successions several times and have managed to survive even major crises in the long term. The initial focus is on companies and organizations that have been entered in the commercial register for 100 years this year.

Darmstadt University of Technology and the management and technology consultancy Campana & Schott have been conducting an annual social collaboration study since 2016, and also for Switzerland since 2017. This year, 1,079 employees from Switzerland, Austria and Germany were surveyed about their experiences with networked collaboration. More than a quarter (29%) of them work in direct customer contact or manufacturing and thus belong to the firstline workers.

Digital collaboration solutions as an advantage

One result of this year's study: At 53% of the companies in Switzerland, collaboration tools have already been introduced or such projects were already underway before the Corona crisis. "Companies in which digital collaboration was already established before the crisis are currently at an advantage. They were able to change their daily work routine very quickly and with less friction. All those who now have to find ways should learn from the experiences of others," explains Dr. Eric Schott, CEO of Campana & Schott. "In doing so, they can directly improve one thing in particular: the prudent and communicatively well-supported introduction of the tools, because this has often been poor up to now."

"Companies that already rely on social collaboration tools have a clear advantage in the current situation: on the one hand, their IT does not now have to frantically introduce basic services for remote work. On the other hand, their workforce has a higher level of digital fitness, which includes both functional tool usage and a corresponding mindset," says Boris Ovcak, Director Social Collaboration at Campana & Schott. "In addition to work capability and efficiency, social collaboration promotes a digital corporate culture. However, these positive aspects do not come about by themselves; rather, practical use cases and comprehensive change management based on them are the prerequisite."

Higher level of maturity, higher work efficiency

On a scale of 1 to 7, social collaboration maturity has increased almost every year since 2016 (2016: 3.48, 2017: 3.28, 2018: 3.96, 2019: 4.05, 2020: 4.08). A high maturity level means that current digital technologies are frequently used for information and communication, while a low maturity level means largely analog approaches or established technologies such as e-mails. For Switzerland, the social collaboration maturity level is 4.07 and thus just below the overall maturity level.

Just five years ago, social collaboration initiatives played no role at all in 43% of the companies. Even before COVID-19, this situation had changed significantly. At that time, only 29% of the respondents stated that their company was not yet planning or implementing any corresponding projects. Based on the data trend, the study proves that collaboration in companies is becoming increasingly digital. The promotion of a digital corporate culture, the increase in customer satisfaction, the improvement in innovative ability and increased efficiency are the central motives here.

"The correlation between social collaboration maturity and employee work efficiency proves that the introduction of social collaboration tools makes sense for companies," says Boris Ovcak, Director Social Collaboration at Campana & Schott. "A high maturity level is clearly associated with increased efficiency. This correlation has been consistently demonstrated over the past five years. So companies benefit very concretely when employees use social collaboration tools intensively."

Firstline workers remain digital laggards

Currently, employees of companies in Switzerland with a high level of social collaboration maturity are 30% more efficient than employees of companies with a low level of maturity. For firstline workers, this is 23%. Although they would benefit more from social collaboration tools, firstline workers lag significantly behind information workers in terms of their maturity level (3.76) (4.2).

Accordingly, work efficiency in the DACH region is also lower for firstline workers (4.62) than for information workers (4.84). This is primarily due to a lack of equipment. For example, one in six firstline workers does not have a digital device to access social collaboration tools. This makes them around 26% less efficient than colleagues who can use such tools.

Among firstline workers, 30% use a shared computer and just under a quarter use a private device for social collaboration tools. It is therefore not surprising that only around 40% of firstline workers are satisfied with the digital equipment in their workplace. Some 60% see considerable need for improvement here. Among employees without access to social collaboration tools, as many as 86% are dissatisfied with the equipment.

Customer satisfaction and change management increasingly important

As in previous years, improving corporate culture remains the most important goal in the DACH region (16%). The focus here is primarily on interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation orientation, willingness to change, and affinity for technology. Among the goals for the introduction of social collaboration tools, customer satisfaction has reached second place for the first time (15%). This aspect has risen continuously in relevance since 2016, when it was still ranked 7th.

Employees need to accept and use social collaboration tools. Yet around 65% of all companies in Switzerland take no measures at all to achieve this. Those who do change management at all focus on support from company management (31%). Less focus is placed on the concrete requirements of employees (21%) and the time to deal with them (26%). For example, only around a quarter of employees are satisfied with the way the introduction process went. By contrast, companies with comprehensive change management measures achieve higher employee satisfaction and a significant increase in work efficiency.

Digital collaboration supports agile methods and AI

Social collaboration tools already support agile methods, especially Scrum, Kanban and Design Thinking, in almost two-thirds of companies. Almost 70% believe that this increases the efficiency of communication among employees and allows projects to be adapted more quickly.

Just over a quarter of respondents in Switzerland believe AI is still in its infancy. Yet despite the acknowledged high potential, almost three-quarters do not use any business intelligence or analytics tools at all to evaluate business-relevant data. IT security, data protection and the high complexity of the technology are seen as the biggest obstacles. However, this is set to change in the near future - companies see emerging usage scenarios above all in the area of chatbots, automatic image processing and machine translation. This means that they would rather have practical solutions that promise a high benefit with little effort.

Source and further information: Campana & Schott

SMEs are the backbone of our economy. Where this crisis will lead in the long term is still uncertain. What can be done today: By donating to the SME you care about, we can strengthen the Swiss economy in the long run. Private individuals from different industries with divergent backgrounds have come together with the aim of bringing investors and financially distressed companies together to ease their time through the crisis. This idea gave rise to the platform www.4switzerland.ch.

Platform with solidarity idea

You may now think that the federal government and the cantons are already doing enough to support SMEs? The loans received must be repaid sooner or later, which will not be possible for some small businesses. They therefore need support from elsewhere. We are now all called upon to assume our social responsibility and help where our support is currently urgently needed. On the one hand, SMEs that are in need of support can register at www.4switzerland.ch. On the other hand, private individuals as well as legal entities can also register. On the other hand, private individuals as well as legal entities can provide direct financial support to their preferred company. All in the spirit of "Üsi Wirtschaft - üsi Schwiiz". Supported SMEs can express their appreciation for the donation received by issuing an individual thank-you gift according to their current possibilities. Possible forms would be, for example, a voucher for a haircut, a free lesson or a coffee - there are no limits to creativity.

Non-profit project

The goal of 4Switzerland.ch is to support small businesses in order to minimize financial bottlenecks and ensure their long-term existence. Behind this is a non-profit interest group, the private individuals behind the initiative work free of charge. For their part, they rely on sponsorships to cover the development and operating costs incurred. Any surpluses are paid out in full to the SMEs at the end of the project.

Support now: www.4switzerland.ch

New times require new constellations and solutions. Two top brand specialists think so, too: former Head of Brand Creation at IWC and Creative Director Ralf Kostgeld, who has won more than 190 awards internationally, and Petar Dakovic, former CEO of Detail AG and Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Zurich, are positioning themselves with Zelebrand International for the new requirements of today and tomorrow. "Covid-19 is accelerating the digital transformation of most companies. The customer experience - especially digital - should now be designed and emotionally staged with relevance and individual experience as quickly as possible in many places. A great opportunity to celebrate the essence of brands in a new way. We can help with this," is how Kostgeld describes the new company's claim.

From Luxury to Banking to Health

Zurich-based Zelebrand wants to place great emphasis on agility. "We want to incorporate our international expertise in such a way that every customer can benefit from it," says Dakovic. He continues, "Whether for a startup, SME, or large company, we put together the right team for every requirement. For this purpose, we can also access our external partners and specialists from Germany and abroad at any time, if necessary. Lean and effective. What really counts is that every step of the process is right from the start and perfectly orchestrated. So that we achieve more ROI for our clients - with less overhead guaranteed."

Zelebrand has already been working since 2019, when the young company was recently given the opportunity to support the globally active startup SmartFrame from London. According to Ralf Kostgeld, this company is a game changer that will redefine global digital image standards and image security. Zelebrand is responsible for the positioning and the global brand rollout, which will take place in phases.

Brand specialists complemented with technology expertise

With Spiros Margaris, Kostgeld and Dakovic were able to win a top personality for the Advisory Board. Margaris is considered the world's No. 1 influencer in Fintech, AI and Blockchain on the Advisory Board. Ralf Kostgeld commented, "We are proud that Spiros will fully contribute his profound knowledge and insights regarding future technological developments and new business optimizations to Zelebrand International." Furthermore, Dakovic and Kostgeld are on the Advisory Board of Q Ltd, the fastest growing software agency in Europe (Deloitte Technology Fast 500 ™ in EMEA). "Thanks to our unique partnership with Q, we have direct access to over 100 top developers and UX designers and are able to meet all requirements both qualitatively and economically and offer unique solutions," Petar Dakovic holds.

Creative Legal Intelligence

Another key partner with Swiss roots is BRANDIT. This is a leading international service provider in the online brand protection and domain services sector. This topic is gaining relevance almost daily. Petar Dakovic: "Ultimately, it's about understanding the Big Brand Impacting Picture right from the start. The more bridges and fewer trenches, the more efficient the workflows and the more successful our customers. That's why we integrate legal into our processes right from the start." And Ralf Kostgeld adds: "With the CLI (Creative Legal Intelligence) methodology, we have also incorporated creativity into new areas here. In keeping with our three pillars: creativity, technology and legal."

Source and further information: Zelebrand International Ltd.

Hygiene masks purchased? Disinfectants available? Protective measures set up for employees and customers? These are the questions currently being addressed by many companies in Switzerland that will soon be allowed to reopen for business. Accordingly, there is also a high demand for products and solutions that will enable the lockdown to be gradually lifted while complying with the hygiene regulations of the FOPH. The Swiss family-owned company Westiform, for example, has adapted its product range - as have other service providers - and now offers prevention products for supermarkets, gas stations, banks, insurance companies, doctors' offices, pharmacies and drugstores, the catering industry, courts, and numerous office workplaces, among others.

Be prepared for the lockdown to be lifted

The latest addition to the range is disinfection steles for contactless hand disinfection. On the one hand, these take account of the public's continuing need for hygiene; on the other, the steles can be placed at the point of sale as effective branding elements or advertising media with a digital screen or analog advertising space. Another additional module is automatic access controls to regulate the number of people on the store floor. "We had to develop the contactless disinfection sensor system ourselves in a very short time, because sensor dispensers are sold out for months," says Simone Bächle, Managing Director of Westiform AG. The extra-large disinfectant tank, with a capacity of up to 5 liters, enables longer refill intervals. The disinfectant can be freely selected. For customers who are interested in an all-round carefree package, the company offers an optional regular supply of disinfectant.

Virus protection disc also for open plan offices

The managing director of the illuminated advertising and digital signage company could not have imagined the rather unusual expansion of the product range a few weeks ago. After the catalog of measures became known and the associated consequences for current and planned projects, as well as project postponements due to investment stops, Westiform adapted to the changed requirements of the market. "We asked ourselves how we could help our customers in the crisis and decided to take active action", Simone Bächle continues. Initially, the idea arose to produce a virus protection disk made of plastic, in order to protect the employees of system-relevant companies, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, medical practices, gas stations, etc., from droplet infection. The laser machine, which is otherwise used for the production of illuminated signs, now mainly lasers discs, because the demand is enormous. Meanwhile, Westiform also offers versions for offices to separate workstations, in addition to the spit shield for cash registers and counter areas. "Our virus protection pane is sufficiently large, completely transparent and thus creates a physical but not a visual barrier," explains Simone Bächle. Thinking about droplet infection protection quickly led her company to another "Physical Distancing" product: 95° washable cotton mouth/nose masks. These are handmade, in the colors and design of the customer's choice. They are created on sewing machines in Switzerland and Germany.

Visual communication with protection factor

It can be assumed that protective measures will be necessary for a long time to come. The way back to "normality" will be linked to a series of precautionary measures. "The issues of distance and hygiene will occupy us for a long time, which is why investment in long-term protective measures makes sense," emphasizes Bächle, who naturally also sees great opportunities for her new business field. Westiform is proud to be able to make a contribution in this way in the fight against Corona, and thus for society and at the same time for the continued existence of the family company, the Managing Director continues. So far, the company has been able to do without short-time work thanks to the new offer.

Source: Westiform AG

Currently, many people work from home. Instead of physical meetings, web conferences are increasingly being held. Free solutions such as Zoom or similar web-based web conferencing solutions have correspondingly high user numbers. However, some of these solutions have their limitations when it comes to data security.

Web conferencing over encrypted connections

An alternative based on high security standards is the web conferencing solution Veeting Rooms, which has been available since 2014 from the Swiss company Veeting Inc. is operated. Now the company has tripled the capacity for its service in the short term, but continues to guarantee the usual high level of data security: the entire audio and video conversation at Veeting Rooms works via encrypted connections, and all data is stored exclusively in Switzerland in ISO 27001-certified data centers or in the own network of local sales partners or customers.

Also pay attention to data security during evaluation

Fabian Bernhard, founder and CEO of Veeting AG, takes a critical view of the growth explosion in web conferencing services, and not just because of the tragic trigger provided by the COVID 19 pandemic: "Many companies are suddenly under great pressure to find quick solutions for employees' forced home offices. With a view to data protection, this may well lead to careless decisions that are difficult to reverse later." Bernhard therefore advises companies to check carefully, even under time pressure, whether the selected web conferencing solution meets European data protection guidelines and, above all, their own compliance requirements.

Free offer for companies

Veeting Rooms has been used for years by financial and consulting companies, in human resources or by organizations in the healthcare industry. Worldwide, Veeting works with renowned sales partners who are familiar with the specific market requirements - in Switzerland, these include the xtendx AG as a strategic partner in the enterprise video sector or the peoplefone AG, in Germany, autphone GmbH, which peoplefone GmbH and the TeamFON GmbH. In addition to various standard meetings, Veeting Rooms also offers end-to-end encrypted off-the-record veetings or webinar rooms. 30-minute web conferences with up to five participants are available free of charge during the Corona crisis, and Veeting AG donates a further 20% of direct sales to local social organizations: "The help should reach those who are actually in an existential emergency due to the current situation," Bernhard explains this decision.

You may be familiar with the saying by management mastermind Peter Drucker, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". He made it clear that no strategy, no matter how good, can prevail against an opposing culture. Now here is my variation of this statement for a current occasion: "Emotion eats logic for breakfast!" What do I mean by this?

Emotion drives decisions

Well, in my workshops I always get contradiction and astonishment when I make it clear that we all make decisions 100 percent emotionally (and subsequently justify them rationally). Furthermore, the strongest drive for decisions is the avoidance or reduction of "pain", and especially of anticipated pain. And we all know that pain is completely emotional.

Ambition and pleasure always come second when making decisions. Logic comes third (if at all). Salespeople and leaders need to know this. By the way, these relationships apply just as much in B2B as in B2C.

The mechanisms behind emotional decisions

These facts, which have been proven by countless studies, are currently receiving stark and sad confirmation from the Corona virus and the decisions associated with it. Even in Switzerland, shelves with pasta and rice have been emptied out of fear - unbelievable! Also many of the public discussions are highly charged emotionally.

What does all this have to do with you as a leader and with business? Quite simply, the mechanisms that become visible here can also be applied positively to your business and leadership at any time if you want to move people to action.

How emotions can be used for practice

In other words, load messages with emotion to get people into action! How to do that? Here are three levers:

1. Near. The more immediate the perceived threat (or pleasure gain), the stronger the emotional reaction. This also applies to positive stimuli: If they are very close to oneself, a predictable reaction occurs that is often completely irrational.
2. Peer pressure. When more and more people believe in the same danger, the actual danger becomes almost irrelevant. The same applies to a bright future. The collective belief of as many as possible in the threat or the positive future moves mountains. You can use this for any change initiative.
3. Momentum. Collective behavior is influenced more strongly the higher the speed of the threat coming at people - or the positive future emerging. This is why it is so important to generate high momentum in change programs.

History always has exciting lessons in store for us. It is those who can read and use these signs who are more successful. Good luck with that!

To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch