"As a European company with several country representations, we are experiencing the Corona pandemic as a particularly big challenge," emphasizes Urs Neuhauser, CEO of Griesser. The company, headquartered in Aadorf, Thurgau, is one of the leading companies in Europe for sun and weather protection for windows and terraces - commonly known as blinds.

Stable order situation at Griesser AG so far

In addition to Switzerland, Griesser AG also has branches in France, Austria, Italy and Spain. The various countries are affected to varying degrees by the pandemic. Italy was currently the first to be affected and the most severely. The company reacted quickly and clearly there and sent employees home early so that they could continue working from home. As a result, there were only a few cases of infection. "So far, the overall order situation at Griesser is still good. There is a strong north-south divide, but overall, there has been little drop in orders so far. Customer inquiries can still be received and processed," says Urs Neuhauser.

Business activity received

The company is currently pursuing two main objectives with regard to Corona: First, to protect employees and customers; second, to maintain business operations. "We follow the government recommendations in the respective countries in our measures. Our employees in the Group have been equipped with respirators as a preventive measure, and employees with customer contact have received disinfectants. In addition, teams are working in different shifts so that we can increase fail-safety," says CEO Neuhauser, explaining the measures taken at Griesser AG.

Plant in Alsace to be closed

The situation varies in the European countries of the Griesser Group. While the plants in Switzerland, Austria, southern France and Germany will remain active, the plant in Alsace will be closed as a precaution. However, this is the smallest subsidiary, employing just 10 people.

The sales department remains active in all countries, but works from the home office. There is sufficient stock for the most important products and accessibility is ensured by telephone, video telephony and e-mail. "We are glad that we already adapted our infrastructure regarding video conferencing, file sharing and cloud solution before the Corona crisis. This is now benefiting us," explains Urs Neuhauser. In addition, Griesser can rely on the "myGriesser" web portal for sales, which, equipped with a web store, is available to customers and partners around the clock.

Much cohesion noticeable

The CEO also senses a lot of solidarity at Griesser AG these days - especially for colleagues in Italy and Spain. Of course, fears also resonate, but the will and commitment to master the crisis together are enormous. Many also see opportunities in the current situation - including Urs Neuhauser: "In the last few days and weeks, many things have developed enormously at Griesser that were not so much on the agenda before the crisis."

Neuhauser is convinced that Corona will permanently change the world of work. There will be more home offices, more video conferencing and less travel. Our company has already survived many crises during its almost 150-year history. These include, for example, two world wars, the Great Depression, the Spanish flu and the oil crisis. "I am convinced that we will emerge from this crisis stronger as a company," says Urs Neuhauser.

Source and further information

Money is not everything. In many places, many very practical questions also need to be answered during the Corona pandemic. How can a company network and coordinate employees who are now "forced" to work at home? How can a minimum turnover still be generated despite the official closure? How can processes be digitized when the company headquarters is orphaned in terms of personnel? Or how can surplus resources be made available to other organizations? Many service providers are currently opening their caskets and offering appropriate support - not for free, of course, but at conditions that usually promise a longer-term return on investment.

Simple and cost-effective home office solution

Countless employees have had to work from home overnight. Many employers are finding that they are inadequately prepared for this scenario: For example, employees have no access to data and IT infrastructure. The solution: a VPN connection or cloud computing. But these options require some IT support, which usually only larger companies can afford. The Valais-based company HOOC AG now offers an alternative: It has about a productwhich enables companies without their own IT department in particular to let employees work from home on a permanent or temporary basis. Companies can order a device the size of a credit card from HOOC. This is then delivered by mail and can simply be connected to the company's own network. Employees then just need to download the HOOC app, log in and they are ready to work from home. Up to 10 employees can easily access the company IT at the same time without any delays, the company says.

Digitize workflows

In the current environment, solutions are needed that simplify processes and channel the flood of data. Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is now taking on a new significance. One such solution is AMAGNO, represented in Switzerland by isaac Schweiz GmbH. This ECM solution helps to map data management with many parties at different locations in a transparent and traceable manner. AMAGNO is offered in an on-premise model as well as a flexible cloud service. Thus, for example, no installations are required for home office workplaces. For interested parties there is a free cloud account with 300 MB and full functionality is available for testing.

How are employees doing during the Corona pandemic?

Employee management is a particular challenge in crisis situations. How well managers succeed in communicating and implementing measures and how these are perceived by employees are key questions here. The Zurich-based start-up echonovum supports companies free of charge with appropriate employee surveys. The findings from these surveys enable coordinated action between managers and employees. Interested companies can access echonovum's survey database, which is already geared towards the Corona situation prepared surveywhich they can send immediately and anonymously to their employees. If desired, the surveys can be adapted to company-specific cases.

Help in marketing and communication

How do SMEs get customers in times of crisis? How can you still do marketing when sales are plummeting? The advertising agency TBWA\Zurich wants to provide unbureaucratic support: "We want to support companies that are in crisis and looking for help with free advice in marketing and communication," says Matthias Kiess, CEO of the agency. To this end, a small digital campaign was developed to target entrepreneurs and marketing professionals of SMEs and offer free support. "Because we are also part of the Swiss economy and have a great interest in keeping the damage to all of us as small as possible and making solidarity tangible," Matthias Kiess continues. Interested companies can apply by e-mail (kmu@tbwa.ch) contact the agency.

Support local businesses

Even big companies are showing heart for SMEs in the Corona pandemic: for example, the two big insurers in western Switzerland, Groupe Mutuel and Vaudoise, are uniting with the liveshopping platform QoQa to help small traders and producers in difficulty. Effective immediately, QoQa offers Swiss citizens a new platform to support the economy by purchasing vouchers. The vouchers can be redeemed at local merchants. The Groupe Mutuel Foundation is committed to this concrete measure to support local businesses. "In this critical time for many SMEs, the Swiss economy must stand together and show solidarity. Through this project in collaboration with QoQa, merchants are receiving concrete help," says Thomas Boyer, CEO of Groupe Mutuel.

In the Corona pandemic, sharing takes on new meaning

Offer excess capacity or search for missing resources? As of now offers Share-it for SMEs this possibility - free of charge until further notice. After all, one of the biggest challenges for SMEs at present is to deploy existing resources and funds quickly, efficiently and in a targeted manner where they will bring the greatest benefit. The platform, which is available immediately, offers Share-it a quick and simple solution. Whether raw materials, labor, machinery, personnel, premises, transport and storage capacity, or IT - on the digital SME marketplace for resource allocation, SMEs can now offer existing overcapacities or request resources according to the principle "We search - We offer". In addition, experienced SME experts accompany the process to ensure that suitable cooperation partners find each other quickly.

Many employees had to switch to home offices at short notice because of the Corona pandemic. For many companies, this switch meant the only way to keep operations running as far as possible. However, few companies have been fully prepared for this situation, which is why some processes have now been implemented head over heels - this now leads to a new and very dangerous threat.

Many unprotected Outlook mailboxes

Security researchers at Check Point Research, the threat intelligence division of Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. are sounding the alarm: many companies' Outlook mailboxes are freely accessible and unprotected on the Internet, Check Point Research warns. The reason for this is that the companies use the Outlook Web Application (OWA), which opens the mailbox in the browser instead of via the installable desktop program. They want to respond to the fact that many employees use their private devices, or have to use them due to lack of preparation, and of course do not have a Microsoft Office license available for their own devices. The OWA, on the other hand, is free to use - and is now tearing a big hole in IT security.

DACH region at high risk

On the shodan.io overview page, Germany is already in second place behind the USA with almost 50,000 open ports found. Switzerland follows in 7th place with just under 8,000 open ports, and Austria is still in 10th place with around 6,500 ports. This means that the DACH region is united among the ten most vulnerable countries and accounts for more than a third of their current total of just over 180,000 open ports.

"We can only advise all companies to close these open ports immediately and to resort to protective measures from experienced security providers as additional shielding. Otherwise, one of their most sensitive areas, the entire e-mail traffic, is freely visible on the Internet and thus defenselessly at the mercy of attackers," warns Sonja Meindl, Country Manager Switzerland and Austria at Check Point.

Source: https://research.checkpoint.com/

How quickly situations can change: Yesterday everything was normal and today the Corona virus and with it the fear, the disruption of supply chains, the massive expansion of home working and much more.

See threats as opportunities

Here is the crucial question for you as a reader: Do you perceive the majority of these surprises as a threat or as an opportunity? Behind the question is the fact that you can, in principle, see every threat as an opportunity. And vice versa.

I'm sure you know this. But it goes even further (and this is the really exciting thing): most only seize opportunities for massive change in the first place when there is a massive threat.

Winners dare to take flight

It's all a matter of mindset: while some freeze like the famous rabbit in front of the snake, others seize the opportunity and use the uncomfortable situation to their advantage.

This is just as true for personal strokes of fate as it is now in the global pandemic: The longer you lament, lick wounds and deal with the necessary damage limitation, the less you and the leadership team can focus on developing opportunities.

It's hard but true: the best chance for improving competitive position is when others pull back.

Become a winner now

A footnote: It is absolutely ethically correct to want to win now. Because we need strong companies to lead the economy out of the crisis. Better you belong to this group.

Here are a few examples you can use for yourself and your business during uncomfortable times:

1. If your team wants or needs to stay at home because of the virus, then take the chance now to massively expand the home office as an option. Provide assistance, inspire your people to high productivity from home and so on.
2. If you can no longer visit your customers, then finally massively expand communication via video conferencing. Let's face it: many (not all) business trips are also made for the status gain they bring.
3. If you are struggling to deliver your products on time, then finally start generating services and offers that virtually generate high added value, for example via online technologies. Sure, these can't replace products right away, but they may very well gradually take over a significant share. Now is the opportunity to expand this transformation.

There are many more such ideas. The best thing to do is to think of as many as possible with your management team. Of course, I know that my suggestions are not easy to implement. And yet: they offer a huge opportunity to set yourself apart from the competition right now. Are you seizing this opportunity, or are you staring at the threat instead?

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

Since 1998, Boss Info AG (bossinfo.ch) ICT infrastructure and complete business management solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics. In 2019, Boss Info Holding AG acquired pmc Informatik AG, profinance.ch AG for ERP software and Daneco AG. All three companies were continued as subsidiaries of Boss Info Holding AG, but under its own name.

Consolidation of leading SME specialists

After careful consideration, the Board of Directors of the holding company has come to the conclusion to switch from an elaborate and costly multi-brand strategy to a single-brand strategy. This is intended to make even better use of existing synergies: Retroactively as of January 1, 2020, all operating companies in Switzerland will be merged into one company and will operate uniformly under the name of
"Boss Info AG" will appear. Due to the geographical proximity, the Fehraltorf and Fällanden sites will be merged at the Fällanden site as of March 31, 2020. This location will be co-managed by Jan Wild, the current location manager, and Daniel Pechmann as of April 1, 2020. The Langenthal site, as well as the other sites, will remain in place, and all employees of the previous subsidiaries will now work under the new roof. This means that the IT company now has 7 locations in Switzerland with around 160 employees.

Boss Info AG as an overall ICT provider for the SME market

Growing together with more than a dozen companies in the last few years enables the company to be even more present on the ERP market and to offer comprehensive business software environments even for smaller companies. In addition to the entire Microsoft product range, ICT infrastructure/systems engineering, web applications such as webshops and portals, and training are further mainstays of Boss Info AG. With its archive and workflow solutions, the company is also no stranger to process automation.

Together even stronger

"Thanks to the merger, our customers benefit from the advantages of a unified company organization. With a mature and strong Swiss SME as an ICT service partner at their side, our customers can rely on being equipped with state-of-the-art tools for all their business ICT needs - all from a single source," the company writes. Furthermore, customers, suppliers and partners would benefit from central contact points and services such as finance, HR and administration, as well as unified communications. In particular, the uniform appearance facilitates the strengthening of the company's own brand and simplifies the communication of offers for the Boss solutions developed in-house.

In the Ordinance 2 (VO2) on measures to combat the coronavirus issued by the Federal Council on March 16, 2020, and amended on March 20, 2020, Articles 10b and c in particular are of major importance in terms of labor law. This introduces a new category of employees, the "persons at particular risk". People from this group of persons should stay at home and avoid crowds (Art. 10b para. 1 VO2).

Who are "particularly vulnerable persons"?

This category includes people 65 years of age and older and people who have the following conditions in particular:

• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Chronic respiratory diseases
• Diseases and therapies that weaken the immune system
• Cancer

The term "in particular" expresses that this list is not exhaustive. The legal consequences for the group of persons at particular risk can therefore also be applied to other diseases, provided that these are classified as equivalent to the diseases according to Art. 10b VO2 with regard to the risk of severe Covid 19 disease progression. Since this is a medical issue, this assessment is the responsibility of primary care physicians. A challenging task, considering the consequences outlined below.

Adjusted duties of employers

The obligations of employers were adapted after only a few days in the newly formulated Art. 10c para. 2 and 3 VO2. In an amendment to the original text of the ordinance, which only provided for the options of "home office" or "dispensation with continued payment of wages" for persons at particular risk, employee protection was somewhat relaxed with the introduction of a third variant on the one hand, but at the same time the employer's duty of care was made more concrete.

The new version of Art. 10c VO2 provides for the following regulation:

• The employer shall enable employees who are particularly at risk to perform their work duties from home. To this end, he shall take the appropriate technical and organizational measures (Art. 10c para. 1 VO2). The principle of "home office first" is thus upheld, i.e. particularly at-risk persons should work from home whenever possible.
• In amendment to the original regulation, Art. 10c para. 2 of the Regulation was reworded on 20.03.2020. A new criterion has been introduced for those work activities which, due to the nature of the activity or the lack of feasible measures, can only be performed at the usual place of work (e.g. retail trade, cleaning, care). In these cases, the employer is obliged to "ensure compliance with the recommendations of the Confederation concerning hygiene and social distance by means of suitable organizational and technical measures" (Art. 10c para. 2 VO2).
  Here is an excerpt from the explanatory notes of the federal government (as of 24.03.2020): "For this purpose, plexiglass screens can be set up in retail stores, for example, to protect checkout personnel; disinfectants are also to be made available to employees where appropriate. Other reasonable work areas or fields can also be assigned to particularly at-risk persons, such as work in the back office area."
  In other words, provided the employer can guarantee compliance with these measures, there is basically nothing to prevent employees from continuing to work at their usual place of work. But here too - according to the explanations provided by the federal government - employers and employees are called upon to agree flexibly on practicable solutions that are in the interests of health and the company.
• If, in a specific case, a "home office" is not possible and the protective measures required in Art. 10c Para. 2 VO2 cannot be implemented either, employees who are particularly at risk shall be granted leave of absence by the employer with continued payment of their salary (Art. 10c Para. 3 VO2).

What does this mean in practice?

In addition to Art. 324 and 324a CO, Art. 10c para. 3 VO 2 creates a further exception to the basic rule "no work, no pay". In the foreseeable discussions about whether home office is possible or not, both employees and employers are challenged. In our opinion, home office should always be possible if the technical possibilities are available, if the work is not location-bound or can only be performed with special devices that are not available at home. Employees are asked to keep a sense of proportion and contribute as much as possible to ensure that the employer's operations can continue without restriction. For:

For the duration of the validity of the VO2, the employer is required to pay an unlimited 100% period of wages without receiving any work performance. This obligation can quickly threaten the existence of smaller companies in particular, which currently lack revenue in many cases.

Due to the wording "on leave", one could get the idea that the person concerned must draw (existing) vacation credits. This interpretation is hardly the intention of the legislator, who was not very precise in his wording. Instead of "leave of absence", it would be better to speak of "dispensing". Nevertheless, due to the current extraordinary situation, the doctrine assumes that a short-term order to take vacation should also be permissible.

It should also be noted that the Covid 19 Ordinance on Loss of Earnings, which was also issued on March 20, 2020, does not change the legal situation. Although Art. 2 para. 1 of this ordinance provides for a maximum entitlement of 10 daily allowances in the event of an interruption of employment "due to quarantine", this benefit is subsidiary to continued salary payments by the employer (Art. 2 para. 4). It is therefore not necessary to examine the question of whether "leave of absence" within the meaning of Art. 10c para. 3 VO2 would be equivalent to quarantine.

Medical certificate

The ordinance stipulates that the persons concerned assert their endangerment by means of a "personal declaration". The employer will usually accept this if he already knows about the health condition of the person concerned anyway. Incidentally, this is more often the case than one might think. But what happens if the employer is surprised by the employee's self-declaration and wants to check whether someone actually belongs to the group of persons at particular risk?

If an employee claims that he or she belongs to the group of persons at particular risk, the employer has the option provided for in Art. 10c Para. 4 VO2 of requesting a "medical certificate". It can be assumed that employers will make extensive use of this option. In terms of content, however, only the information as to whether or not someone is to be classified as a "person at particular risk" within the meaning of Art. 10b Para. 2 VO2 is permissible. Due to the protection of personality, there is no entitlement to more detailed information on the employee's state of health or more precise details of the illness.

Medical certificate vs. certificate of incapacity for work

In our view, the term "medical certificate" is somewhat unfortunate, as this term is normally associated with a certificate of incapacity for work. However, the medical certificate according to Art. 10c para. 4 VO2 is not a certificate of incapacity for work, but merely a confirmation of belonging to the group of "particularly endangered persons". Thus, it is merely a dispensation to work outside the home office and not a medically justified incapacity to work.

Initial feedback has shown that doctors do not always take this distinction into account and (additionally) also confirm an incapacity to work in the medical certificate, presumably without such an incapacity being present. The test question here would be, in our opinion:

"Would the patient (at special risk) be able to work in his or her usual occupation without Corona pandemic?" If yes, there is a "medical certificate" stating that he belongs to the group of persons at special risk. If no, a certificate of incapacity for work is issued.

Continuation of salary vs. daily sickness benefits

Daily sickness benefit insurers regularly define incapacity for work based on Art. 6 ATSG as "the full or partial inability to perform reasonable work in the previous occupation or field of activity due to an impairment of physical, mental or psychological health." This definition obviously does not coincide with the reasons that lead to the work dispensation due to the special risk situation. Therefore, the following applies as a matter of principle: Caution, the daily sickness benefit insurances do not have to pay for the continued payment of wages due to the work dispensation according to Art. 10c Par. 3 VO2. Employers should keep this in mind with regard to their liquidity planning, while employees should also do everything in their power to contribute to loss minimization.

The temptation is therefore relatively great to want to circumvent these risks with an ordinary certificate of incapacity for work (aka a sick note). However, consider the following two points:

• First of all, this means that people are "written off sick" who, from a medical point of view, are not at all unfit for work. The danger that "particularly at-risk individuals will continue to be (written) unfit for work even after the end of the pandemic should not be underestimated. After all, all of these people are suffering from an illness, and as long as their state of health does not improve, regaining the ability to work is not a foregone conclusion. This development is not desirable for the employee, the employer or the economy as a whole.
• In addition, the daily sickness benefit insurers will have to deal with a considerable number of cases that are "unjustified" from an insurance law perspective because there is no actual incapacity to work. In view of the wave of claims that is also likely to hit the daily sickness benefit insurers, it is to be expected that such "incapacities for work" will be subjected to closer scrutiny and that the obligation to pay benefits will be rejected. Then the costs for continued payment of wages will fall back on the employers, who may not have expected this.

Conclusion: Correctly classify particularly vulnerable persons

Restraint, generosity, care and a sense of proportion are indicated when dealing with particularly vulnerable individuals:

• Employee reluctance to self-declare. Don't take advantage of the situation. Unauthorized hazard reports pose an invaluable risk to employers. Help out where you can. Individual interests should take a back seat to the general interests of preserving our economic system, except in cases of special hazard as defined in the regulation.
• Generosity in assessing the extent to which home office is possible. Willingness of the employee to take on tasks which are not normally part of the employee's duties, but which can be performed by the employee from the home office. And this is independent of the requirements of the employment contract.
• Care and special diligence in testing and implementing organizational and technical measures to ensure compliance with federal recommendations regarding hygiene and social distance. The "particularly vulnerable persons" should be protected from infections so that potentially serious cases of illness and bottlenecks in health care can be avoided. In case of doubt, we believe that the work dispensation should be chosen.
• A sense of proportion on the part of physicians with regard to medical certificates and certificates of incapacity for work. First, physicians must be aware of this fundamental distinction and different legal consequences. Moreover, sick leave on the basis of the special risk pursuant to Art. 10b para. 2 V2, even though there is no incapacity for work, can lead to employers and employees being lulled into a false sense of security and assuming that the right to continued payment of wages is covered by the insurance. If such a claim is then rejected and the entire duration - which is not limited in time or is limited to the period of the extraordinary situation due to Art. 10c para. 3 VO2 - falls back on the employer, this can bring a company to financial ruin.

Authors:
RA Astrid Lienhart is a specialist lawyer SAV labor law and, in addition to her work as a lawyer in the Law Firm Legal Force in Zurich as an author and speaker. RA Kurt Mettler is managing director of the SIZ AGwhich specializes in care management. For years, both have maintained an intensive exchange on the difficult issues surrounding continued payment of wages in the event of illness.

Visable - operator of the well-known B2B platforms "Wer liefert was" (Who delivers what) and Europages - conducted a flash survey in the week from March 12 to 19, asking 208 Swiss SMEs online about the consequences of the Corona pandemic. Asked about the reasons for the loss of sales, it emerges that the main problem is the strong uncertainty among customers. This was cited by 71 percent of respondents. However, increased cases of illness in the business also represent a challenge (10.6 %).

Half of SMEs suffer from a decline in orders

Swiss SMEs are already feeling several concrete consequences of the Corona pandemic. More than half (53.4) stated in the Visable survey that there is less demand from customers and orders are declining. Just under a quarter (24.5 %) complain of supply shortages in procurement. However, companies are also affected because employees are sick (16.8%) or are in quarantine (9.6 %). Less significant are sales problems due to dependence on the Chinese market (7.7 %).

Supply bottlenecks in procurement are felt by SMEs primarily in Europe (22.1 %). As many as 17.3 percent of companies are suffering from supply bottlenecks from China. However, there are apparently still no supply difficulties in the USA or other regions.

Short-time work in SMEs and job freezes as immediate measures

In terms of the measures that SMEs are taking, there are two clear thrusts, both of which are gaining roughly equal traction. For example, about one in five companies is already increasing Short-time work (20.7 %) or stop hiring new employees (18.8 %). Only 4.3 percent of SMEs are already reacting with layoffs.

Broad precautions for the protection of employees

Swiss companies are doing a lot to protect their employees. The main measure is the provision of disinfectants. Two thirds (62 %) of respondents have taken this measure. 43.8 percent of companies have mandated home offices. And 40.4 percent are eliminating business travel in the current situation. More than a quarter of companies hold video conferences (26.4 %). Hardly any companies have fever-measurement checks (1.9 %).

Impulsive search for protective masks and disinfectant

With the spread of the coronavirus, the search behavior on Visable's online B2B marketplaces also changed. If, for example, the search terms "mechanical engineering" and "CNC milling machines" are usually among the most searched terms on "Wer liefert was", this changed with the emergence of the coronavirus. In mid-February, "respirators" and "disposable face masks" were in particularly high demand for the first time. "Disinfectant" also suddenly found itself among the top 3 most searched terms - at times, these products even exceeded the queries of the otherwise common top searches. "We have been registering a general increase in search queries for a few days now. Many companies have to look for other suppliers at the moment. Visable also supports its customers in these times with digital solutions for marketing and sales," says Peter F. Schmid, CEO of Visable. "Even we cannot foresee the exact consequences of the pandemic. But one thing is already clear: Digital solutions for industrially active companies have never been as important as they are today," explains Peter F. Schmid.

Source: www.visable.com

Due to the Federal Council's order on the coronavirus situation, the Prix SVC Ostschweiz award ceremony planned for March 5, 2020 had to be postponed. Together with the regional organizing committee, the SVC has now set the award ceremony for Wednesday, August 19, 2020 in the Olma Hallen. Further information will be communicated in due time. The SVC is constantly monitoring the situation. It will inform immediately if other SVC events are affected by the measures taken to contain the coronavirus.

The finalists for this year's awards are (in alphabetical order):

• Davaz Holding AG
• Evatec AG
• Glatz AG
• Heule Werkzeug AG
• Integra Biosciences AG
• Zünd Systemtechnik AG

These six SMEs were selected from 150 companies by a jury of twelve. The Prix SVC Ostschweiz has been awarded since 2004.

www.swiss-venture-club.ch

One of the greatest challenges currently facing SMEs is to deploy existing resources and funds quickly, efficiently and in a targeted manner where they will bring the greatest benefit. The platform, which is available immediately, offers Share-it a quick and simple solution. Whether raw materials, labor, machinery, personnel, premises, transport and storage capacity, or IT - on the digital SME marketplace for resource allocation, SMEs can now offer existing excess capacities or request resources according to the principle "We search - We offer". Experienced SME experts accompany the process to ensure that suitable cooperation partners find each other quickly.

Sharing platform born out of practice

"Now more than ever, the motto is 'collaborate and share' to quickly arrive at new solutions as well as intelligent collaboration. With this in mind, we have Share-it and pulled together existing systems and resources," explains Carla Kaufmann, herself an SME and succession expert and partner at Companymarket AG.

Companymarket.ch is the largest Swiss brokerage platform for the sale and purchase of companies, which is now available in parallel as a sharing platform or resource marketplace through corresponding additional functions.

The idea to develop and realize a sharing platform for SMEs arose last fall in collaboration with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and SME Digitization and has been supported as a project by InnoSuisse since the beginning of 2020. In the meantime, various SMEs, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland are working on researching concepts and solutions for a successful design of sharing between SMEs.

Four steps to collaboration and sharing

As a "resource desk" and directly accessible point of contact for entrepreneurs, the digitized succession bus (successorbus.ch). Companies simply contact a team of experienced SME experts either by telephone or via chat and video conferencing functions. Together with them, the business and economic challenges are identified, opportunities for cooperation, sharing, or merging of areas are defined, and offers or needs are identified. companymarket.ch/shareit is published publicly. Subsequently, the Companymarket team contacts the identified potential cooperation partners in writing and by telephone. Share-it offers the entire service free of charge until further notice.

High solution potential thanks to BigData

For the identification of possible collaborations Companymarket has in cooperation with GetDiversity.ch via a BigData solution that allows "target lists" of companies (400,000 stored entries) to be formed and contacted by region, industry and size throughout Switzerland.

With the intention of making an effective contribution to the preservation of Swiss SMEs in the current situation based on collaboration and sharing, the Share-it motivate to new solutions.

You are sitting in your home office, trusting in the technology of your smartphone, but suddenly it fails: The Mobile clinic is now launching a home service for the greater Zurich and Winterthur areas. The company repairs defective smartphones on site or picks them up if on-site repair is not possible.

Repair defective smartphones of all brands

"Every day, we receive telephone inquiries from customers whose smartphone has broken down in the home office, for example, and who are looking for an immediate solution. We want to make a contribution here, so that communication is ensured flawlessly even in these demanding times," says Marcel Dossenbach, COO of Mobile Klinik. The company says it is the largest express repair service for smartphones and mobile devices in Switzerland. The company includes the brands Fix Repair, iKlinik and Handy Doktor. With 40 branches in Switzerland, Mobile Klinik AG employs more than 80 people. The company normally offers walk-in customers a fast and reliable repair service for smartphones of all brands.

Home Service in the greater Zurich area

Dossenbach continues: "Our central repair center is operating even in these difficult times, naturally in compliance with all FOPH specifications. Defective equipment can be sent in by mail. In the current situation, however, this is taking too long for many customers. For people who need a quick repair, we are now offering a home service in the greater Zurich and Winterthur areas."

Due to its affiliation with MSS Holding AG, which is one of the leading providers of mobility solutions in Switzerland, the Mobile Klinik has access to a fleet of vehicles that is now being activated specifically for the current case. Marcel Dossenbach explains, "Our employees are hygienically trained, drive up to the customers' premises and repair defective smartphones or tablets right on the spot. In difficult cases, we take the device with us and return it the same day after the repair has been completed. If necessary, we provide a loaner device."

The Home Service can be reached on 0800 18 18 from Monday to Friday, between 09:00 and 20:00.

From an economic perspective, the question of the hour is what the consequences of this pandemic will be for companies. As with the SARS epidemic in 2003, can we expect a brief economic slump that will then be corrected very quickly? Or will it end in a full-blown economic crisis this time? We explore this question in this economic commentary by hpo to get to the bottom of the current situation.

The factual situation before the coronavirus

In order to be able to make an assessment of the future, it is first necessary to take stock of the facts. In our real economic model, we focus on industrial production, consumption and sentiment indicators. In particular, we are interested in how the situation looked before we all fell under the spell of the corona virus:

• Industrial production: Demand for capital goods already weakened in 2019 in Europe, Asia and most recently also in the USA. Compared with 2018, order intake for mechanical engineering companies in Germany fell by 9 %, for example. Although the figures for order intake in the first two months of 2020 are not yet available, many industrial companies are already reporting a renewed sharp drop in order intake figures in some cases since the beginning of the year.
• Consumption: Consumption growth rates in Asia have been leveling off for some time and are well below the long-term trend growth. In Europe and North America, consumption was still very strong as of the end of 2019, but the momentum here also showed a sideways movement during this period. The hpo forecasting model has been indicating for some time that a substantial deterioration in consumer sentiment is also to be expected in the West in 2020. With the rapid spread of the coronavirus and the measures adopted by governments, this has now occurred even more rapidly and much more violently than expected. Even though there are still no reliable figures, it is clear that the shutdown of entire regions and countries means that a sharp decline must be expected.
• Sentiment indicators for industry (e.g. the OECD's Business Confidence Index or the Purchasing Managers Index Industry) have in the past been very reliable indicators of the development of demand in the capital goods industry. In recent months, these indicators have moved clearly into contractionary territory in most major markets, pointing to a downturn - again independently of the corona virus. Initial sentiment indicators from China at the beginning of 2020 suggest a dramatic slump there; reliable figures for the world regions are yet to come.

Harbingers of a global economic crisis

The following interim conclusion can be drawn: The global economy was already in an unstable phase before the outbreak of the corona virus. With hpo forecasting's forecast models, we observe and analyze around 100 sub-sectors of the capital goods industry worldwide. These indicated early on - independently of the coronavirus - an accelerating decline in order intake in the capital goods industry for 2020 in almost all sectors. Also, hpo forecasting's Peter Meier forecast model has long indicated a slump in consumption in Europe and the U.S. for 2019/2020, similar to what was already observable in Asia. Our previous estimates for 2020 are not only consistent in our quarterly economic commentariesbut also in an article of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung from May 14, 2018, in an interview in the Technical Review July 2019 as well as in a contribution of the Business magazine ECO on Swiss television from August 26, 2019 well documented.

Coronavirus is the trigger but not the cause of the looming economic crisis

There is now a very high probability that the coronavirus is the trigger for a downturn in the global economy. According to our analyses, the fundamentals of the real economy have been pointing to an economic crisis for some time. However, until now it was completely unclear what the trigger would be. Every global economic crisis can be linked to a major event. In the structural crisis of the 1990s, this was the disintegration of the Eastern bloc and the war in Iraq. The 2001 downturn is strongly associated with the bursting of the dotcom bubble and the September 9 terrorist attacks in the United States. And in the 2008 financial crisis, images of freshly laid-off investment bankers on the sidewalks of New York and London with cardboard boxes in their arms are etched in our collective memory. What all these economic crises have in common is that, long before the particular trigger was known, the economy was moving toward a period of instability.

The same is now true of the current downturn. The current economic crisis - of which we are only seeing the beginning at the moment - could also have been triggered by any other event. Our secret favorites so far have been the U.S. trade wars, an escalation in Iran, a hard BREXIT, the U.S. repo crisis or the unrest in Hong Kong. However, it became apparent once again that the trigger is usually an event that no one expects. Even if, according to epidemiologists, it had long been clear that a pandemic was possible at any time, the spread of this virus - and the violent reactions of governments to it - could not have been predicted, at least in terms of the specific timing. However, it was possible to recognize the unstable situation of the global economy on the basis of real economic indicators. From an economic point of view, we now have the misfortune that COVID-19 enters our lives precisely in this economically unstable phase, when consumption and investment cycles have just passed their peaks.

Cyclic instability

When the consumption and investment cycles have passed their peaks, the economy is unstable. In the past, this happened every seven to twelve years. Then all it took was a random trigger to cause the crisis to erupt. In fact, at least in terms of consumption in Asia and in early-cycle sectors of the capital goods industry, the crisis already began about a year ago. Nevertheless, there is a high probability that the current downturn will go down in the history books as the Corona crisis.

The chart below shows the deviation from the long-term trend of retail trade and industrial production in the OECD. The effective values can be approximated with sine curves of different wavelengths. The values from 2020 onwards show the hypothetical trend for the future and were created before the outbreak of the Corona epidemic. Whenever the consumption and investment cycles peaked, they were followed by a global economic crisis. With the help of the Peter Meier forecasting model from hpo forecasting, the cycles can be reliably forecast. Thus, it was possible for Peter Meier to predict the dotcom crisis of 2001, the financial crisis of 2008 and also the current downturn with a lead time of about two years. Further details on this model can be found in Peter Meier's book "Die Wirtschaft als schwingendes System" (Hanser Verlag, 2019).

Where do we go from here?

Due to the economically unstable phase described above in combination with the severe Corona shock, a global economic crisis is likely. However, this can have very different effects on different industries and sub-industries. We analyze these global effects in our daily work. With the help of industry models, we are also able to produce reliable forecasts of order intake for individual companies.

A major factor of uncertainty is the reaction of politicians and the financial markets. In view of the extraordinary situation, it is appropriate to take drastic measures to protect the population and thus slow down the spread of the virus.

Overloading of healthcare providers must be kept to a minimum, because people's health is the top priority. However, the sometimes drastic effects of the measures already taken on the economy cannot be denied. The more drastic these measures, the greater the short-term economic impact. In the medium and long term, however, real economic cycles are likely to remain the dominant factors - at least for the capital goods industry. The problem now is that these cycles - irrespective of COVID-19 - also point to a negative trend. The sectors of the economy already severely affected by the decline in the real economy are currently being further impacted by the pandemic.
We see a major risk in the high level of corporate debt worldwide. For many highly indebted companies, several months of poor business performance are enough for them to get into financial difficulties and no longer be able to service their liabilities despite low interest rates. If this happens on a large scale, the outlook is likely to deteriorate further and, in an extreme case, a financial crisis will occur in the next few quarters.

There are also bright spots

However, companies that have a solid balance sheet and are therefore able to weather a drastic downturn may well emerge stronger from a crisis. This is because some competitors will exit the market for financial reasons. Particularly in the fragmented mechanical engineering sector, there may be favorable opportunities for takeovers. Furthermore, substitution effects can already be observed anecdotally in individual sub-sectors, for example when Western companies replace their Chinese suppliers with European suppliers.

Conclusion: Initial situation for a global economic crisis is given

The starting point for a global economic crisis has clearly intensified. This coincides with the economic outlook presented by hpo forecasting at a time when we still associated Corona primarily with Mexican beer. Due to recent events, we now also know with a high degree of probability the trigger of the crisis.

However, the outbreak has hardly any major impact on our medium- and long-term forecasts, which were already pessimistic. The consequences of the global downturn for the individual sectors and subsectors must be analyzed on the basis of the differentiated sector models.

Authors:
Joshua Burkart, M. A. HSG, is Managing Director at hpo forecasting. Benjamin Boksberger, M. A. HSG, is Senior Consultant ebenda. The forecasting specialists at hpo forecasting prepare company-specific forecasts of incoming orders for industrial companies. The forecasts are based on the scientifically founded and empirically proven Peter Meier forecasting model.

www.hpoforecasting.ch

Not everyone - both bosses and employees - is used to working from home. But after a few initial difficulties, you're sure to get along soon and working from home becomes a pleasant routine.

Point 1: Pay attention to good ergonomics during setup

• If possible, set up your home office in a separate room so that you can work undisturbed. If you don't have a room of your own, you can also set up an alcove in your home for the office. Shelves or partitions can help to separate the work area from the living area. It is important to arrange the room so that you can feel comfortable while working.
• The work table: This should be sufficiently large and offer enough space for your documents. According to Suva recommendations, the length should be at least 120 centimeters. Ideally, the table should be height-adjustable so that you can alternate between standing and sitting (rule of thumb: 60 percent sitting, 30 percent standing, 10 percent active movement; standing usually does not last longer than 20 minutes at a time). Whenever possible, the table should be placed at a 90-degree angle to the window.
• The office chair: A good office chair (doesn't have to be expensive) has a 5-star base with casters and is height adjustable. Adjust the height like this: Feet flat on the floor, upper and lower legs at about a 90-degree angle, torso at a 90-degree angle to the thighs, buttocks slightly higher than the knee, i.e., an inclined seat is advantageous. The backrest or lumbar pad should come to rest in the hollow of the back to provide optimal support for your back. Avoid cushions, footrests and the like whenever possible; they can lead to an unstable posture and consequently to physical complaints.
• Lighting: Make sure you get as much natural light as possible. Do not work facing or with your back to the window. If this is not possible: darken the window (curtains, blinds) so that it does not dazzle and make do with artificial light (ceiling or desk lamp that provides uniform illumination). The guideline values for lighting are at least 500 to 600 lux (this can be measured with a smartphone, for example; an app for this is available here): https://phyphox.org/de/home-de/)
• Placement of work equipment: Place the screen straight in front of you, the height should be adjusted so that the upper edge of the screen is one hand's width below eye level. The distance between your eyes and the screen should be one arm's length. Even with a laptop, work with a computer mouse if possible - trackpads are uncomfortable in the long run. The mouse should be held as close as possible to the keyboard. If you often work with documents, a document holder is recommended (place it between the keyboard and the screen).
• Climate: Ventilate regularly. Houseplants can also improve the indoor climate by ensuring sufficient humidity. They also bring a friendly atmosphere to the workplace.

Point 2: The organization of work

• Maintain the same rhythm as when you work in a normal office. Get up at the usual time, take your breaks at the usual times.
• "Celebrate" going to work, even if you don't have to leave the house to do it. That means, for example: Have breakfast in the dining room and only then go to your home office - maybe even after a short walk or a "trip" to the balcony.
• Don't eat at your desk at home either.
• Dress as you would if you had to go out to work. If you work in pajamas or a sports outfit, you do yourself and the quality of your work little favors.
• Plan your work in coherent blocks: Tasks that require a lot of concentration are best done in the morning. Routine work, such as answering e-mails, can then be done after lunch, for example.
• Inform your team colleagues when and how you can be reached. Arrange fixed appointments, for example, for consultation reports. Use tools such as Microsoft Teams, Outlook and the Unified Communication & Collaboration (UCC) tools provided by your employer.
• Cultivate a work culture: There are studies that show that employees tend to work too much at home. So even working from home is not immune to burnout. So record your working hours, call it a day as usual - and if necessary arrange to have a "virtual after-work beer" with colleagues via Skype or similar.

Point 3: Working in a home office - also a question of leadership

• Working in a home office requires trust on the part of managers. As a boss, you should therefore avoid regular "control calls". Therefore, manage your employees in the home office more results-oriented. Clarify the goals that need to be met and describe as precisely as possible what the desired result should be.
• Transparency: Keep teams informed about which jobs are being worked on and by whom. Provide e-collaboration tools and arrange virtual team meetings when necessary. Prepare these just as meticulously as "normal" meetings.
• Request status reports from your teams or employees on a regular basis (e.g. weekly).
• Set binding times for availability. But also cultivate rituals for non-binding and informal exchanges, e.g. in the form of a chat over lunch.
• Be patient and understanding: Not everything will work right away. If you are not used to communicating digitally on a regular basis, it will take a few tries before you get to grips with the technology. If necessary, train your employees in the use of digital communication tools (for example, by providing point-by-point instructions via the intranet) - this also includes maintaining rules of etiquette on the phone.
• Let your employees feel your appreciation. Give them more feedback than usual, praise them, give constructive tips where improvements should be made. Let your employees who are sitting alone in their home offices know that they are needed.

With this in mind, happy working. And also when working in your home office, forget the Cybersecurity not.