Do I move to Zurich because I want to pursue a career, or are my friends more important to me? Do I save 200 francs a month for my old age or do I fly to the Maldives? Do I want to have children with my partner or is my independence more important to me? We are increasingly faced with questions like these in our lives, where we have to make a decision. Because it's an illusion to assume that everything is possible at the same time.

Resolutions are quickly forgotten...

Many people find it difficult to make a decision. Because: When we decide on something, we have to discard other possibilities. We can only do that if we know what is important to us. Otherwise, we make many resolutions, but a few days later they are forgotten. Because our resolutions are not anchored in a vision of life.

What's more, what's really important in our lives is never urgent. For example, it is never urgent to go jogging. But it would be good for our health. And it is never urgent to take time for a conversation with our partner. But it would be important for the relationship.

Because the really important things are never urgent, we often put them off. Or we harbor the illusion that if I get everything done faster, I'll have time for it. The only consequence: we lead a life at high speed. And at some point we realize with resignation: Now I lead an (even) fuller life, but not a fulfilled life.

Challenge: Maintaining balance in life

Such an imbalance is not an individual fate. More and more people are plagued by the feeling: "My life is not on track. One reason for this is that most people have a clear perspective on their professional career. The situation is different in the areas of "meaning/culture," "body/health" and "family/relationship. Here, we often lack clear goals.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we often overlook the fact that the four areas of life are interrelated. That's why, for example, anyone who overemphasizes the area of "work/career" over the long term will lose not only their zest for life, but also their performance in the long run. Because:

• Those who are ill cannot enjoy their lives to the fullest, nor are they full of energy.
• Those who are lonely are neither "squeaky-clean," nor can they devote their full energy to their jobs.
• Anyone who is in a crisis of purpose is neither full of life nor very capable. Because behind everything you do is the question: What's the point?

In order for us to live a fulfilled life, we must therefore ensure the right balance between the four areas of life. For this we need a vision of our future life. We also need this because today many demands are placed on us that can only be reconciled to a limited extent. Almost all working mothers will immediately confirm this. In most highly qualified jobs, irregular working hours are normal. For working mothers, this means: They can no longer leave the office every day at 4 p.m. sharp, for example. So what are they supposed to do when the kindergarten closes at 4 p.m.? Another example: Many corporate sales employees are finding it increasingly difficult to keep regular private appointments. Because time and again, a customer appointment takes longer than planned. So conflicts of interest are inevitable.

Challenge: managing your own life

This results in another challenge: We have to become managers of our own lives, so to speak - in other words, people who, through their actions today, ensure that they continue to lead happy and fulfilling lives in the future. The first step towards this is to develop a vision of our future life. Therefore, sit down on New Year's morning, for example, and ask yourself in relation to the four areas of life:

• What is really important to me?
• In what does a fulfilled life show itself for me? And:
• What should I do today to live a happy life in the future?

In addition, ask yourself (regularly): Are there signs in my living environment that the balance in my life could be threatened in the future? Such warning signals can be:

• Silence increasingly reigns between you and your life partner. Even important friends no longer contact you.
• In your company, the top maxim is suddenly "save money".
• You ask yourself more and more often: What's the point of all this?
• You feel a twinge in your heart area from time to time.

Once you have answered these questions for yourself, you can make concrete resolutions and draw up a plan of action to realize them. And you can do this without running the risk of forgetting your resolutions as soon as the New Year's Eve rockets have burned up. Because your resolutions are now anchored in a vision of your future life.

About the author: Business psychologist Sabine Prohaska is the owner of the training and consulting company seminar consult prohaska, Vienna (Internet: www.seminarconsult.at). Among other things, she is the author of the book "Solution-oriented self-coaching: Getting closer to your goals - step by step".

Never before have so many new companies been founded in Switzerland as in 2017, namely five percent more than in the previous year. This is good news for the economy as a whole, as the IFJ Institute for Young Entrepreneurs reported in a press release distributed on January 3.

In the major German-speaking and French-speaking regions of Switzerland, company formations increased significantly. In Eastern Switzerland, new registrations increased by two percent, in Zurich by five percent, in Espace Mittelland by six percent, and in Northwestern Switzerland and Central Switzerland the increase was eight percent each. In French-speaking Switzerland, seven percent more new companies were founded. The cantons of Zug (+20%), Schaffhausen (+14%), Baselland (+13%), Uri (+12%), Valais (+11%) and Fribourg (+10%) registered the highest growth. In absolute terms, the cantons of Zurich (7,775), Vaud (4,393), Geneva (3,717) and Bern (3,536) saw the highest number of companies founded.

The analysis of the IFJ Institut für Jungunternehmen shows that the limited liability company (GmbH) remains the most popular legal form with a share of 38%, followed by the sole proprietorship (32%), the stock corporation (AG) with 21% and the general partnership (3%). With the revision of the law on limited liability companies in 2008, as part of a revision of the Code of Obligations, their prevalence increased abruptly. Previously, the legal form, which has existed since 1936, was somewhat disdained as a "limited company". The most fundamental changes were the admission of the GmbH as a single-member company, the abolition of the capital limitation of CHF 2 million and the abolition of the subsidiary joint and several liability of the partners in the amount of the share capital. In general, the GmbH has two significant advantages: Compared to the sole proprietorship and the general partnership, the entrepreneur is liable only with the business assets. Private assets are therefore spared. And with the lower capital investment of CHF 20,000 compared to CHF 100,000, the GmbH also stands out from the AG.

The highest number of new firms is created in the business consulting, skilled trades, retail trade, business services and hospitality industries.

More information: IFJ Institute for Young Enterprises AG. Image: Fotolia.com

The importance of cloud computing is growing rapidly. According to Microsoft, 45 percent of Swiss companies are now pursuing a cloud-first strategy, and global cloud investments are expected to break the $40 billion mark in 2017. While large companies in particular initially embraced the technology due to economies of scale, small and medium-sized enterprises have now discovered the cloud for themselves.

Microsoft Cloud Reference Customers

Against this background, Microsoft has launched the "Cloud Hero" campaign. It aims to illustrate how innovative SMEs are using the cloud to optimize their processes and develop new business models. The aim of the campaign is to serve as an inspiration for local SMEs. The following reference customers of the Microsoft Cloud have taken a look behind the scenes:

• Data Sport AG, Gerlafingen
• Doppelleu Brewery, Winterthur
• Ei AG, Sursee
• Konzeptwerk GmbH, Wetzikon
• NoTime AG, Zurich
• Swiss-Soft Solutions GmbH, St. Gallen
• YourAnswer.ch AG, Bern

Get off to a fast start thanks to flexibility

The "Cloud Heros" show that SMEs in particular benefit from the advantages of the cloud. One of the major challenges for SMEs is to cope with high investment costs in IT. Cloud solutions in particular can massively reduce these costs. Marco Russo, Managing Director of Soft Solutions, says: "Thanks to the cloud solution, we don't have high investment costs because we hardly have to purchase any hardware." In addition, peak loads can be absorbed flexibly without having to purchase oversized hardware. Philipp Antoni from the innovative delivery service NoTime: "We need a great deal of flexibility, because we need different computing power depending on the order volume. That's exactly what the Azure Cloud offers." For young companies that are growing rapidly and have a high degree of volatility, this is a decisive advantage, Microsoft notes.

Professional environment ensures safety

Philip Bucher, Managing Director of Brauwerkstatt Doppelleu, is convinced by another advantage in addition to location independence and flexibility: "It's all about security. I can sleep better when our data is stored in a professional environment and not in our basement."

Microsoft Switzerland accordingly expects that Swiss SMEs will continue to rely increasingly on cloud solutions in the future. "In discussions with customers, we notice that the Microsoft cloud is now widely accepted and in demand. We assume that in the future a majority of Swiss SMEs will rely on a cloud-first strategy," says David Kurth, Cloud + Enterprise Business Group Lead Microsoft Switzerland.

More information: www.microsoft.com/azure

The Prix SVC Ostschweiz is awarded by the Swiss Venture Club (SVC) to successful small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region that impress with their corporate culture, the quality of their employees and management, their products and innovations, and their sustainable track record. Since 2004, the Prix SVC Ostschweiz has been awarded every two years, so 2018 will be the eighth time. The Swiss Venture Club (SVC) is an independent, non-profit oriented association of entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. It supports and promotes SMEs as the driving force of the Swiss economy and thus contributes to the creation and preservation of jobs in Switzerland. SVC creates contact and networking opportunities for its more than 3000 members in seven economic regions and generates entrepreneurial impulses for Switzerland as a business location.

Companies from all over Eastern Switzerland

The expert jury, consisting of 13 members, nominated the six award winners from a list of around 150 companies in a multi-stage process - headed by Professor Dr. Thomas Zellweger from the SME Institute of the HSG. Companies from both Appenzell, Glarus, Graubünden, St.Gallen and Thurgau were available for selection. Nominated as finalists for the Prix SVC Ostschweiz 2018 are (in alphabetical order):

• Büchi Labortechnik AG: The world's leading supplier of laboratory technology solutions for research and development, quality assurance and and production offers solutions for industrial and parallel evaporation, spray drying and encapsulation as well as for laboratory and freeze drying. For 75 years, Büchi Labortechnik AG has been developing convincing laboratory technologies for industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, feed, environmental analysis and universities and employs more than 700 people at its headquarters in Flawil, St. Gallen, and in 18 subsidiaries (Asia, Europe, America) worldwide.
• Corvaglia Holding Inc: With three locations, partners in 15 countries and customers all over the world, Corvaglia Holding AG from Eschlikon in Thurgau, Switzerland, supplies renowned multinationals with closure solutions for PET bottles with a great deal of pioneering spirit. As a successful and innovative supplier to the beverage industry, Corvaglia Holding AG has set global standards for plastic closures. The 275 employees cover the entire, fully integrated process chain, from closure design and development, mold making and closure production to application and technical support.
• HB-Therm Inc: Sectors such as automotive, medical technology, consumer goods, optics and industry are equipped with innovative temperature control units from HB-Therm AG, which thus ensures quality and high efficiency of plastic injection molding parts. The 130 employees support their customers from equipment design to after-sales service. The production facility in St.Gallen sells the temperature control units to its own sales companies in Germany and France, as well as through a sales network in over 50 other countries.
• Namics AG: Namics is one of the leading full-service digital agencies for e-commerce, websites & portals and digital communication. As a strategic partner in the digital transformation, the e-business specialist with around 500 employees offers strategic consulting, creative conception and technical implementation from a single source. The owner-managed company was founded in 1995 - originally as a spin-off of the HSG. In addition to its founding location in St.Gallen, Namics AG is represented at five other locations in Germany and Serbia.
• MS Direct Group AG: The Swiss market leader in customer relationship management offers services in the areas of CRM, call center, lettershop, IT solutions for e-commerce and returns logistics. Its subsidiary Quickmail delivers addressed mailings and catalogs to 3 million households in Switzerland every week. Headquartered in St. Gallen, MS Direct Group AG employs around 1,200 people at eight locations throughout Switzerland.
• Uffer Ltd: Timber construction, element and modular construction, dry construction, structural and civil engineering, as well as ensuring electric mobility in the region where it is located - Uffer AG is broadly positioned. With a tradition of craftsmanship and a vision for the future, it is part of the "ela energiewelt", houses the "Building and Energy" competence center and set a milestone in modular construction with the "QUADRIN" system. As one of the largest employers in the region, Uffer AG employs around 80 people at its site in Savognin.

Award ceremony on March 8, 2018 in St. Gallen

The Prix SVC Ostschweiz was first awarded in 2004 in St. Gallen - at that time still called the "SVC Entrepreneur Award Eastern Switzerland". All finalists can look forward to attractive prizes - in addition to the winner's trophy - which serve the purpose of being able to further develop the company successfully.

More information

An SME performs its service, issues the invoice - and waits. After 30 days, it issues a reminder - and waits. Nothing happens. What is the best thing for companies to do in such situations? "Those who send unsuccessful reminders can have their receivables professionally processed by a debt collection company," says Jason Glanzmann, Director Serviced Portfolios at Intrum Justitia.

The way from the creditor to the debt collection company

And this is how debt collection works, when the receivables are handed over to a collection company: The relevant SME - the creditor - can have the claim existing against another company - the debtor - processed by a third party. "The company can concentrate on its core competence again thanks to the handover to an expert," says Jason Glanzmann. Intrum Justitia offers two products for such cases: AGB75 and AGB90. If you opt for these, you hand over the receivables to the collection company after two reminders and within 75 or 90 days of invoicing.

Five advantages of debt collection on a contract basis

1. Contractual fees: Customers are informed of the costs that will be incurred if payment is not made on time. It is recommended to transparently show the cost consequences in the second reminder.
2. Fee-free collection: if the receivables are handed over before the 75th or 90th day after the invoice date.
3. No or low debt collection and address research costs.
4. Higher recovery rate thanks to consistent escalation and more satisfied customers thanks to transparent communication.
5. Since the originating consumer pays the costs, you can optimize your costs. For example, the personnel expenses.

Why should companies seek assistance from a debt collection company?

 That's why:

• Consistent two-step escalation prior to collection is not possible on your own behalf.
• An expert in receivables management knows what steps need to be taken next. The companies are thus relieved administratively.
• They can concentrate on their core competencies and devote themselves to their actual tasks. Otherwise, companies spend a lot of time and energy on receivables management - and often they don't manage to collect the money on their own.

How to reach an amicable agreement

What should be considered when the two sides come to an amicable agreement? What individual payment targets and payment periods should be agreed? Intrum Justitia addresses this issue in the fourth part of the continuation story an.

Contact for more information:

Intrum Justitia AG, sales.ch@intrum.ch, +41 44 806 85 57

Click here for part 1

Click here for part 2

In today's world, where both private and professional communication largely takes place online, IT security is becoming increasingly important. To protect sensitive data, interest in business messengers that rely on end-to-end encryption is therefore growing, especially among companies. More and more messenger services are therefore not only emphasizing security for private use, but are also focusing on business use. This kind of reorientation took place in 2017 with some messengers. Atlassian, for example, introduced the messenger Stride for corporate communication, competing with the team chat Slack due to lower costs. But Slack quickly followed suit, raising a total of $250 million from investors and planning to expand. Moreover, there have also been changes at Microsoft with regard to the business messenger: Microsoft Teams has replaced Skype for Business and now competes with Atlassian, Slack & Co. In addition, the Keybase Chat service is now also aimed at companies, and we also brought a new product to the market with Wire a secure business version on the market.

Data leaks and malware attacks cause a stir

One Study by Bitkom Research, four out of ten companies fell victim to a cyberattack last year. One of these affected companies is the US financial services provider Equifax, where cyber criminals have captured sensitive data from 44 percent of all Americans. As a result, its stock has lost 14 percent and the company's chief executive has resigned. And Deloitte, a management consulting firm, also fell victim to hackers who gained access to the databases, and thus personal information, of top clients. Another data theft also took place at U.S. ride service provider Uber and involved the data of 57 million users and Uber drivers. Although the incident occurred more than a year ago, it only became known in 2017. However, not only hacker attacks, but also attacks with malware can continue to cause great damage to companies in the future and result in a drastic increase in costs.

From UK to USA: How governments are shaking up the IT industry

Governments are not exactly convinced of the security provided by data encryption and want to oblige providers to install backdoors. One of the reasons for this is that encryption prevents criminals from viewing messages, which means they would benefit from cryptography. Governments are particularly bothered by the fact that IT companies do not even comply with court orders, and criminal acts can no longer be proven as a result. For this reason, politicians oppose end-to-end encryption or insist on backdoors for government access.

EU-DSGVO approaching and causing rethinking

The EU General Data Protection Regulation is getting closer and closer, and now at the latest companies should actively address the question of how they can comply with the regulation. The main goal - to simplify, standardize and update the protection of personal data - is causing a rethink. In the process, individuals gain more rights with regard to data processing, for which technical and organizational measures as well as a data processing register are mandatory. As companies will be subject to heavy fines in the event of violations, the EU GDPR will become an important topic from May 2018 at the latest.

Insecure providers: Why encryption is a must-have

Encryption becomes important when there is a possibility that third parties have access to the sensitive data. For example, service providers or providers can be insecure because unauthorized persons can gain access here. This is especially true for cloud storage, communication and collaboration tools that store their data via servers outside the EU, for example. In addition, hacker attacks on e-mail providers are also dangerous, but it also becomes explosive whenever customer data is involved, especially payment data, such as credit card information, or even information about orders placed. This affects both private individuals, who thus become transparent, and companies, which must guarantee secure payment transactions in this case. Further points that make encryption indispensable are, on the one hand, to exclude industrial espionage and to prevent business secrets from becoming public. For these reasons, encryption must be the solution. Whether encrypted e-mails or the encryption of content (such as payrolls, cooperation agreements, calculations) or generally data exchanged in everyday communication. To ensure IT security internally and externally, providers must not be able to view sensitive information; this is only possible with the help of secure data encryption.

Conclusion: Companies must act

Since data leaks and malware attacks are particularly damaging to companies, protective security measures are urgently needed. Also due to the EU General Data Protection Regulation, companies must act now and adapt their security standards accordingly. However, with the help of various providers that rely on end-to-end encryption, implementation is relatively simple. If there is an attack on the cloud provider after implementation, the personal information is protected and cannot be decrypted by unauthorized persons. In addition, the EU regulation also sees the method of encryption as proof of compliance with the requirements. In this way, companies are spared additional costs and customers can also be sure that sensitive data is adequately protected.

About the Author: Alan Duric is an experienced technology expert and entrepreneur who has been in the real-time communications industry for over 15 years. As a pioneer of VoIP technology, he paved the way for the introduction of Web Real Time Communication (WebRTC). The open source standard includes several communication protocols and programming interfaces that can be found in a wide variety of applications today. In addition to founding Telio Holding ASA and Sonorit, he launched Wire, a fully end-to-end encrypted messenger, a secure communication tool for business and personal use that protects digital privacy while respecting European data protection guidelines. Alan's decision to open source Wire was strategic in that it allowed the company to prove that the product is indeed end-to-end encrypted. Compared to other messengers that also claimed to be, but couldn't prove it. Today, he is the company's CTO/COO, a member of the board of directors, and is responsible for the fortunes of an ambitious, international team of over 50 employees in Berlin. In addition, he acts as a consultant for a number of technology startups, bringing his years of experience in open source, VoIP, IT security and software architecture to the table.

It is of central importance for Switzerland as a business location that SMEs successfully master the digital transformation. "SMEs are the backbone of the economy, but they often underestimate the challenges of this new industrial revolution," says Sita Mazumder from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. With the Chief Digital Community (CDC) association, the university has now created a vehicle to help SMEs better master the transformation.

Sparring partner for SMEs

"We see ourselves as a sparring partner for SMEs," explains Mazumder, who heads the association as president. "With the Chief Digital Community, we support them in as practical a way as possible." The new association offers SME decision-makers advice on specific questions about digitization, access to a broad network, continuing education, and events close to everyday business life.

Workshops with "Challenge

A core element of the CDC offering is the SME Challenge. In this workshop, one company at a time presents its digitization efforts to the representatives of other SMEs in attendance. The aim is for the companies to learn from each other and support each other in their digitization efforts. The first company to present itself is Arcmedia AG, a Lucerne-based e-business and Internet service provider, on April 12, 2018.

Research results tailored to SMEs

The CDC's approaches are based on current research findings on the topic of digital transformation of the economy. The majority of existing analyses, however, focus on large companies in the English-speaking world, as Sita Mazumder says. For Swiss SMEs, these are of limited direct use, she says. "That's why we select the studies that are relevant for SMEs and make them available to our members. In addition, we conduct our own studies together with colleges, universities and other institutions."

More information is available on the association's website: www.chiefdigital.ch

Digitization provides market researchers and companies with a wealth of valuable information. Data makes interactions measurable and behavioral patterns quantifiable - and in real time: through every click, every keyword search and every order, users leave digital footprints that companies can use specifically for their own benefit. In past years, superficial insights like demographic data alone were worth their weight in gold for marketers.

Developing customer-centric solutions

However, the longer and more detailed one looks at the developments in data collection, the clearer it becomes that simply collecting and analyzing data is not enough. If you want to be successful in the long term, you have to draw on your rich treasure trove of data to find the relevant information so that these can form a basis for recommendations for action. The customer and his needs must be at the center of every type of digital solution. Only when digital behavior and backgrounds for behavior are analyzed and understood can sustainable solutions be created. An individual, target group-oriented approach enables access to the customer on an emotional level. If this is followed by a positive (purchase) experience with the brand, the probability of return and brand loyalty increases. This observation can be made in several digital projects. A particularly vivid example is the website relaunch of the Swiss cinema chain Pathé.

Success example for Insights Driven Marketing

Pathé was looking for ways to stand out from the crowd with its new web presence. The company wanted to optimize customer loyalty and establish the online platform as the main sales channel for movie tickets. In order to achieve this goal, the company took a new approach: In this case, it did not start the project directly with full creative, content and technical power, but instead devoted itself fully to the needs of the end customers in a preliminary phase. The thesis: Targeted surveys can be used to find precisely tailored solutions that give Pathé moviegoers a particularly pleasant cinema experience.

The first step in this insights-to-action approach should therefore be to take stock of the situation in order to get to know and understand the needs and behavior of users. Although the company's goals also play a role here, what is far more interesting is what the users want. What makes a good cinema experience for visitors?

In focus: taking user wishes into account...

For the data collection, almost 10,000 people in French- and German-speaking Switzerland were surveyed via the Pathé website, newsletters and social media. Additional interviews in Pathé cinemas rounded off the survey. The responses revealed exciting insights: For those surveyed, a visit to the cinema is a social, shared experience that begins long before they reach the theater. Modern moviegoers use Whatsapp to select their films and prefer to coordinate movie visits with friends using survey tools such as Doodle. Clear recommendations for profitable measures can be derived from these findings.

Before that, however, it is important to scale the insights. The data obtained for Pathé made it clear in the detailed analysis that the respondents had different requirements for a visit to the cinema. It was therefore necessary to divide the target group into four segments, or four personas, in order to create individual solutions for a successful customer journey, depending on their needs. One example of this is the group of "Social Movie Passionates," whom Pathé should motivate to visit the movie theater in larger groups.

... to be sustainably successful

In order to be able to implement the recommendations for action in a targeted manner, the customer journey is consistently tracked in the third step of the insights-to-action approach and examined for breaks. What could prevent the user from booking a ticket online? The aim here is to counteract this using the insights gathered and thus provide the user with a positive user experience. The analysis for Pathé showed, for example, that the "Social Movie Passionates" prefer to coordinate their appointments to visit the cinema via WhatsApp or e-mail. A targeted measure was therefore to embed a share function in the mobile version of the website. Via the new Pathé cinema planner, movie lovers can easily organize their movie nights with friends.

The practical example clearly shows the potential of data - if it is used correctly. In the case of Pathé, the measures taken so far have contributed to a significant optimization of the user journey. However, it is essential not to rest on one's laurels, but to continuously analyze the results, observe changes, listen to customers, and thus constantly optimize the user experience with new insights.

About the author:

Dr. Martina Reitmeier is Senior Consultant and Head of the Research and Insights team at Namics. Namics is one of the leading full-service digital agencies for e-commerce, websites & portals, digital communication, mobile business apps and managed services in German-speaking countries. www.namics.com

There are enough complaints. This is about a change of perspective with the aim of saying thank you to companies and employees for positively surprising customers with their service culture. Would you like to take part? It's that simple:

• Write us a short email with the following information without obligation:
  1. where have you experienced a commendable example of service culture?
  2. what was so special?
  3. why did it surprise you so positively?
  Important: Do not forget the name and location of the company.
• Read the conditions of participation and off you go.

Conditions of participation:

You have experienced your example yourself and in Switzerland. You are a customer of the company/organization you would like to say thank you to. Short examples are preferred in the selection, also on www.qpm-ms.ch/gut to know to be published with your name or initials as you wish. Any email correspondence must be accompanied by the full postal address of the sender. We ask for your understanding not to correspond about unpublished examples. The choice is left to the editors.

Click here to go to the survey. Closing date 31.12.2017

The statistics speak for themselves: according to the Cybercrime Report for the 4th quarter of 2016, online stores recorded a 57 percent increase in rejected payment transactions. Gabriel Garay, Expert Data Analyst Fraud at Intrum Justitia, is not surprised by this high figure: "Buying from online stores is very popular. They are often the target of fraud attempts because they offer insecure payment methods such as invoice."

Three types of fraud in focus

The most common type of fraud is inbound fraud: a person knowingly orders products, but knows beforehand that they cannot pay for them. Identity theft also plagues the online industry. Here, the fraudster assumes the identity of another person and orders the selected products in their name. He has found the details on social media or on the Internet in general, for example. In order not to attract attention, he chooses a neutral address or post office as a pick-up station. The third type of fraud is denying receipt of delivery. This is all the more serious because the online retailer bears the shipping risk.

Four fraud services for prevention

What is the best way for companies to combat these fraudsters? To defend against Fraudcases, there is a multi-stage process.

• Automated verification of order requests. "Our customers include the majority of the leading high-risk stores in Switzerland. To protect them, we rely on blacklists and cross-shop checks," Gabriel Garay knows. Specifically, these records include personal and household details, street, house number and postal code, plus technical information such as device ID and email address. There is also a fraud pattern that can be used to determine identity falsification (for example, from Meier to Meyer) and to detect identity theft or multiple orders.

• Reactive manual check after the order has been placed. It serves as a supplement to the automated check. Among other things, it includes an open search for fraud patterns. Gabriel Garay: "We work with various distributors to recall goods before delivery if necessary. We report suspicious cases directly to our customers. In addition, we cooperate with law enforcement agencies."

• Fraud Analysis. Intrum Justitia continuously expands the blacklists and fraud patterns. In addition, the collection company creates fraud reporting: it evaluates customer-specific risks to adjust audit parameters and analyzes order requests and payment behavior, which guarantees effective risk management.

• Fraud Check. "By means of a fraud check, we examine the susceptibility of online stores to fraud - free of charge," explains Gabriel Garay. "If the store operators implement the recommended measures, they receive a fraud control certificate. We are sure that this will deter any fraudsters."

Secure protection against fraud thanks to innovative software

The software provider "ThreatMetrix" has also recently launched a comprehensive solution for fraud protection in online commerce - especially against identity abuse. "It has already received several awards for its innovations. We take care of the implementation of the interface," says Gabriel Garay. This guarantees verification in real time:

• Orders are processed quickly and automatically.
• No registrations or secure codes are required, so the customer's buying experience is not diminished.

Further, the device identification technology detects hidden proxies (communication interfaces in a network) and detects fake browser identifiers, the actual operating system, satellite, dial-up and mobile connections as well as VPN. Furthermore, Intrum Justitia has access to the global software customer network with information from approximately 55 million logins and transactions per day. "In this way, we protect our customers from foreign order gangs and the company's websites from unmasked users," Gabriel Garay emphasizes.

Briefly interviewed: Gabriel Garay

Gabriel Garay, online retail fraud attempts are increasing as sales volumes grow. How important is effective fraud prevention to Intrum?

Gabriel Garay: It has top priority. After all, Intrum assumes the default risk in the e-commerce sector for several hundred million francs.

Can you show concrete results?

Yes. Every year, we use automatic checks in the high-risk segment to prevent fraudulent orders worth 37 million Swiss francs. We block orders worth more than 400,000 Swiss francs per year by means of manual checks.

 Contact for more information:

Intrum Justitia AG, sales.ch@intrum.ch, +41 44 806 85 57

Employers in most regions, but especially in Zurich, Espace Mittelland and Northwestern Switzerland, expect to expand their workforces during the first three months of the year. Staff numbers are expected to rise in all categories of company, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). "This positive outlook demonstrates that the Swiss labor market is gradually reflecting the economic recovery," comments Leif Agnéus, General Manager of Manpower Switzerland. "The strengthening of the global economy, growth in the eurozone and the weakening of the Swiss franc appear to be having a positive impact on Swiss employers. Export-oriented companies in particular are showing renewed confidence."

Increasingly dynamic labor market in Espace Mittelland

Five of the total of seven regions surveyed anticipate a positive employment outlook for the first three months of 2018. Employers in the Zurich region (+7 %) and Espace Mittelland (+6 %), where hiring momentum has picked up significantly after a year of negative results, are particularly optimistic, both quarter-over-quarter (10 percentage points) and year-over-year (11 percentage points). For their part, employers in Northwestern Switzerland (+5 %) provide the most optimistic forecasts since 2015. Only Central Switzerland (-4 %) records a negative outlook. Employers in the Lake Geneva region (0 %) are cautious, even though eight companies out of ten foresee no change at all in their staffing levels.

Upward trend in more than half of the sectors

Employers in seven of the total of ten economic sectors participating in the study expect their headcount to increase over the course of the first quarter of 2018. This is particularly true in banking, insurance, real estate and services (+10 %) and manufacturing (+9 %), which also saw the strongest quarter-over-quarter (26 percentage points) and year-over-year (11 percentage points) improvements. Hotels and restaurants (+7 %) posted its best performance in nearly three years. In contrast, forecasts are down for three sectors, notably construction (-4 %), which also shows a quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year decline (5 percentage points each). "The optimistic employment outlook in manufacturing and hotels and restaurants is clearly due to the weaker Swiss franc," emphasizes Leif Agnéus.

Swiss SMEs intend to recruit more at the beginning of 2018

Among the four categories of companies surveyed, large companies are planning the most new hires (+12 %) for the first quarter of 2018, followed by small and medium-sized companies (+9 % each). This is the best result in over three years for small businesses and the strongest quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year growth (7, and 12 percentage points, respectively). Only the employers of the smallest companies (+1 %) are more cautious.

Switzerland reaches a similar level to its European neighbors

The employment outlook of Swiss employers (+3 %) reaches a value close to that of neighboring countries: employers in Germany continue to show confidence (+5 %), as do those in France (+2 %). Italy and Austria expect no change (0 %).

Source and further information: Manpower

Following a rather moderate development in 2017, growth in Switzerland is expected to accelerate in the coming year. The experts at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) expect respectable GDP growth of 2.0 % and forecast that employment will again grow significantly. Away from this positive development, companies and their HR managers face various challenges in 2018. For example, after several quarters of subdued momentum, employment is expected to grow by 0.8 % in 2018 (source: SECO). In conjunction with this, unemployment figures are expected to decline. For companies, this positive development means that the search for suitable skilled workers will become even more difficult in the coming year. Already now, a survey by the Credit Suissethat the shortage of skilled workers is causing problems for around half of the companies.

Agility and digitization as challenges

Furthermore, agility is increasingly becoming a success-critical criterion for companies. Nevertheless, the principle of agility has not yet been put into practice by all companies. Executives and HR managers will have to ensure that the speed, flexibility, customer centricity and adaptability of companies are adapted to the requirements of the dynamic economy. Last but not least, the megatrend of digitalization will continue in 2018. The changes not only affect business processes, but also encompass companies in their entirety: from strategy and corporate culture to work structures, communication and the design of digital workplaces. For future success, companies will have to align themselves with the requirements of digitization across all areas.

Skilled labor shortage influences key HR trends in 2018

According to Yeng Chow, senior manager at staffing firm Robert Half in Zurich, five trends are at the heart of how companies and HR professionals must respond to these challenges:

• Trend 1: HR departments need to be strengthened. The speed with which specialist personnel are recruited is a decisive factor for business success. Too few personnel usually means that goals are not achieved. In almost every second company, it takes at least three months to hire the right specialist - and even longer for management positions. This is a problem for companies, because the best candidates are not prepared to wait that long. In terms of the recruitment process, the main task for HR departments will be to shorten hiring times and implement efficient employee retention measures. To do this, they need to be strengthened in terms of personnel and funding.
• Trend 2: Digitization must be the focus of continuing education. For digitization, companies need employees with the necessary skillset. The need for and importance of further training is therefore increasing. Digital qualification is one of the focal points of companies' training programs in 2018. This also involves identifying the development potential of employees and teams in the digital transformation and equipping them with the necessary tools for future tasks. This creates the opportunity to meet the frequently expressed desire of employees for further development.
• Trend 3: Adaptation of leadership culture. Changes are also necessary in the management culture of companies. This must meet the requirements of a digitized company. Therefore, a development toward a cooperative, transparent and value-oriented management style will be necessary. What do employees expect from their management? What does optimal support for managers look like? Answering these questions poses enormous challenges for companies. Individual coaching and internal exchange of experience help managers to critically question their leadership style and to develop new perspectives and approaches.
• Trend 4: More flexibility for employees - and for HR strategy. The proportion of employees working part-time, in home offices, with trust-based working hours or with shared workplaces (job sharing) will increase significantly in the coming years. Companies will increasingly respond to employees' desire for more free time and work-life balance, thereby increasing their attractiveness on the labor market and securing the loyalty of existing employees. At the same time, companies will rely more heavily than in the past on flexible workforce planning and employ more temporary workers and specialists who can apply their expertise to digitization projects, for example, and are in demand particularly against the backdrop of the shortage of skilled workers.
• Trend 5: Higher salaries in the midmarket and attractive fringe benefits. In order to be able to recruit competent personnel despite the shortage of skilled workers, medium-sized companies in particular will have to offer higher salaries and attractive additional benefits. Performance-related elements will gain in importance. However, the target and assessment cycles will become shorter. In addition, non-monetary benefits will supplement salaries or replace them in part. The composition of these additional packages will be a decisive factor in whether applicants consider a job offer to be attractive.

Source and further information: Robert Half