The amount of information and data that many people are confronted with every day at their workplace has increased massively in recent years. Globalization and digitization are steadily increasing the complexity of business and work processes: What is current today may be outdated tomorrow. As a result, decision-makers must constantly distinguish relevant from irrelevant information.

Forgetting makes you capable of acting

In doing so, they often receive support from digital information systems. Modern organizations, businesses and administrations use these systems, for example, for business calculations and analyses, product development and marketing concepts. But how do these tools affect the user? And do information systems make users "stupid" because they are no longer challenged? On the contrary, say psychologists and business informatics experts from the Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster (WWU): the ability to forget things is what makes people capable of acting in the first place - both individuals and entire organizations. The results of the study were published in the journal Ergonomics.

Information systems lead to better decisions

The team led by Guido Hertel, Professor of Organizational and Business Psychology, Prof. Dr. Jörg Becker from the Institute of Information Systems at WWU simulated typical business processes in production companies in which people had to repeatedly decide to which fictitious countries their company's products should be shipped for sale. The results showed that the availability of supporting information systems not only led to economically better decisions, but also freed up the users' cognitive capacities. The study participants retained details of other company products better in their memory than people in the control group who made decisions without system support - and therefore had to retain more information in their memory. In addition, the participants who were able to use the information system reported feeling less stress when working on the difficult tasks.

Trust in information systems necessary

However, forgetting is not always easy for many decision-makers. "The central prerequisite for these positive effects was that the test subjects trusted the information system - only then were significant performance gains observed," emphasizes Guido Hertel. The scientists found that technical reliability and the quality of the information content provided appear to be essential for trust in information systems. In addition, however, the perceived competence and experience of the respective users as well as the existing support structures also played an important role. "We were surprised to find that trust in information systems was determined by many different influencing factors, but that even a small thing, such as a one-off technical problem, was sufficient for distrust to arise," explains Guido Hertel.

Research continues

The results of the studies provide an initial model for the design of trustworthy and thus effective information systems, so that users and decision-makers in organizations can "confidently" forget about superfluous information. The findings are relevant for all areas of work in which computer systems continuously process extensive data for decision-making. Here, well-designed information systems can improve performance, relieve users and free up resources for other tasks. In follow-up studies, the research team is now investigating further factors influencing targeted forgetting, such as the costs of any wrong decisions or the personal security orientation of a decision-maker. The aim is to be able to adapt information systems as well as possible to different framework conditions.

Information on the research project: https://www.getrost-vergessen.de/

Drugs, weapons, serious crime: the darknet is rightly regarded as an international hub for illegal activities. Hackers and cybercriminals are also increasingly using the digital black market as a buying and selling platform. This is the conclusion of security manufacturer ESET, which has scoured the darknet for current trends "Malware in itself is a lucrative business," says security specialist Thomas Uhlemann. "But now criminals are cashing in doubly by selling or renting out the successful tools after their attacks." Even inexperienced criminals are able to carry out dangerous attacks.

Malware with full service

Selling malicious code of all kinds is nothing new on the Darknet. With complete full-service offerings ranging from malware distribution and illegal infrastructure leasing to financial processing, no hacker's wish remains unfulfilled. Ultimately, the "customer" only has to decide what level of service he can afford. Even for those on a tight budget, there are enough opportunities to enter the market as a micro-criminal. "The days are definitely over when teenage pranks threatened the Internet. Cybercrime is a highly organized business - with service, marketing, advertising and detailed operating instructions, many gangs operate more professionally than many a legal business," says Uhlemann. Behind them are large international mafia-like gangs that have successfully made the transition from the analog world to the darknet.

Ransomware serves as an ideal example of this. A wide range of ransomware packages is available on the Darknet as if it were selling legitimate software. Updates, technical support, access to C&C servers and a range of payment options are just some of the features offered. Everything is possible, from a simple one-time purchase to a subscription. For example, "Ranion" offers subscription plans at different prices and durations. They start at 120 US dollars for just one month and end in an annual subscription for 900 US dollars per year - the luxury package costs 1,900 US dollars.

Rent infrastructure instead of buying

For malware distribution, criminals inevitably need servers to get the business rolling. Of course, they can also be rented - from criminals who certainly haven't asked the rightful owner for permission. There are several services on the darknet that deliver login credentials to servers all over the world via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Prices are in the moderate range of 8-15 US dollars per server. User-friendly, the offered servers can be filtered by country, operating system and even payment sites accessed by users from that server. Nothing then stands in the way of sending ransomware or malware such as banking Trojans and spyware.

Denial-of-service attacks are also on offer. The price of these varies depending on how long the attack is to last (between one and 24 hours) and how much traffic the botnet can generate during that time. A three-hour attack is available from some providers for $60.

Oldie but Goldie: Sale of PayPal and credit card accounts

Cybercriminals who have already carried out successful phishing attacks usually do not take the risk of using the stolen accounts themselves. It is profitable enough and much safer for them to resell the accounts to other criminals. For this service, they usually charge about 10% of the total available balance in the stolen account. On top of that, some sellers like to show the tools and fake websites they use to conduct their phishing activities. "Due to the extensive anonymization and payment via Bitcoin, law enforcement agencies have a hard time arresting cybercriminals," balances ESET's Thomas Uhlemann. "In plain language, this means that because of the new possibilities, we expect to see more and more digital gangsters and even more attacks. Because the incentive to drive a Porsche without having to work, and to hardly get caught, attracts them.

Source: ESET

There will be a castling in the leadership of the multi-award-winning Swiss medtech startup Ava. Co-founder Lea von Bidder will take over the role of CEO from Pascal Koenig as of January 1, 2020. Koenig, on the other hand, is to become a full-time member of the board of directors and in this role act as a representative of the founders. In the meantime, 29-year-old Lea von Bidder will be able to prepare for her new role. This will include relocating her current place of residence and work, San Francisco, back to the headquarters in Zurich. Renate Schreiber, CEO of Ava AG, is delighted: "Lea has made a significant contribution to the rapid growth of the company as Head of Marketing. She brings the experience and know-how necessary to take Ava forward on its mission." This includes, among other things, the effort to upgrade the Ava bracelet for non-hormonal contraception and enhanced pregnancy monitoring. "I am honored and exceptionally excited to serve as CEO of Ava, guiding women throughout their reproductive journey," von Bidder said. "Proving that women are not a niche group remains my passion," she adds.

Co-founder new to the Board of Directors

Pascal Koenig (44), Ava co-founder and current CEO of the company, will step down from his traditional position and will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting for election as a full board member and representative of the founding team. "Guiding Ava from its inception to a globally successful company has been the most satisfying work of my career," Koenig says. "My future role as a board member would allow me to focus more on strategic work - including establishing collaborations that would benefit not only Ava, but the femtech space as a whole."

Naemi Benz becomes part of the management team

In addition to the appointment of Lea von Bidder as CEO, Ava has made another personnel change: Naemi Benz (34) will become VP Operations and a new member of the management team with immediate effect. Benz, a lawyer by training, has successfully led Ava's product team for the past two years and will bring experience in business management and growth.

More information: https://www.avawomen.com 

In order to develop groundbreaking new business ideas, a suitable organizational structure is needed. In addition to a permanent willingness to change, speed is a must in order to be prepared for our high-speed future. Yet countless companies, visualized by a common organizational chart, remain stuck in an organizational model that is static and dates back to the deepest part of the last century. This is where the Orbit model comes in. It propagates the transition from an outdated pyramidal to a forward-looking circular corporate organization. Developed by Anne M. Schüller and Alex T. Steffen, both experts in business and transformation, it shows the way to a living culture of innovation that can adaptively, anticipatively and agilely adjust to the requirements of the new era. Nine fields of action are addressed. In "The Orbit Organization", the two authors describe the positive effects of their model on all areas of the company in a practice-oriented manner, with fresh ideas and using numerous examples. They have thus succeeded in producing a comprehensive manual that can be used to rapidly implement the necessary change processes. The result? An organization that is excellently positioned for the digital future: highly profitable and deeply humane at the same time.

Alongside the Corporate Purpose, a company's raison d'être, customer centricity plays a prominent role in the Orbit organization. It will become the number one corporate task of the future. Because if you want to take off, you don't just need new management concepts. It must also radically take the side of the customer. Thus, the authors present the first organizational model that actually and visibly puts the customer at the center. It is also the first model to specifically integrate the increasingly necessary bridge-building functions. Because transformation always means transition. This requires people who pave the way into new territory and create connections between inside and outside and between human and artificial intelligence. In addition, new types of partnerships between old and young companies need to be coupled together. Thus, orbiting organizations create an irresistible attraction. "They are a home port for employee talent - and a place of longing for customers," say the two authors.

The authors

• Anne M. Schüller is a management thinker, keynote speaker, multiple award-winning bestselling author and business coach. She is one of the most sought-after speakers in the German-speaking world. She was named Top Voice 2017/2018 by the business network LinkedIn and Top XING Writer 2018 by XING. More info: www.anneschueller.de
• Alex T. Steffen is a speaker, leadership trainer and entrepreneur. Working with international companies and ministries, he helps better unite the digital and the human to promote digital literacy and an entrepreneurial mindset. More info: www.alextsteffen.com

The book

Anne M. Schüller / Alex T. Steffen: The Orbit Organization. In 9 steps to the enterprise model for the digital future. 312 pages, hardcover, ISBN 978-3-86936-899-3, GABAL Verlag, Offenbach 2019.

Herisau-based clavis IT ag will support the Parliamentary Services in the implementation of their digitization strategy in the next few years and build the digital work platform for the Federal Assembly - based on the Liferay Digital Experience Platform (DXP). The Parliamentary Services support the Federal Assembly in fulfilling its tasks. They
provide a comprehensive service and thus enable parliamentarians to carry out in-depth and creative legislative work. As a staff unit of Parliament, they primarily perform tasks in the areas of planning, organization, consulting and information; in the area of infrastructure, they provide the resources and services necessary for Parliament's operations (financial matters, human resources, security, IT, logistics, etc.).

"We are very pleased to be working with Parliamentary Services and our partners to build the digital work platform for the Federal Assembly and are proud that the
Parliamentary Services as the right partner for their digitization strategy and are looking forward to the joint implementation," says the company led by CEO Raphael Crivelli. Its range of services includes consulting and design as well as the implementation and operation of integrated software solutions.

Information: www.clavisit.com

For the tenth time, Zürcher Kantonalbank has awarded the ZKB SME Prize to small and medium-sized enterprises that make an outstanding and exemplary contribution to sustainable development as part of their business activities. This year, ten sustainable SMEs made it to the finals of the award, which is endowed with a total of CHF 150,000, from a field of around 50 applications; five of them received awards. The jury, made up of representatives of Zürcher Kantonalbank, the partners CCRS (Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability) and öbu (Network for Sustainable Business), as well as well-known SME representatives, judged the participating companies with regard to current and forward-looking aspects from the areas of business, management, environment and society.

Small, innovative and sustainable SMEs

At the award ceremony on January 31, 2019, at the Umwelt Arena Schweiz in Spreitenbach, Martin Scholl, Chairman of the Executive Board of Zürcher Kantonalbank, welcomed the nominated finalists and the more than 650 invited representatives from business, science and politics. The evening was hosted by Heinz Kunz, Head of Corporate Clients at Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Christoph Weber, Head of Private Banking at Zürcher Kantonalbank. The event was moderated by Sandra Studer. Heinz Kunz commented: "Looking back over the past ten years of the awards, I am always impressed anew by the innovative and sustainable commitments that SMEs undertake with the resources available to them."

First place for Türenfabrik Brunegg AG

The main prize this year was won by Türenfabrik Brunegg AG. In its 60-year success story, the company, founded in 1954, has become the domestic market leader. Today, the BRUNEX brand is the byword among architects, planners and fabricators for doors and VKF-approved EI30 system solutions made of wood and glass. Türenfabrik Brunegg AG sees itself as a system and solution partner and today produces a wide range of products for interior and exterior doors as well as various special applications (including sound insulation, fire protection, burglary protection, flood protection, Minergie, hygiene) at its site in Brunegg in the canton of Aargau. "Thanks to research and innovation, Türenfabrik Brunegg AG has successfully developed into a manufacturer of complete door systems. It also sets industry standards with the declaration of environmental factors for all its products. This impressed the jury, and that is why Türenfabrik Brunegg is the winner of the ZKB SME Award 2019," said Bruno Dobler, Vice President Bank Council of Zürcher Kantonalbank and President of the jury, in his laudation for the winning company.

Silver and bronze go to Diebold & Zgraggen Gartenbau AG and Wyon AG

In second place, the jury selected Diebold & Zgraggen Gartenbau AG from Fislisbach (AG), a leading horticultural company in the canton of Aargau with core competencies in garden planning, horticulture and garden maintenance. In its statement, the jury emphasized the very broad and sustainable range of services that the company brings to the table. The gardening company focuses on targeted and sustainable product innovations, such as vertical greening, and was the first company in Switzerland to introduce ecologically safe biological weed control using biothermal energy. Alain Diebold also attaches great importance to the promotion of young talent by means of a training model with pre-apprenticeship. To date, the horticultural specialist has successfully trained 49 apprentices. Today, the company employs around 55 people, 8 of whom are apprentices.

Third place went to the technology company Wyon AG from Appenzell Steinegg (AI). The Swiss family-owned company is now a global leader in the technology of small and micro-sized rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. "Wyon's rechargeable micro batteries make a significant contribution to sustainability. The strong regional roots, the promotion of education, the cooperation with Swiss suppliers and the consistent implementation of building sustainability were also convincing," as Christoph Weber explained the choice.

Special prizes for the Zurich companies Nanovis GmbH and Webrepublic AG

In addition to the three main prizes for sustainable SMEs, two special prizes were again awarded: Zürcher Kantonalbank awarded the special prize for exemplary small business to Nanovis GmbH from Illnau-Effretikon (ZH). The Zurich-based company is a pioneer in the manufacture of environmentally friendly cleaning systems and recyclable cleaning agents for the printing industry and serves a broadly diversified customer portfolio with major international customers. The special prize for exceptional performance went to Webrepublic AG from Zurich. The leading agency in the field of digital marketing operates in a forward-looking, rapidly changing and highly competitive industry and has customers all over the world. At its headquarters in Zurich, cultural diversity is practiced and creativity and exchange are encouraged in the office space.

Winner trophy designed by ZHdK

The designer of the trophy for the ZKB SME Award 2019 is Leo Hess. The artwork designed especially for the ZKB KMU Prize symbolizes the three values of economic efficiency, ecological sustainability and social justice and is always designed by students of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) as part of a call for entries from Zürcher Kantonalbank. With the implementation, the design student won a prize money of CHF 10,000.

Source: https://www.zkb.ch/de/gs/kmu-preis.html

Digitization, automation and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the world of work. HR management will also change - and new ways of thinking about the interaction between humans and machines are necessary. Jan Krans, Director Enterprise Collaboration at Atos, recently outlined his theses for a new HR management at the World Web Forum 2019 in Zurich. These theses can be summarized as follows:

1. critical to success: the relationship between man and machine

How humans and machines work together will increasingly determine the success of companies. As a consequence, human resources management must reinvent itself: In the future, the focus will no longer be exclusively on the personal development of employees. New technologies, which can make an immense contribution to the development of the company, will play an equally important role.

2. classic human resource management is no longer enough

Human Resource Management - HRM for short - needs another "M" added to it. This stands for "machine". The new formula for the HR department is therefore: Human and Machine Resource Management, HMRM. What is required is not only the focus on a balanced relationship between employee and employer. It is crucial that HMRM gives management the decisive impetus to think outside the box and move away from an exclusive focus on efficiency and the pursuit of profit. If this does not happen, the organization will sooner or later become an unattractive employer.

3. machines create freedom for personal development

New technologies are not the enemies of employees. Automation and continuous optimization of business processes relieve employees. Because of this freed-up capacity, they can focus on new tasks and issues that not only advance the company, but also broaden their own horizons and advance themselves professionally.

4. working in independent teams / the new role of the supervisor

The independent Working in teams is an important component of the working world of the future. The focus is on transferring as much responsibility as possible to the individual teams and employees. In such an environment, in which the team acts largely independently, the supervisor also has a new role. He or she acts as an advisory companion to the team, prioritizing topics, solving problems and making decisions of greater significance. He uses the team dashboard to track the results and activities of his team. The need for face-to-face meetings is reduced enormously, for example to a single meeting per quarter.

5. new work requires new tools

The future of work is not only characterized by independent teams, but also by acting in networks - with other teams or external partners. This requires new technical platforms: Infrastructures for social collaboration are in demand. In this way, problems can be solved jointly - across companies, teams and countries - business processes can be optimized, best practices can be defined and new business areas can be developed.

Source: Atos

A full nine out of ten bankruptcies are caused by liquidity bottlenecks (according to SECO). Many small and medium-sized enterprises are familiar with the problem: Suddenly there is no money and you run into payment difficulties. Payment claims cannot be settled in time and there is a lack of funds to finance growth.

This even affects SMEs where business is actually going quite well. There is no lack of customers and the order situation is good - and yet liquidity suffers. The cause of liquidity bottlenecks is often late payment of invoices and poor payment behavior on the part of customers. However, liquidity bottlenecks can often be managed by issuing invoices promptly and creating incentives to encourage customers to pay their invoices earlier.

Invoice faster and avoid payment bottlenecks

In theory, it's simple: if you invoice faster, you get paid faster. In practice, however, optimizing the invoicing process is a necessary evil for many SMEs, which they prefer to put on the back burner.

Especially in smaller companies, however, great success can be achieved by means of simple changes. Companies that spend a lot of time creating invoices, for example, benefit from the use of an invoice program - a matter of course for larger companies. But even suitable invoice templates, such as those find online are already a welcome work relief.

Companies should continue to critically question whether processes are efficient: Who is responsible for creating invoices? Do all employees know who to contact? Are payment periods appropriate or perhaps too long? Are invoices issued promptly? And if not, why not?

Ensure better payment morale with the customer

The problem does not always lie with the biller. Often, the customer is also to blame. Invoices are left lying around, forgotten or ignored. Because of this poor payment practice invoices are paid only after the payment deadline or even not at all.

But even then, companies' hands are not tied. Cash discounts, for example, offer an attractive incentive for customers to settle invoices early: If the invoice is paid within a period set by the biller, the customer receives a discount on the invoice amount. If payment is nevertheless not received even after the payment deadline has expired, a friendly payment reminder is likely to get the customer off to a good start. If this is not successful either, the only remaining option is to initiate dunning proceedings and then debt collection.

At the end of the day, every company knows the one customer who is nothing but trouble. That's why if you work mainly with trusted customers and maintain long-term customer relationships, you'll have fewer problems with unpaid invoices.

More information: bexio

There is no question that Switzerland is a globally networked nation and attracts numerous international companies as an attractive business location. Our education system promotes multilingualism, and a powerful digital infrastructure is bringing the Swiss economic area and the rest of the world ever closer together. Nevertheless, the Swiss working world ticks locally in many respects. A representative survey of 1,002 German-speaking Swiss professionals on the subject of local roots in the world of work, conducted by the market and opinion research company Marketagent.com on behalf of XING Switzerland, shows that career planning takes place virtually on the doorstep.

Sedentary Swiss in mobile jobs

43 percent of respondents agree with the statement that they could do their job from anywhere in the world. At 47 percent, agreement is particularly high among people with higher education. In addition, women are more likely to agree with the statement at 45 percent than men at 42 percent. However, this decoupling of work from location is not reflected in actual job mobility behavior. A quarter of those in employment (25 percent) have never worked outside their own canton. 59 percent say they have already worked outside their own canton within German-speaking Switzerland. Only 14 percent have gained professional experience in other language regions of Switzerland - and just 8 percent have worked outside Europe.

Job search on the doorstep

Although jobs are becoming more mobile thanks to digitization, German-speaking Swiss professionals see their professional future close to home: Almost one in three professionals (31 percent) would look for their next job directly at their current place of residence. For just under half (47 percent) of those surveyed, the next job may be no more than 50 kilometers from home. Only just 4 percent said they would also consider a job outside Europe for their next position. There are clear differences between the sexes: four out of ten women (41 percent) are looking for their next job directly at home. Among men, the figure is only 23 percent. The strong sense of being tied to a particular location is evident across all age groups. Even among 18- to 24-year-olds, 21 percent would like their next job to be at their current place of residence. Another 54 percent of young professionals would accept a maximum distance of 50 kilometers.

Professional networks are also strongly tied to location

Most employees (52 percent) have their professional contacts primarily in their own region. A further 31 percent have their professional contacts mainly within Switzerland and for 10 percent, the majority of professional contacts are spread across the German-speaking region. Significantly more than half of the respondents in these three groups (59 percent) also state that they have no professional contacts at all outside the German-speaking area.

Importance of personal contacts increases despite digitization

Almost two out of three Swiss professionals (62 percent) believe that the usefulness of their professional network will increase over the next five years. And despite increasingly sophisticated algorithms, machine learning and artificial intelligence, almost three-quarters of professionals (72 percent) expect personal contacts to become more important for career planning as digitization advances.

Commenting on the report, XING Switzerland CEO Yves Schneuwly says: "Our findings show that digitization and a strong regional focus go hand in hand in the Swiss working world. Professionals want a job close to home and rely on strongly localized personal networks when looking for a job. Advancing digitization offers companies opportunities to better meet this need for geographic proximity in the future." According to Yves Schneuwly, it is also worth noting that "the professional world of women is much more localized than that of men. This is a result that needs to be taken into account when it comes to ensuring equal opportunities and specifically engaging well-educated women in professional life."

The study including graphics is available here.

Google, Nestlé, Swisscom, Migros, UBS - these are all attractive employers where many people want to work. Even if they don't know what they are really like as their personal employer. It is the charisma, the radiance of the brand that attracts applicants. If this brand is diffuse, the employer has a hard time attracting skilled workers. Cultivating this brand is therefore extremely important. The presentations at the Ostschweizer Personaltag 2019 on June 6 in St.Gallen will revolve around this complex of topics. Around four hundred participants are expected.

Battle of the talents

"In the battle for the talent they are looking for, companies have to use strategies from marketing and brand management to positively differentiate themselves from competitors in the labor market," says employer branding expert Christoph Jordi. So it's not just the employees who have to apply - increasingly it's also the employer who sits on the applicant bench. The employer must show what values his company embodies, what makes him distinctive. This requires an actual employer recruiting strategy. The speakers at the 15th Ostschweizer Personaltag will show what such strategies could look like - from a practical and theoretical perspective.

Theory and practice - online and offline

Bastian Schneider, a brand expert who has been advising and supporting companies in the area of strategic and operational brand management in Switzerland, Germany and Austria for many years, will speak about the "Employer Brand as an Entrepreneurial Management Tool" at the Ostschweizer Personaltag 2019. Florian Wassel, founder and CEO of TOWA Digitalagentur in Bregenz and Vienna, will demonstrate how important a company's online presence is today. Wassel is a certified Google Analytics and Google AdWords expert and has also been on the board of Junge Wirtschaft Vorarlberg since April 2016. Katharina Lehmann, owner and CEO of the Blumer-Lehmann Group, Gossau, knows from a practical perspective what it means to engage the best talent in a competitive skilled labor market. In her presentation "A Wooden Path between Tradition and Innovation", she will show how to keep oneself attractive and fit as an employer.

Transform and value

When a company has been embroiled in a scandal, as was the case at Swiss Post with the Postbus subsidy fraud, HR is also particularly challenged. Patricia Leventis, Head of HR Marketing at Swiss Post AG, Bern, will report on the importance of employer branding in such a case and, moreover, in a transformative environment. At the end of the conference, the focus will be on "Happiness": Oliver Haas, author and keynote speaker from Munich, has a clear insight regarding employer attractiveness: In the long term, only companies whose employees see a meaning in their work, can contribute their strengths and develop their potential, and are enthusiastic about their work will be successful! This requires a management system that applies positive psychology at the company level - and thus creates a value-based corporate culture. To help companies establish this leadership system, Oliver Haas founded Corporate Happiness.

East Switzerland Staff Day 2019, more information and registration

Reto Savoia is currently Deputy CEO and Managing Partner Clients & Industries. Together with Simon Owen and the entire leadership team, he has transformed and grown Deloitte's consulting and audit business in Switzerland. Reto Savoia is a Swiss citizen and has worked in the audit and advisory industry in Switzerland and internationally for more than 20 years. He joined Deloitte Switzerland in 2005 to lead the M&A tax team. In 2011, he was appointed Managing Partner of the Tax & Legal business unit and joined the Executive Committee. In early 2016, he was appointed Deputy CEO and Managing Partner Clients & Industries. In these roles, he drove the firm's strong expansion in the Swiss market. Reto Savoia is also a member of the Board of Directors of Deloitte North West Europe (NWE) and represents the company in various associations such as economiesuisse and ExpertSuisse. He holds a master's degree in business administration and a master's degree in law from the University of St. Gallen.

www.deloitte.ch

Twenty years before the establishment of a standards organization in Switzerland, the first efforts are already being made to define generally applicable rules. In Zurich in 1898, for example, representatives of several countries negotiate standardization for a metric screw thread.

Cross-industry need for standards

In July 1919, the Swiss Standards Association was founded in Baden. A few years later, its name was changed to the still valid designation Swiss Standards Association (SNV) is amended. The first meeting is held on the initiative of the Swiss Association of Machinery Manufacturers (VSM) with the aim of exchanging views on the need for joint standardization work.

Important role on the international stage

Swiss standardization activity was also of great importance at an early stage at the international level. As early as 1926, standards experts from Switzerland were involved in the founding of the International Federation of National Standardizing Associations (ISA). From 1928 to 1931, Curt Hoenig was Switzerland's first president of the ISA, from which today's International Organization for Standardization (ISO) emerged some 20 years later.

After the Second World War, Switzerland is a founding member of ISO, which establishes its headquarters in Geneva. In 1947, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports that "... these resolutions testify to the esteem in which our country, and Swiss standardization in particular, is held in international circles." Also when the European Committee for Standardization is founded in 1961 under the name Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN), the foundation stone is laid in Zurich.

Organization according to subject-specific standards

In 1962, the SNV was constituted as an association, and about ten years later its structure and working methods corresponded to today's organization by divisions. Today, the SNV is divided into the following seven divisions

• Interdisciplinary standards area (INB)
• Mechanical, electrical and metal industry (SWISSMEM)
• Civil engineering (SIA)
• Road and traffic engineering (VSS)
• Watch industry (FH)
• Electrical engineering (Electrosuisse)
• Telecommunications (asut)

SNV: Old lady with young concerns

Anyone who thinks that the 100-year-old SNV is getting on in years is unaware of its latest tasks. Over the past ten decades, it has always kept pace with the requirements of the various industries and still sees its main task as standardization. Swiss, European and international standards are developed in direct cooperation with users. This ensures that the guidelines generate lasting benefits for the economy and society, for producers and consumers, and provide security. This standardization process, which is accessible to all, is suitable for all areas of life. And because our world is constantly evolving, SNV also remains absolutely young in spirit and is currently dealing with topics such as Industry 4.0, smart technologies, blockchain, climate protection and sustainability, for example.

As an information hub and independent competence center, the SNV ensures efficient access to national and international standards. It enables and promotes the development and harmonization of new standards through the active influence of its members as experts in national and international standards bodies.

 

DIN A4 - The standard of all standards

Today, every schoolchild knows the A4 paper format that fits into every printer, every envelope and every folder. The fact that there is a longer history of development behind it is little known.

One hundred years ago, the question of the format of stationery is unresolved worldwide. The call for a uniform paper format is growing louder, but the multitude of existing formats makes standardization difficult. In the founding minutes of the Swiss Standards Association of 1919, it is stated that "... the letter format 220 mm × 280 mm, which is most common and fits the registrars everywhere, is chosen."

The decisive step occurred in Germany in 1922, when engineer Walter Porstmann spread the idea of a constant aspect ratio and eventually established it as a DIN standard. The starting point for paper formats is DIN A0 with an area of one square meter. All other formats are derived from this by halving or doubling the area so that a constant aspect ratio of 1 : √2 results. Finally, this also results in the DIN A4 format 210 mm × 297 mm.

The VSM follows the German example and adopts the A4 format for business papers under the name "VSM letter format. Swiss Post also standardizes its paper formats, and in 1924 the Federal Council decides to introduce the new formats as standard in the federal administration. The transition period, until the existing supplies and forms are used up, lasts twelve years. When raw materials become scarce at the beginning of 1941 because of the war, the Federal War Industry and Labor Office issues an order for the exclusive production of finished paper from the A series. With this decision, the DIN format finally establishes itself as the standard format in Switzerland. (Source: Philipp Messner, The standardization of paper formats in Switzerland)

 

"Do it once, do it right, do it internationally!"

Dr. Hans Zürrer was director of SNV from 1987 to 1999. In a short conversation we had with him as part of our anniversary year, he recalls some highlights and episodes from his time in office.

Mr. Zürrer, what was the most special standard for you that SNV worked on during your time as director?

The ISO 9000 standards for quality assurance and subsequent testing and certification were developed during this time. This new important series of standards, which had a great influence on quality management in all industries, is now indispensable. All those who worked on it at that time were very committed and challenged. Not least because numerous new terms had to be translated into the three ISO languages and additionally into German for adoption in the EC at that time.

Was it always easy for you to explain SNV's tasks to outsiders?

No, this was and still is not easy. It is particularly challenging when these "outsiders" are the superiors of the standard creators. This is because standardization work also requires, above all, an understanding of the time off and financing of the experts who work on a voluntary basis. In addition, financial resources are also required for the infrastructure, i.e. for the SNV, CEN and ISO organizations. It is particularly difficult when the dismantling of technical barriers to trade is not obvious for certain products and industries. The director was often called in for mediation talks.

It also took a great deal of effort for the Swiss government, through the then BAWI (now SECO), to recognize the reduction of technical barriers to trade as important for the Swiss export industry and to support the SNV with a mandate. Until then, Switzerland was the only ISO member that was not co-financed by the state.

What was the attitude of the standards experts to the Swiss EEA no?

A few years before that, I was a member of the President's Group of CEN, CENELEC and ETSI and had lively contact with EU executives and government representatives. The EEA no came unexpectedly and was generally understood as Switzerland's rejection of Europe. However, it had little influence on standardization work in European bodies. The dismantling of technical barriers to trade remained a high priority for Switzerland as a member of EFTA. For the export-oriented economy and various political bodies, however, much would have become easier.

What did you appreciate most about international cooperation?

The directors of the national standards organizations were mainly assigned to steering committees. International conferences enabled the heads of standards to meet not only with each other, but also with government delegates and representatives of industry and business. Personal acquaintances formed many useful relationships and also friendships that have lasted beyond retirement. Of course, this also involved travel, with the familiar advantages and disadvantages.

I was always impressed by the joint commitment of technology, business and politics and the development of consensus. The principle applied was that, at the given time, not everyone could always be in favor, but no one could be against.

Did all countries have the same understanding of the needs of international standardization?

Large countries usually have an extensive body of standards and corresponding resources. They also set the tone in standardization work and try to assert their national interests at regional and international level. However, the striving for the greatest possible common denominator also strengthens international standardization work according to the motto "Do it once, do it right, do it internationally!

Another special feature at European level was the "New Approach" created by the EU Commission. Its aim is to coordinate technical harmonization in both standardization and official regulations. Official regulations now only contain basic requirements relating to health, the environment and safety, and instead refer to standards, in which the technical details are defined by tried-and-tested private-sector standardization. Once adopted by qualified majority vote, EU and EFTA member countries are obliged to withdraw conflicting national regulations or standards. The reference to international standards again reinforced the motto: "Do it once, do it right, do it internationally!"

Other ISO members became interested in the idea of the "New Approach" and experts were delegated by mandates of the EC Commission. In totalitarian states, the New Approach meant a complete departure from the status quo, in that standardization there was also not organized on a private-sector basis. I remember corresponding ISO missions to Russia, China, Colombia as well as to the Eastern European candidates for EU membership. The visit to the Soviet ISO member in Moscow was particularly impressive. My Russian colleague was head of a ministry and had responsibility over several thousand employees. Apart from the huge country with numerous branches, there were all the relevant official bodies, all the specialist areas of standardization, certification, testing, metrology, telecommunications, etc. under one hat.

Is there an episode or anecdote from your time as director that you particularly enjoy recounting?

Immediately after the EEA no vote, a CEN meeting was held in Brussels. As my flight was delayed, I arrived a bit late at the meeting and the chairman teased: "We thought you wouldn't come at all now!" Of course, there was a lively discussion during the break and especially the majority of the states had to be explained again and again. The then EC Commission President Bangemann was also very interested, especially because I had previously expressed my conviction to him that the EEA would certainly be accepted.