How well are SMEs around the world digitally positioned? This was the question addressed in a study conducted by Adobe. It surveyed 1,000 employees in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Japan. The survey also took into account pervasive socioeconomic factors such as inflation, recession, layoffs, and global unrest.

Digitization has a positive impact on work

The results show: Small businesses around the world have some digital catching up to do. For example, 88 percent of SMEs say that inadequate technologies would affect their company's productivity. 55 percent of the SMEs surveyed also say that at least half of the work in their company is still done on paper. Due to outdated work processes, half of SMEs (58 %) lose between two and four hours of productivity per day. Correspondingly, almost a unanimous number of SMEs (85 %) believe that automation increases their company's productivity. An even higher percentage (92 %) of employees in AI-savvy SMEs say that AI-driven technology has a positive impact on their workflows.

Good technology increases workplace attractiveness

The "digital fitness" of an SME is also a decisive factor for job placements. This is because almost all employees (92 %) of the SMEs surveyed say that work technology is a factor in whether they accept a job at a new company, with almost a quarter
(24 %) say it is "absolutely critical" because their success depends on good technology. Respondents go on to say that they place great value on technologies that promote collaboration in decentralized teams, including video conferencing tools, but also digital document management - PDFs and e-scans rank first among the technologies that are indispensable to them, while collaboration tools and video conferencing rank second and third.

Software against digital pent-up demand

"Digital documents are an essential part of our business. We use them for everything from invoices to contracts to product catalogs," says Sofiya Deva, founder of The Postcard Edit. "For example, we find that it's smooth and easy to edit, share and close contracts with Acrobat. We operate globally and work with both large retailers and young designers*. PDFs help us communicate in a way that feels professional while being agile and user-friendly."

Good technology not only helps small businesses be more productive, it also helps them attract qualified employees. Automation and AI continue to be the buzzwords of the day when it comes to getting work done smarter and faster, the Adobe study concludes.

Source: Adobe

The Hammer Group industrial group, which specializes in high-quality metal construction solutions (https://www.hammer.ch) is strengthening its offering for structural building infrastructure made of metal. With the acquisition of Anytech Metallbau AG (https://www.anytech.ch) from Huttwil, the Group is expanding its service portfolio with system balconies. It thus complements its subsidiaries with their leading positions throughout Switzerland in the product areas of bicycle parking systems, pedestrian shelters, barrier systems, street furniture, fire doors, checkrooms, waste systems and work platforms.

From now on everything from one source

Anytech Metallbau AG has achieved a unique position with an innovative modular balcony system. Development and production of the technically mature balcony modules are carried out in Switzerland in a standardized or customer-specific manner. The system solution is used in particular in the increasingly important renovation market and takes an extremely short time to install. Claudio Ammann, Head of Corporate Development at the Hammer Group, comments: "Anytech is an excellent addition to the range of products and services offered by our group of companies. The Hammer Group is thus developing into a comprehensive provider of structural building infrastructure. Together, we can now offer our customers real added value in real estate projects - and, what's more, everything from a single source."

Anja Russo, the previous owner of Anytech Metallbau AG, adds: "With the Hammer Group, I have found a powerful umbrella organization and partner, which on the one hand convinces with its entrepreneurial values as well as its vision and on the other hand can further strengthen our market position with its presence throughout Switzerland."

Group of companies with six locations

The cooperatively organized Hammer Group, headquartered in Zurich, together with Anja Russo as Managing Director and all employees, will continue the activities of Anytech Metallbau AG in full. For customers and partners, this change of ownership does not result in any changes and all contact persons remain unchanged. "With the integration of Anytech Metallbau AG, we are strengthening our position and creating synergies. In this way, we are also increasing the attractiveness of our subsidiaries among their customers," says Harry Kramis, CEO of the Hammer Group. The group of companies includes Velopa AG (https://www.velopa.ch) in Spreitenbach, MAKK AG (https://makk.ch) in Dachsen, Wasta AG (https://www.wasta.ch) in Stans, Hammer Metall AG (https://www.hammermetall.ch) in Nänikon and Blechtech AG (https://www.blechtech.ch) in Dachsen. The Group employs around 200 people at six locations.

As of May 2023, Daniel Schwander will join the team as a partner and member of the Board of Directors, providing their services to family businesses and entrepreneurial families throughout Switzerland as well as in southern Germany.

Meeting companies at eye level

Daniel Schwander is a business economist with an Executive MBA degree and completed training as a Dipl. Controller FH. He has more than 30 years of in-depth experience in the financial and private industry. With his many years of management experience, also of larger organizational units, he will meet entrepreneurs at eye level. He was most recently head of BG OST-SÜD for five years, which played a prominent role in COVID's challenging time in favor of the SME world. It was in this role that Daniel Schwander gained a close relationship with family entrepreneurs and representatives of entrepreneurial families, both at the strategic and operational level.

As a personality with an entrepreneurial mindset, he is ideally suited to deal with complex situations and issues related to a generational change, but also to recognize the emotional hurdles and dynamics of a family business. Due to his successful work in banks, he also has practical knowledge of M&A processes as well as sales strategies. In addition to the development of succession strategies, he focuses on conflict resolution between family members and/or business partners and accompanies these processes.

20-year anniversary

Continuum AG advises and supports smaller, medium-sized and larger family businesses in their long-term development and helps entrepreneurial families to solve their many challenges in the succession process. This year, the company celebrates its 20th anniversary. Rolf Brunner, who as managing partner has accompanied family businesses and entrepreneurial families in development and succession processes for more than twenty years and brings with him more than 40 years of experience in generation management, is pleased with his team and the entire board of directors, led by Hanspeter Thür, about the reinforcement: "Continuum's already broad and also proven field of competence will be significantly expanded and ideally complemented with Daniel."

Source: Continuum AG

According to the Swiss Staffing Index, the temporary staffing business slipped into the red for the first time in two years, falling by 3.4 percent. The permanent placement business is booming, with growth of 15.3 percent. The reason: labor shortages are increasingly acting as a brake on growth for staffing companies and the economy as a whole. On the one hand, the slowdown in the economy and the return to normal after the Corona period meant that companies had fewer short-term peaks in orders that had to be covered by temporary staffing. On the other hand, companies that continue to operate at high capacity are increasingly relying on permanent employment - because the market has become more predictable and in order to retain staff more closely.

Tense recruiting situation at companies

"The unprecedented demand for qualified specialists clearly shows that the shortage of skilled workers in Switzerland continues to worsen," notes Jan Jacob, Country Manager ManpowerGroup Switzerland, based on the Manpower Labor Market Barometer. Three out of four companies complain about difficulties in recruiting skilled workers. This development is making itself felt on the job market. According to the Adecco Group Swiss Job Market Index took the number of vacancies in the first quarter of 2023 only slightly down from the historic high in Q4 2022.

Marcel Keller, Country President Adecco Group Switzerland, comments: "After almost 3 years of Covid-related uncertainty, confidence is spreading. Companies are investing in permanent positions again and hiring more and more temporary employees on a permanent basis. In addition, Covid has not only increased the shortage of skilled workers, but also the bargaining power of skilled workers, so that companies are doing everything they can to retain employees - and preferably for the long term."

Hotly contested talent on the labor market

In view of the tight labor market situation, companies have to find new ways to attract candidates. Generation Z is particularly hotly contested. The latest white paper from HR consultant Careerplus shows: Values and flexibility are the key to success. 64 percent of Generation Z dream of doing something good. Only 19 percent would work in a company that does not share their values. Four out of ten candidates reject job offers without home office options. Flexibility is generally a trend in occupations with a shortage of skilled workers. A survey of people with medical job profiles by the employment platform Coople shows that 76.4 percent value the freedom to arrange their working hours as an advantage. 63.1 % use flexible work as additional income and 38.8 percent seek a more balanced work-life balance.

Outlook: Staffing firms remain concerned about labor shortage

The tense labor market situation is a concern for staffing service providers. Looking ahead over the next six months, 46.8 percent expect business activity in the temporary staffing sector to increase. 32.5 percent also anticipate a further increase in the permanent placement business. By comparison, in Q1 2022, these figures were 70 and 54 percent, respectively. The dried-up labor market and low economic momentum are likely to be the main reasons for this assessment by business leaders. The fact that employees are taking advantage of the good labor market situation to change jobs or are consciously opting for flexible working models such as temporary employment could have a positive impact on business development.

Source: Swissstaffing

The German-speaking SAP User Group e. V. (DSAG) is one of the most influential user associations in the world. The Swiss branch recently presented the results of the DSAG Investment Report. "After the Corona pandemic, Swiss companies continue to pick up speed. The high willingness to invest in IT and in SAP solutions in particular are the indicators of this," says Jean-Claude Flury, DSAG Switzerland board member. Compared to 2022, the IT budgets of the Swiss companies surveyed are increasing at 51 percent (DACH: 54 percent), remaining the same at 31 percent (DACH: 26 percent) and decreasing at 14 percent (DACH: 15 percent). 3 percent of respondents did not provide any information. SAP budgets are also increasing for 51 percent (DACH: 52 percent), staying the same for 29 percent (DACH: 31 percent) and decreasing for 20 percent (DACH: 15 percent). "The DACH trend in terms of investments is also continuing in Switzerland. Here, too, one of the decisive factors is likely to be the fact that some established SAP solutions will soon be coming out of maintenance and the project agendas are already full to bursting with S/4HANA implementation projects," says Jean-Claude Flury.

S/4HANA public cloud solutions not yet an option

At 63 percent (DACH: 79 percent), SAP Enterprise Resource Planning or SAP Business Suite leads the field in terms of SAP ERP solutions used. By comparison, this was the case for 65 percent of respondents in 2022. S/4HANA on-premise is used by 51 percent (DACH: 41 percent) of respondents. In 2022, 57 percent of respondents in Switzerland stated this. However, the small number of survey participants must be taken into account here when interpreting the figures.

This is followed by the S/4HANA private cloud with 17 percent (DACH: 8 percent), which was used by 4 percent of respondents a year ago. S/4HANA Public Cloud, on the other hand, plays no role in Switzerland this year (2022: 4 percent). "In the private cloud, the advantages from already widely accepted operating models of outsourcing are combined with a standardization of the solution and its operation. SAP customer companies in Switzerland seem to view this increasingly positively. In any case, I do not see most companies using the public cloud model in all processes in the short and medium term. There is still too much functionality missing," says Jean-Claude Flury.

S/4HANA leads the way in investment planning

Nevertheless, Swiss companies have recognized that there is no way around S/4HANA. For example, the Business Suite is relevant for high investments at 6 percent (DACH: 6 percent) and for medium investments at 9 percent (DACH: 22 percent). In S/4HANA, 31 percent (DACH: 28 percent) plan high investments and 40 percent (DACH: 38 percent) medium investments. For S/4HANA, this is an increase of 10 percentage points for medium investments and a decrease of four percentage points for high investments compared to 2022. And for Business Suite, this means a slight decrease of 3 percentage points for high investments and an unchanged value of 9 percent for medium investments. (see chart)

"Swiss companies are aware of the fact that they will have to switch from an old ERP system to S/4HANA by 2027 or 2030. Because that is when older systems will run out of maintenance," knows Jean-Claude Flury. The appeal of the Switzerland board member is: "Companies should decide quickly how they want to make the switch. A purely technical migration to S/4HANA hardly brings any advantages. These only arise when processes are scrutinized and redesigned in an optimized manner. In addition, the functional scope of S/4HANA and SAP ECC is not identical. Therefore, companies may need additional applications and have to adapt existing interfaces. Against this background, it would be wrong to underestimate the effort required for a corresponding migration. The time window of four or seven years still seems wide open. But internal preparation, e.g., in terms of processes, in-house developments and data, as well as the selection of the appropriate partner for the changeover, take time."

Communicate BTP better

In terms of SAP cloud solutions, 6 percent say they will make high investments and 23 percent say they will make medium investments in SAP SuccessFactors (DACH: 3 percent high | 14 percent medium investments). In the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), 3 percent of Swiss respondents intend to make high investments (DACH: 4 percent) and 17 percent medium investments (DACH: 20 percent). Investments in this case mean increased spending on cloud solutions, including subscriptions. In third place among Swiss respondents is SAP Integrated Business Planning with 3 percent high and 9 percent medium investments. SAP Ariba and SAP Signavio follow with three percent each in both high and medium investments.

"The Business Technology Platform is the new central element in SAP's strategy. It is therefore somewhat surprising that Swiss companies are still exercising restraint in this regard. It seems that SAP customers still lack confidence in the new platform," says Jean-Claude Flury. Here, the country board member also sees a task for SAP. "We very much welcome the fact that the first migration services are now being developed, which are intended, for example, to support companies in converting their current integration architectures to the BTP Integration Suite. But these services still need to be communicated much better," explains Jean-Claude Flury.

Pricing policy makes it difficult to move to the cloud

In this investment report, respondents were also asked for the first time to rate SAP's pricing policy in the cloud environment. In Switzerland, 3 percent (DACH: 5 percent) describe themselves as satisfied. 17 percent (DACH: 20 percent) assess their status as neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and 20 percent of respondents did not give any information (DACH: 26 percent). "Of course, it is noticeable that 60 percent of respondents in Switzerland do not rate SAP's pricing policy in the cloud environment positively. However, this is a generally unpopular topic that is likely to affect all providers of cloud solutions equally," says the Chief Operating Officer for Switzerland.
Nevertheless, the planned annual price increase for SAP cloud services has caused a lot of criticism among DSAG members. "From DSAG's point of view, it would be important to make it easier for companies to move to the cloud instead of making it more difficult. Because that is exactly what is happening through annual price increases. The clear reaction of SAP customers is therefore a clear signal that there is an urgent need for appropriate mechanisms to control the price development in the interest of all parties involved," says Jean-Claude Flury.

Security dashboard necessary

For this investment report, respondents were again asked about the relevance of overarching topics for investment planning. Here, cybersecurity is clearly in first place with 89 percent (2022: 74 percent) with high and medium relevance. In the DACH region, 88 percent see it that way. Process automation comes in second place, with 60 percent (2022: 48 percent) rating it as highly and moderately relevant. The importance of cybersecurity is beyond question for Jean-Claude Flury: "It is not possible to prevent hacker attacks. But there are ways and means to prepare for them. If only to keep the risk manageable."

An essential element in anticipation of security-relevant attacks is a security dashboard. DSAG has been demanding this from SAP for some time. Together with the software manufacturer, the interest group is working on a solution that automatically shows which security-relevant settings need to be made and where security gaps exist in the company's SAP landscape.

Besides technology, people themselves are the highest risk to IT security. "The DSAG security awareness campaign is an important tool for raising awareness of possible threat scenarios. The aim is to create awareness of how to deal with the issue of security and threats to SAP systems in an exemplary manner," says Jean-Claude Flury. Specifically, the industry association offers various training courses that are designed to help employees recognize possible threats at an early stage, ward them off, and prevent consequences from arising in the first place.

Source: DSAG

Today, "Connect" is probably the largest ICT trade fair in Switzerland for trade visitors. It evolved from the Competec in-house exhibition, which had been held for many years at the logistics center of the trading group in Willisau, Lucerne, since the third edition. Last year, after a two-year break due to the pandemic, "Connect" attracted more than 1,800 visitors to Willisau over two days.

No more space in Willisau

Due to the space requirements of the trade volumes handled in Willisau and the extension currently under construction, it will no longer be possible to hold the trade fair in the trading group's logistics center this year - or in the years to come. The new venue, Hall 550 in Oerlikon, has excellent transport links. "We are pleased to have found an attractive alternative to the logistics center that is easy to reach for everyone and optimally equipped for our purposes. As a result, we hope to welcome even more trade visitors than last year," says Simon Thoma, Head of Marketing at Competec.

New venue, proven concept

Visitors to the B2B trade fair can discover products and solutions from the information and communications technology sector at sustainably produced, modern exhibition stands and deepen their topic-specific knowledge by attending presentations. The exhibition area is expected to be similar in size to the last one in Willisau. In addition to an extensive supporting program with specialist presentations, keynote speeches and an evening event, "Connect" offers ideal opportunities for professional exchange and networking between manufacturers, customers and employees of the Competec Group. The target audience is made up of Alltron reseller partners and Brack.ch business end customers interested in modern working, cloud solutions, data center, networking, professional AV, security, market trends and product innovations. Currently, preparations are in full swing. Exhibitors, sponsors and supporting program will be announced in the summer. Logistics - always a crowd puller in Willisau - will also be given space to present itself.

"Connect" focuses on sustainability

The "Connect" exhibition stands are made by hand from Willisau wood elements. The wood comes from sustainably managed forests and is PEFC certified. All recessed lamps are based on economical LED technology. In addition, the exhibition carpet is made of recyclable material. The exhibition stand can be conveniently stored after the event and used again the following year. After last year's premiere, this year is the first time such stands are recycled.

Source: www.competec.ch. More information about the fair:https://alltron.ch/partnerevent and https://www.brack.ch/b2b-event

Just a few months after China opened its borders, business travel to the Middle Kingdom is once again in high demand: In the first three months of the year, China was the fifth most popular long-haul destination for business travelers from Switzerland. This is shown by an evaluation of the transactions for airline tickets processed via AirPlus. Most travelers to China went to Shanghai. Last year, China had slipped to 27th place in the long-distance ranking, after the country had occupied the classic second place behind the USA before the corona pandemic.
While the USA retained its top spot in intercontinental traffic from Switzerland in the first quarter of the year, India moved up to second position. In recent years, the country has steadily gained in importance as a business travel destination, after ranking fifth in 2019. The United Arab Emirates are in third place (Q1 2019: fourth place).

Travel is booked earlier and earlier

Overall, spending by Swiss companies on airline tickets increased by 90 percent between January and March 2023 compared with the same period last year. What is striking here is that bookings were made significantly earlier than last year, on average 31.4 days before travel. After bookings had been made at very short notice during the pandemic, the advance booking period had recently even settled above the pre-Corona value of around 27 days. The longer deadlines now indicate that companies want to secure the scarcer flight capacities early on.

Ticket prices become slightly cheaper

Ticket prices recently changed slightly downwards: Business class tickets cost an average of CHF 4530 in Q1 2023, 0.2 percent less than in Q4 2022, while prices for economy tickets fell 4.1 percent to CHF 603 from CHF 629 most recently.

Fewer domestic flights

A trend that is continuing: Swiss companies are taking fewer domestic flights. The traditionally low proportion of flights within Switzerland's borders was still 0.2 percent in the first three months of 2023. In the first quarter of 2019, 1.0 percent of Swiss business travelers still used a domestic flight. This development is an indication that companies are increasingly attaching importance to sustainability in business travel.

Source: AirPlus

It happens to us all the time: we have a great idea, a dream, a new thought for the future - and then others explain to us why it won't work. After a certain time, we stop thinking big. We prefer to limit ourselves from the outset. Why is that? Well, in the end, we all want to be loved by others. That's why we avoid situations in which the environment threatens us with "withdrawal of love".

Do not listen too much to others

Our brain is designed to keep us alive - not to make us happy and particularly successful. Consequence: If you want to achieve more than mediocrity in life, then you should not listen too much to others. By the way, this applies all the more the bigger your goals are. This topic is also important for strategy development, where your vision should be so big that various people will oppose it - mostly out of fear.

How can you now achieve big goals and take others along with you on this journey? Here are three helpful questions that will help you take a big step forward:

Question #1: How do I want to make the world a better place? Why?

This question creates the necessary clarity and ensures your personal commitment so that you are not discouraged at the first headwind. The "world" in the question will usually not be the whole world, but the area you can directly influence, e.g. your customers, your team, your family and so on. The clearer your aspirations and your "why" are, the better you will not only be able to join forces, but also to get others on board.

Question No. 2: What is the most important instrument for this?r?

This second question is an excellent lever for making rapid progress and turning your critics into fans. For example, if you want to raise innovation to world-class levels in your team or company (see question 1), your most important tool for doing so is the mindset of your people and the resulting culture. For Elon Musk, with his goal of making humanity an interplanetary life form, the rockets of his SpaceX program are the most important tool.

Question #3: How can I create initial results?

If you take too long to create visible results, you will run out of steam and, most importantly, critics will mushroom. Creating a high momentum right from the start is one of the most important factors for your success. Tip: Think about how you can already implement something within the first few days or weeks in such a way that it is a confirmation of the path.

Conclusion:

Here are three questions whose answers will help you avoid listening too much to others when it is counterproductive to achieving your goals.

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

Following the end of federal support measures, the number of insolvencies in Switzerland rose to a record 6796 cases last year. The previous record was 6225 cases in 2018. This meant that Switzerland, along with the UK and Spain, was already well above pre-pandemic levels (+13 %). Fortunately, they have now recovered and should not exceed +4 % in 2023 - despite the continuing challenging economic and financial environment due to tighter bank credit conditions, increased energy prices and high wages.

Development in Switzerland and Europe not parallel

In Europe, the insolvency dynamic is more pronounced than the global average (+21 %), with an expected increase in bankruptcies of around 24 %. This is mainly due to strong increases in insolvencies in the Netherlands (+52 %), France (+41 %), Ireland (+30 %) and Italy (+25 %). Many European countries already significantly exceed pre-crisis levels in 2023, led by Spain (+75 % in 2023 vs. 2019) and the UK (+29 % vs. 2019). Most European countries will suffer larger corporate insolvencies this year than Switzerland with its +4 %. It should be noted here that last year, when Switzerland had to cope with a record +33 %, Europe only saw an increase of +7 % on average. In Switzerland, the "normalization" of corporate insolvencies after the pandemic has already taken place.

A look at insolvencies worldwide

After a slight increase in 2022 (+2 %), global insolvencies will rise by +21 % in the current year and by +4 % in 2024 (Europe -1 %, Switzerland -4 %). This global trend masks significant local differences. Allianz Trade forecasts that in half of the countries surveyed, insolvencies will exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2023, and in three out of five countries in 2024. In short, in most countries the number of insolvencies will exceed 2019 levels by the end of 2024. "In Europe, we expect the number of insolvencies to reach 59,000 (+41 %) in France, 28,500 (+16 %) in the UK, 17,800 (+22 %) in Germany and 8900 (+24 %) in Italy by 2023. In the US, we expect a rise of +49 % by 2023, driven by tighter credit conditions and the expected sharp economic slowdown, which would imply a return to more than 20,000 insolvencies per year. In Asia, China is likely to see a moderate increase (+4 %) as the reopening has not removed all risks, especially in the real estate sector," explains Maxime Lemerle, senior insolvency research analyst at Allianz Trade. These figures are not a reason to panic, according to Allianz Trade analysts, but they are a reason to be cautious and to manage debtors and liquidity even more carefully.

Source: Alliance Trade

A parliamentary initiative submitted in 2016 by former member of the Council of States Konrad Graber aimed to allow employees in the knowledge professions to arrange their working hours at their own discretion. The group of possible users was deliberately narrowed in that only superiors and highly qualified specialists from various sectors would have benefited from the flexibilization of working hours. In winter 2020, the Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation of the Council of States (WAK-S) decided to suspend the legislative process in order to examine the implementation of the Graber parliamentary initiative by ordinance in the meantime.

ICT and fiduciary industries benefit

After three years of examining the ordinance and various negotiations with the trade unions, a small breakthrough has now been achieved for the ICT sector and the fiduciary sector in order to better meet the working reality of the employees. For companies in the ICT sector, two points could be anchored in the Labor Law Ordinance (ArgV2) regarding the day/evening work period and the interruption of rest periods. A success was also achieved for the auditing/trust/tax consulting sector during negotiations with the trade unions and a special annual working model was anchored in the Labor Law Ordinance (ArgV2). Specifically, ICT companies are allowed to extend the period for daytime and evening work and shorten the daily rest period under certain conditions, and companies in the auditing, trust and tax consulting sectors are given the option of agreeing a special annual working hours model with certain categories of employees under certain conditions.

Other industries must continue to wait for working time flexibilization

However, despite these selective flexibilizations, there is still a drop of bitterness, as the alliance denkplatz schweiz writes. This is because not all of the industries affiliated with this alliance - let alone all industries as envisaged by the original parliamentary initiative - can benefit from these small advances. Moreover, the small advances are only accepted on the basis of proven economic necessity and not in the case of employees' wishes for self-determined work, the allianz denkplatz schweiz continues. It therefore remains a common goal of the alliance to adapt the labor law to the reality of the working world and to promote Switzerland's willingness to reform. In its new position paper, the Swiss Employers' Association (SAV) also sees the flexibilization of working hours as an important lever for the reconciliation of work and family/extra-occupational activities and as a lever against the shortage of skilled workers.

Source and further information: alliance think tank switzerland

"HR - Human Resources in Times of Crisis: Interim Managers report from the field": This is the title of a new book. In it, the authors Urs Affolter, Ulvi Aydin, Ulf Camehn, Udo Fichtner, Detlef Georg, Michael Gutowski, Hans Rolf Niehues, Dr. Frank Orthmann, Dr. Harald Schönfeld, Paul Stricker, Dr. Detlef Weber and Karlheinz Zuerl, with their joint initiative, want to give tips and tricks to the medium-sized economy in particular that have grown out of operational practice, on how to counteract the shortage of specialists and managers. "There are no other executives than interim managers, who get to know so many companies and so many different business challenges in the course of their professional lives," says publisher Dr. Harald Schönfeld, explaining why the authors are particularly suited to the topic.

Six authors are members of the UN Diplomatic Council think tank

The new reference book will be published in the series "Learning from Interim Managers", which the UN think tank Diplomatic Council is publishing together with United Interim, the leading community for interim managers in German-speaking countries. The series has already published multi-author volumes on specialist topics such as business transformation and industries such as automotive or mechanical and plant engineering. In addition to the extensive compendiums, which have featured numerous authors, the series has published individual books on the topics of "Resilient Digital Supply Chains," "Sales and Marketing Intelligence," "Technical Purchasing," "Management in China," and "Brand Risk Management." Six of the authors of the new work on human resources are members of the Diplomatic Council and have already made a name for themselves through several book publications: Udo Fichtner, Michael Gutowski, Hans Rolf Niehues, Dr. Detlef Weber and Karlheinz Zuerl.

Most successful book series for interim managers 

According to the publisher, the reference book series "Learning from Interim Managers" is the most successful book series for interim managers with over three million "eyeballs" - the currency for attention in the digital economy. This includes both those who read the books and those who via who read books, especially in the press and social media. After all, it's not just about the books that appear in hardcover, paperback and e-book form, but far beyond that a holistic ecosystem around the authors of these works. This includes professional marketing by the renowned PR agency euromarcom public relations. All the works in the reference book series are available from more than 5,600 booksellers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as all the usual online book mail order companies.

Book authors: Interim managers and their topics

Within the framework of the book series, the following interim managers have so far distinguished themselves with their topics: "Learning from Interim Managers" (Dr. Harald Schönfeld, Jürgen Becker), "Marketing and Sales Intelligence in Mechanical Engineering" (Eckhart Hilgenstock), "The Importance of Leadership and Management" (Peter Lüthi), "Intelligent Supply Chain Management" (Jane Enny van Lambalgen), "Improving Profitability and Liquidity" (Hans Rolf Niehues), "Technical Purchasing" (Manfred Richter), "Trend Surfing with KPIs" (Michael Weimar), "The Role of the CIO in Digitalization in Mechanical Engineering" (Falk Janotta), "Building Innovation Power in Mechanical Engineering" (Dr. Uwe Seidel), "Lean management in production" (Götz Stapelfeldt), "New opportunities for value creation" (Andreas Kälber), "From the crisis to the top" (Hanno Goffin), "Successful process design" (Dr. Gerhard Müller-Spanka), "Digitalization in the Automotive Aftermarket" (Ralf-Peter Hanrieder), "Automotive Trade in Transition" (Ulf Camehn), "One-way Cost Reduction" (Frank P. Neuhaus), "Operational Task Force Management" (Ludek Cermak), "Learning from Critical Projects as a Project Manager" (Christian Ritzer), "Sanare pro Automotive: Ways out of the Crisis" (Dr. Dr. Stefan Hohberger). With this concentrated expertise from practice, the books are considered standard works in their respective fields.

"HR - Human Resources in Times of Crisis: Interim Managers Report from the Field," Urs Affolter, Ulvi Aydin, Ulf Camehn, Udo Fichtner, Detlef Georg, Michael Gutowski, Hans Rolf Niehues, Dr. Frank Orthmann, Dr. Harald Schönfeld, Paul Stricker, Dr. Detlef Weber, Karlheinz Zuerl. ISBN 978-3-98674-054-2

More information: www.diplomatic-council.org/de, www.unitedinterim.com 

Biodiversity-friendly turbines, CO₂-free vegetable cultivation, deliveries by Cargobike, sale of bulk wine: companies use very different means to adapt to a serious crisis situation and strengthen their resilience. Against this background, last year the Department of Engineering and Architecture of the HES-SO called on its universities to support their partners from the social and economic environment facing difficult circumstances and launched a special call for projects for this purpose.

HES-SO supports SMEs

Fifteen projects were finally selected from the submissions received, with a total cost of CHF 750,000 and involving four of the six HES-SO schools of engineering and architecture. They come from private or also public partners from the region and deal, among other things, with the supply chain, the replacement and management of energy resources, cyber security or even renovations - and always against the backdrop of a severe crisis situation and with a view to resilience.

The projects last twelve months and started in March/April 2023. They are financed with a maximum of CHF 50,000, whereby this amount is used exclusively for the expenses of the professors involved. For its part, each external partner commits to make an additional financial contribution of 10 % as well as 10 % of own contributions.

The call for projects entitled "Adaptabilité et résilience des entreprises face à une crise majeure" (Adaptability and resilience in times of crisis) offers SMEs, large companies, public enterprises or even associations the opportunity to benefit from the competencies of the teaching staff of the HES-SO's engineering and architecture colleges. It follows the 2021 "Après COVID-19" call for proposals, which supported SMEs affected by the pandemic in their aF&E projects. Within this framework, 33 projects were carried out.

CHANGINS: Potential of the sale of bulk wine

The CHANGINS College of Viticulture and Oenology research project explores the potential of bulk wine sales as a new and sustainable alternative to reduce wineries' dependence on the glass market. Specifically, the project, conducted in partnership with Cave de la Côte, aims to determine consumer acceptance and expectations of non-bottled wine sales, investigate how and whether the system can be implemented among resellers, and develop recommendations for bulk wine sales.

HEIA-FR: More environmentally friendly turbines

The effects of climate change are clearly visible at the reservoirs. Groupe E, the energy company in western Switzerland, is committed to producing sustainable and local renewable energy with its plants. Observations show that lakes and watercourses are low in oxygen during dry summers, which are becoming more frequent. This phenomenon of stratification and undersupply of oxygen is clearly evident in Lake Schiffenen and requires the injection of air into the water of the Saane downstream, which affects hydropower production. In partnership with Groupe E, the Fribourg School of Engineering and Architecture (HEIA-FR) will document the condition of Lake Schiffenen over a summer (water temperature and dissolved oxygen) and model the flows to determine which layer of water is drawn in by the turbines' water intake and how much oxygen it contains. Finally, concrete measures to enrich the turbined water with oxygen will be tested on site.

HEPIA: Supporting the energy revolution in greenhouse management

Farmers who manage greenhouses have an interest in using renewable energy to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and their electricity bills. Geneva's School of Landscape, Engineering and Architecture (HEPIA), in partnership with Geneva's public utilities, is helping them in this endeavor. The Agronomy program is conducting a research project with four objectives: Adapt existing greenhouses to renewable energy, study the impact of new photovoltaic panels on the growth and yield of certain vegetables, assess the energy potential and economic benefits, and identify possible sources of funding.

HES-SO Valais-Wallis: Intelligent motorized Cargobike

Deliveries by motorized transport bicycle - whether front or back loader - are an ideal way to relieve urban traffic and reduce carbon monoxide emissions. However, slopes, bumps, dips and potholes can cause the load carrier's engine to behave erratically and the rider to lose balance. The HES-SO Valais-Wallis - School of Engineering (HEI) will study a control system for the Kargobike company that will prevent such disturbances of the load carrier from affecting the train bike during the ride.

List of supported projects

CHANGINS - College of Viticulture and Enology
ConsoVrac, Cave de la Côte, Tolochenaz

University of Applied Sciences Freiburg - HEIA-FR
AshSoap, Definitely different, Les Giettes
HydroO2power, Groupe E, Granges-Paccot

Geneva School of Landscape, Engineering and Architecture - HEPIA
ASACE, SI, Geneva
CRYPTML, Ketl, Geneva
M2CER2, Peacock solutions, Lausanne-EPFL
MAESTRO, Relec, Yverdon-les-Bains
Monistock, 2S Promo, Hergiswil
Unfired Clay Bricks, Tuileries Fribourg et Lausanne (TFL), Crissier

HES-SO Valais-Wallis - HEI
ACT, Neology, Lutry
EC3DP, Celectis Sàrl, Sion
Effic-IB, Lonza, Visp
Exer_Go, ExerGo, Yverdon-les-Bains
REACT, Kargobike, Sion
SiloCIMO, CIMO, Monthey

Source and further information

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