"Protect climate. Strengthen SMEs." According to this motto, the Swiss Climate Foundation has been supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that make a contribution to climate protection for ten years. This can be done by saving energy in their own operations or by developing climate-friendly products. So far, 1,400 SMEs in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein have benefited from a total of CHF 18 million in funding.

From the economy for the economy

The Swiss Climate Foundation was founded on July 4, 2008 by service companies such as banks, insurance companies and consulting firms. The trigger was the CO₂-Act of the Federal Government, which came into force in January 2008. The law imposes a levy on fuels. The federal government pays part of the levy back to industry. Service providers benefit from this rebate because, compared with industrial companies, they generate little CO₂-emissions. Various service companies have therefore decided to voluntarily donate the surplus from the rebate. To this end, they have jointly established the Swiss Climate Foundation. Meanwhile, the number of partner companies has grown from 11 to 27.

Support in all industries

The Swiss Climate Foundation supports SMEs in all sectors. Improvements to buildings, machinery, heating and cooling systems account for a large proportion of the energy efficiency measures supported. In cooperation with the Energy Agency for Industry EnAW and the Cleantech Agency Switzerland act, the foundation also supports SMEs that enter into a voluntary target agreement with the federal government to save energy. The development of climate-friendly products is also promoted. The support contributions are non-repayable donations and are paid out after predetermined milestones have been reached.

More information

According to the Recruiting Index MEM Branche Schweiz©, the recruiting behavior of the Swiss MEM industries (mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and metal industry) is - in the long term - sustainable and stable in Switzerland. Nevertheless, Switzerland counts more than 240,000 unemployed. The largest share (54,443) of these are people without recognized training. Commercial and retail trades account for 30,678 unemployed, the largest number with level II education. The professions of economics, in turn, already form the fourth largest number of unemployed with 7,883 people, according to the figures communicated by Swissmechanic. Practitioners with higher education (tertiary level B), on the other hand, are not to be found among the unemployed - the market has dried up. In short, there are too many academics, but too few practitioners with further training.

Practitioners, not academics

As the new index shows, it is not enough to be voted the most innovative country in the world for years by independent institutions, Swissmechanic complains. This innovative strength must be converted into sustainable jobs for the Swiss workplace. This does not require academics, but practitioners with a high level of expertise. This shortage of skilled workers must be countered by all means as quickly as possible.

Efficient implementation of priority for nationals

More than 120,000 people without work are without support from the unemployment fund. They are increasingly burdening the social costs of the municipalities. The priority for Swiss nationals is intended to counteract this development. Its implementation is already foreseeably highly inefficient, as the industry association notes. "We cannot wait for the ensuing resentment of the population to lead to further political decisions that jeopardize our ability to export," writes Swissmechanic in a statement dated July 1, 2018.

Cooperation should bring more efficiency

In cooperation between the employers' association Swissmechanic and the Swiss Foundation for Work and Further Education SSAW, a solution has now been developed for a more efficient implementation of the priority for nationals: A vacant position can simply be sent to ilv123@ssaw.ch be sent. The foundation checks free of charge for the SME whether it needs to be reported and suggests suitable social benefit recipients if necessary.

www.swissmechanic.ch / www.ssaw.ch

Until now, anyone buying addresses for marketing and other purposes had the problem that they included target persons with low solvency. For the first time in the Swiss market, credit management service provider Intrum, in cooperation with AZ Direct, is offering B2C address selection with an exclusively solvent target group. According to the providers, this is the first time in Switzerland that users can rely on credit-checked addresses.

Daniela Brunner, Head of Marketing Intrum AG, is delighted. "With this innovation, we are generating significant added value for the Swiss address market and thus for marketers. A total of 6.3 million addresses of private individuals have been matched with the creditworthiness database in the 'Intrum Marketingshop'." With this cleansed data, managing directors and marketing managers generate a profitable and sustainable effect for their direct marketing campaigns, the providers are convinced. In particular, the advantages cited are:

• If you rely on addresses of solvent persons, you prevent an unexpected payment default.
• General managers and marketers reduce their administrative burden by focusing on customers with a good payment experience.
• Since no potential new customer is turned away because of their poor credit rating, there is no anger and upset.
• Intrum says it has several years of experience with credit rating data and credit checks.

And this is how the "Intrum Marketing Shop" works: Under intrum-marketingshop.ch the managing directors and marketing managers select qualified addresses. Using various criteria such as household size, behavior or region, they can exclude or limit addresses. They also decide which attributes are supplied with the addresses. For larger address volumes or specific requirements, customers can contact Intrum's specialist department directly.

Source: Intrum AG

Often it is important what words you give topics. Examples: Do you talk in the subjunctive or indicative? Do you say "we become" or "we want"? Do you choose superlatives (e.g. "the shortest delivery time") or talk indefinitely ("a short delivery time")?

The point is that in society and in business, terms sometimes become ingrained that suggest a meaning that, on closer examination, makes no sense. "Strategic planning" belongs to this category for me. Because either you develop a strategy, starting from a strong vision, or you plan, starting from the current state. The result of the confusion in many companies is a weak strategy that is nothing more than a continuation of the past.

What "Change Management" Really Means...

I regularly address the importance of language as an important element of leadership. Today, I'm specifically concerned with the misleading term "change management." What's the problem with it?

When you "manage" change, it means you are reactive. Management is not shaping, but controlling. You control and optimize what is happening anyway. This is undoubtedly an important function in companies. But not for change!

Change must be initiated, shaped and led. This has nothing to do with management, but with leadership.

Initiate changes

So if you really want the change (which is doubtful for most change projects, by the way), here's what you do:

1. Vision. Lead the change instead of "managing" it. Set a bold vision and design the necessary steps to achieve it. This is often exactly the problem: I see again and again "change projects" with an unclear vision, i.e. where exactly do you want to be after the "change"? What do you want to have achieved? Without a strong vision for the change, you should not start a change project.
2. Mindset. Work on the mindset of the people who are to shape the change with you. In my view, inappropriate mindset is the most common reason for unsuccessful change programs. People must be able to clearly identify the emotional reasons for change and then commit to the changes. This is often not an easy task. But if people forget to do this, the change often gets stuck before it has really begun.
3. Courage. Take risks. Yes, that's right, you will never achieve real change that means something without risks and setbacks. This does not require "risk management" but leadership that leads through setbacks.

Keep this in mind during the next change and design you the change instead of manage. This is one of the differences between outstanding and mediocre companies.

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

Florence Schnydrig Moser succeeds Marcel Bührer, who left Swisscard in May 2018 to devote more time to private projects. In her current leadership role as Head of Products, Investments & Marketing, Florence Schnydrig is responsible for the development and marketing of Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd. products. As a member of the Executive Board, she also has overarching responsibility within Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd. The new head of Swisscard - the company is owned by Credit Suisse and American Express and is the only company in Switzerland to offer the world's leading credit card brands American Express, Mastercard and Visa from a single source - has extensive industry experience in the cashless payment business and the associated developments and challenges. As a representative of Credit Suisse, Florence Schnydrig has served for over two years on the Board of Managing Officers of Swisscard (equivalent to a board of directors in a stock corporation) and also on the Board of Directors of TWINT AG. She relinquishes these two functions with her election as CEO of Swisscard.

The new CEO of Swisscard is looking forward to her new role: "Like the entire financial industry, credit card providers are facing major changes due to ongoing digitalization. The future will offer customers tangible benefits thanks to new technological possibilities. I'm looking forward to actively shaping this process thanks to my new role." Florence Schnydrig studied mathematics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and also obtained a teaching license as a high school teacher of mathematics. After graduation, she started a career in the financial industry and earned a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). Since 2000, Florence Schnydrig has worked for Credit Suisse in various functions, including in Zurich, Australia and Hong Kong.

www.swisscard.ch

In times of digitalization and globalization, intellectual property is an important issue for many companies. But how do companies protect their intellectual property for long-term exploitation? Effective IP management creates the prerequisites for this.

At the Intellectual Property 2018 conference on August 29, 2018 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Zurich, experienced attorneys will show you how to secure your rights and renowned IP managers from successful industrial companies will demonstrate what effective, sustainable and cost-conscious IP work can look like today. The conference will be chaired by Dr. iur. Mathis Berger, LL.M. Benefit from the mix of exciting expert presentations and best practice examples and exchange ideas with experts and other participants in a relaxed atmosphere.

The conference is aimed at members of management, specialists and executives from product management, R&D departments, marketing, patent and legal departments, consultancies, lawyers, administration and associations.

Detailed information on the program and registration can be found at www.ip-tagung.ch.

The increasing tightening of tax legislation gives rise to professional management of tax risks in companies. At the New Zurich Tax Conference 2018 on September 19 at the Swissôtel Zurich, participants will learn, among other things, how the cantons are dealing with this. This year's panel discussion and two input presentations will provide insight.

Contrary to widespread belief, house searches in the prosecution of tax offenses are also possible in Switzerland. In the expert panel, more can be learned about the work of tax investigators in the D-A-CH region. An interview on the exchange of information in tax matters will, among other things, bring up which questions are still open and on which points the Federal Tax Administration and the persons concerned are not in full agreement.

 So once again this year, the New Zurich Tax Conference will offer cutting-edge topics, interactive corner presentations and a high level of practical relevance. At the evening program under the motto "Tax meets Jazz", you will have the opportunity to expand contacts, make valuable new business connections and enter into dialog with the speakers. The event is aimed at entrepreneurs, CEOs, CFOs, managers and specialists from the tax, legal and finance departments of companies, executives in tax administrations, tax experts, fiduciary specialists, auditors, lawyers as well as employees of all courts and all instances, politics, associations and science.

 Information on the program and speakers as well as registration at www.nzsk.ch.

After almost two years of preparation, the Kaufmännische Verband Zürich and KV Zurich Business School Weiterbildung founded KV Business School Zürich AG on June 13, 2018. With the independence of the school unit Continuing Education in a new legal form and under a new name, the Kaufmännische Verband Zürich, as the sponsor of the school, is fulfilling a requirement of the canton. This provides for a decoupling of basic and further education in the course of the realignment of the cantonal education policy decided in 2016. Until further notice, the Kaufmännische Verband Zürich is the sole shareholder of the new Weiterbildungs-AG.

Commercially successful, socially anchored

"Urs Achermann, CEO of KV Business School Zurich, is convinced that "with the establishment of the new AG, the association and the school are laying the foundation for continuing education to continue to operate with the necessary agility and flexibility in a demanding, highly competitive market environment and to consistently advance its successfully introduced competitive strategy. From the point of view of the Kaufmännischer Verband Zürich, the commitment as a shareholder is a clear commitment to continuing education, with which the history of the association began 150 years ago. "With the new Weiterbildungs-AG, we ensure that our members as well as those interested in further education from the commercial-business environment have access at all times to an up-to-date, practical curriculum that covers all fields of action relevant to business people and is affordable," says Rolf Butz, Managing Director of the Kaufmännischer Verband Zürich.

New name, proven quality - also in basic education

Currently, around 6,000 students in 12 educational worlds - from Management and Leadership to International Business and Commerce - complete continuing education at the newly named KV Business School Zurich each year. In addition, there are tailor-made company courses and other specific courses for third parties, which are to be expanded in the future. In addition to continuing education, the Kaufmännische Verband Zürich, as the sponsor, continues to separately operate the basic education unit at KV Zurich Business School. The largest commercial vocational school in Switzerland with 4,200 students has taken the independence of continuing education as an opportunity to also position itself under a new name in the future. From the start of the 2018/19 school year on August 20, it will operate under the name KV Zurich.

www.kfmv-zuerich.ch

Proximity to home, dealing at eye level and an honest thank you from the boss: skilled workers don't want extravagance when it comes to benefits, employer attractiveness or employee loyalty. This is the result of a recent study by the Munich-based company Suite&Co. For the survey, Suite&Co not only interviewed more than 800 professionals and 50 HR managers, but also conducted a group discussion in advance. "The results show how much employees' needs have changed. Company cars were yesterday," says Lisa Mellinghoff, co-founder of Suite&Co GmbH. She and Viktor Gilz support companies in onboarding by aligning and unifying the issue of "life and work" from the very beginning. The comprehensive survey is intended to help HR managers better classify points such as benefits, job-related changes of residence and the importance of corporate culture in the current environment. After all, even though the analysis shows that HR departments are aware of the wishes and requirements of employees, there are often significant differences in views on the part of employers and employees.

Workplace = feel-good place in a feel-good zone

Short commute times, more free time, less stress in commuter traffic: proximity to home and good connections are the most important criteria for employees to rate an employer as attractive. On a scale of 1 (unimportant) to 5 (very important), employers rate these criteria an average of 4 - in other words, as important. In addition, a company's interior and exterior design play a key role in determining its attractiveness as an employer: 28 percent of the skilled workers surveyed said this aspect was very important, and one in two said it was important (48 percent). This results in an overall approval rating of 76 percent. In comparison, criteria such as reputation or size and name recognition of a company play an insignificant role: while reputation is important for 59 percent of the skilled workers, size and name recognition are associated with employer attractiveness for only 27 percent of the respondents. "This underscores the opportunity for hidden champions, which actually had a hard time wooing skilled workers ten years ago. There has been a fundamental change here," explains Viktor Gilz.

Top priority for employer attractiveness: dealing at eye level

However, according to the Suite&Co study "Recruiting 2018 - Desire and Reality," it is not only rooms and space that determine whether a company can retain top employees. "The human aspect must also be right. Professionals want social interaction at eye level," explains Viktor Gilz. A dream car for the weekend, a weekend trip or concierge services? According to the study, this is not important to the majority of professionals. What counts are words of appreciation from their superiors: More than three quarters of all professionals surveyed (76 percent) believe that an appreciative thank you for special achievements can motivate them. In addition, status symbols such as company cars are almost obsolete. The results confirm that a company car is not as important as it was 10 or 20 years ago. For one in three professionals surveyed (35 percent), the company car is not a particular incentive. Company smartphones can also serve less and less as a figurehead: 443 of 873 respondents (51 percent) now see this benefit as a given for a company's professionals.

Scoring points with support in the search for housing

Instead, the "war for talent" requires companies to develop ever more creative measures that give them advantages in recruitment. "Customer-centric thinking is also appropriate here, as in sales and marketing. Orientation to the needs of employees is more important than ever. Because these are different today - and have a lot to do with the private living environment," says Lisa Mellinghoff. According to the study, 58 percent of skilled workers see finding a place to live as a major challenge in the event of a change of employer, and they expect their employer to help them with this. Lisa Mellinghoff: "Compatibility of family and career, for example, through support in finding a suitable apartment, are ultimately aspects with which companies can score points and retain employees. Both professionals and HR people are aware of this."

About the study

A multi-stage process was carried out as part of the study. First, the company held a roundtable discussion on the topic of recruitment 2018 in Munich in December 2017 together with HR managers, HR experts, headhunters and specialists. Based on this guided group discussion, twelve central theses were developed. The theses were quantitatively tested in February 2018 in extensive fieldwork together with the panel provider respondi. In order to draw as sufficient a picture as possible, two panels were selected and surveyed. In a decision-maker survey, 52 HR professionals, headhunters and recruiters were asked for their opinion. In addition, attitudes and data from 873 professionals were collected in a broad-based survey.

Source and further information: www.suiteandco.de

The progressive deindustrialization of Switzerland is reflected in the fact that, despite a very good economic situation, Switzerland has been losing the equivalent of 4,000 full-time jobs in the industrial sector every year for the past six years. In 1991, the industrial sector provided 35% of all jobs, today it is still 25%. Since then, 230,000 industrial jobs have disappeared. Currently, according to SECO, over 57 professions in Swiss industry have an unemployment rate of over 8%.

Deindustrialization shows in the labor market

Nevertheless, demand for engineers continues to rise, as the Swiss Engineering Index© shows. Recruitment activity for engineering positions in the service sectors continues to increase, in contrast to the industrial sector. However, the shift in their jobs from the industrial sector to the service sector continues. In relation, Switzerland was listed as the most innovative country for the seventh time in the Global Innovation Index (Cornell University, INSEAD, WIPO). Nevertheless, the country slipped from first place to fifth place in the ranking of the most competitive nations, according to the WEF The Global Competitiveness Report 2018.

Serious shortage of skilled workers

The shortage of skilled workers is particularly severe in the engineering professions, as a study published by Swiss Engineering and economiesuisse on May 8, 2017 explained in detail. On the one hand, this is attributed to an insufficient number of engineers trained in Switzerland, and on the other hand to the rapidly changing requirements for engineering know-how, which can lead to a discrepancy between sought-after and available profiles. While there has been a partial surplus in industry, the shortage of skilled engineers in the service sector is coming to a head.

Swiss Engineering Index

The Swiss Engineering Index© is published by Swiss Engineering STV in cooperation with dynajobs AG every six months, each time supplemented with a focus on currently interesting developments in the job market for engineers. With around 13,000 members, Swiss Engineering is the authoritative professional network for engineers and architects throughout Switzerland.

Source: Swiss Engineering

Salary study_Finance_Switzerland_Careerplus_2018 The salary studies of Careerplus provide detailed insights into the salary structure of various occupational groups. The current publication with figures from the finance sector now shows: Despite stagnating wages, the finance occupational group earns above average. The gross annual salary of 91,000 francs is around 22 percent above the Swiss average. The top earner, with an average gross annual salary of 150,000 francs, is the CFO, followed by the head of controlling with an annual salary of 140,000 francs. In addition to professional experience and further training, the most important factors influencing salary development are, in particular, language skills and management responsibility.

Foreign language skills are relevant to wages

If a head of finance and accounting leads a team of 5 to 10 people, his salary increases by around 20,000 francs per year, and by as much as 30,000 francs for a team of more than 10 people. The picture is similar for auditors, who can increase their salary by almost 50 percent to an average of 156,500 francs with the corresponding management responsibility. Foreign language skills also have a positive influence on salary, as the example of the fiduciary reveals. A trustee who speaks at least two foreign languages earns an annual salary of 115,000 Swiss francs, around 25 percent more than a colleague without such skills.

Are the wages fair and reasonable?

For the Finance Salary Study, the HR consultancy Careerplus analyzed the dossiers of 2843 finance professionals in nine different job profiles from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2017. The study provides comprehensive information on the gross annual salary for the relevant age and function ranges and shows the salary development potential based on education and training as well as management and professional experience. The study also includes a form for individual salary calculations. This allows candidates to see whether their salary demands are in line with the market, and companies receive a comparative value for shaping salaries.

Click here for the study with different job profiles

Iterative solutions; it is always interesting how quickly the density of foreign words increases when new terms like growth hacking have not yet found their place. A new magic word is thus sweeping through the marketing landscape: growth hacking is described as the optimal synthesis of product, customer experience and marketing. That's certainly close to bullshit bingo, but perhaps this new way of looking at things will put the term marketing back in perspective.

What is Growth Hacking?

 Sean Ellis, CEO of GrowthHackers.com, is credited as the inventor of the term and is said to have first coined the term in 2010. All German translations like Wiederkehrrate, Wachstumstrick or Wachstumskniff seem strange, perhaps the literal translation Wachstumsstoß or Wachstumsschub still hits it best. Ellies tried a combination of creative marketing, intensive web analytics and process automation with limited financial resources in marketing. Because this was beyond the skills of a normal sales promotion employee - what is often incorrectly called a marketing employee - he invented the job title of growth hacker. Growth hacking is also referred to as an iterative approach, which describes a process of repeating the same or similar actions multiple times to approach a solution or specific goal. It is thus in the mode of operation of many startups that create a new product, learn from customer experience, and thus develop the product further.

Differentiation from other terms

 As Ur-Growth Hacking is the name given to Hotmail's campaign from 1996 onwards, where new customers were recruited for Hotmail by pointing them to e-mails, thus quickly gathering a large number of users. However, this has nothing to do with a systematic approach, but is nothing more than a creative idea to win customers with limited resources. The term guerrilla marketing would certainly fit better here. In addition, the campaign was probably not that sustainable, because Hotmail is no longer relevant today, let's call it the Nokia effect.

Guerrilla marketing was coined by Jay C. Levinson in the mid-1980s, who used it to describe unusual marketing campaigns that promise a big impact with a small investment of resources. This is more appropriate for the Hotmail campaign and can also be found in other growth hack campaigns.

Marketing or sales management ultimately refers not only to the marketing of products but also to a concept of holistic, market-oriented corporate management to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers and other stakeholders. It is not only about the buying decision, but also about the whole unified alignment of a company with the market. Growth hacking differs little from marketing on the strategic side and little from guerrilla marketing on the creative side. What is new is the way the market is conquered. Marketing looks at the 4 elements of product, price, distribution and communication and this is what most marketing agencies, which are actually advertising agencies, are overwhelmed with.

Target groups or products

Growth hacking especially for start-ups does not care about its target groups in the first growth spurts. Due to the low-cost possibilities of the Internet, it relies on customers finding themselves through tests and recommendations. This also means that target groups define themselves, which can then be worked on more intensively. Such a system works particularly well if the target group to be reached is particularly large, i.e. if it appeals to large sections of the population. In the B2B area, you will get further faster with a more precise target group analysis. For example, it will work well for new cereal bars, but not so well for a concept for increasing the efficiency of machine tools.

Growth Hacking for your own company

Mares & Weinberg describe in the book Traction 19 strategies how to get customers. They include almost everything that is used in advertising and sales, new and traditional. To find out which method is best for your company, it is best to use one of the many creativity techniques. Ice, for example, evaluates the selected ideas under three aspects; Impact: will there be a decisive effect, Confidence: how much do I believe in the idea and Ease: how easy is it to test this idea. In addition, there are of course hundreds of other creativity techniques to bring more personal certainty to a decision. The only important thing is to decide and to implement this decision. Most projects fail not because they are bad, but because you gave up too early.

Conclusion

Growth hacking is an element of marketing when marketing is understood in its causal meaning, which is considerably more than an advertising message. It is especially interesting at an early stage of a company, product or target group and is later complemented by other elements. Guerilla marketing can provide valuable ideas in this area. For the most part, creativity should not take place in self-contained spaces or structures. A study on creativity has shown that most ideas are generated while taking a walk and the fewest in creativity seminars. Creativity and continuity is usually the key to success, whether in advertising, sales or the Growth Hack.

This is an article from King concept, a consulting company with a focus on marketing, sales and sales organization. Königskonzept regularly publishes professional articles on management topics and develops competencies for these areas through consulting, seminars and teaching assignments.