In spring 2023, Prof Dr Sybille Sachs will retire as Head of Research at the HWZ. In her many years of service, she has strongly promoted research at the HWZ, the University of Applied Sciences says. It is thanks to her commitment that the reputation of the HWZ as a research institution is of national and international importance today and that research has been further anchored in teaching, the statement continues. Sybille Sachs remains head of the Institute for Strategic Management HWZ.

Stefan Joller succeeds Sybille Sachs

Her successor as Head of Research is Dr. Stefan Joller. He studied sociology with a focus on organization and knowledge at the University of Lucerne and Konstanz. He was active in qualitative as well as quantitative methods training at the University of Lucerne and subsequently worked for several years as a lecturer and researcher at various universities in Germany. In the course of his teaching and research activities, he published several articles and books and was also a research and project coordinator within the framework of the state research initiative of Rhineland-Palatinate.

"We want to promote the unity of teaching and research even more strongly in the future by using synergies," says Matthias Rüegg, Rector of the HWZ, about the current personnel appointment. He adds that this will be favored by the merger of the Research Department with the University Development Department. For the Executive Board, the Research Council and the Board of Directors of the HWZ, the further development of research is a central element for this university with its in-service education offering.

Further strengthening of research by Claude Meier

Research and university development are strengthened by the affiliated and new Center for Research and Methods. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Claude Meier, students and lecturers are supported methodologically in their scientific work. In the area of research coordination, networks and partnerships are developed that enable research activities in specialized clusters. Prof. Claude Meier studied political science and business administration at the University of Zurich, where he earned his doctorate in these disciplines. He has been at the HWZ since 2008 and has headed the Scientific Methodology Unit since 2015. He is also a subject specialist for strategic management and deputy head of the Institute for Strategic Management. His areas of expertise are global governance, stakeholder management and corporate responsibility. In the various application-oriented research projects at the Institute, he works with different scientific methods (including case studies, process tracing, Delphi studies, surveys). He is the author of various publications as well as the reader Science Methodology for the HWZ.

Source: HWZ

It's sabotage of their own reputation on a grand scale: managers who obviously let themselves go too well. Gigantic salaries, a respectable fleet of cars and escapades at parties are made public. The whole thing becomes explosive due to high losses, employees are laid off and the company is faced with the question of how its own survival can still be secured. Disputes are prominently aired in the media, and the company's image suffers. All the more so when the investment bankers exaggerate their game in the financial center.

So far, so good. In the current world, where headlines sell well and many a scandal is chased through the village like swine, some things are quickly forgotten. Usually. Homemade mistakes, no matter how absurd, disappear again one day in the fog of everyday business. But when this very bank regularly makes a name for itself with such excesses, things get quite tricky. After all, each time an incident occurs, the company's management assures the public that nothing like this will happen again. That the company would do everything in its power to ensure that such things would not happen again in the future, and that personnel consequences would be drawn. The bank regularly wanted to swear itself to a new modesty.

I'll just say this one more time...

On the one hand, this form of communication creates an expectation. On the other hand, precisely this strategy definitely becomes a communicative super-GAU when, a few months later, there are again similar excesses to be recorded, articulated and put into perspective. Only action makes communication credible. Or the non-action makes it unbelievable. This is by no means only a matter of big banks and their trained communication departments. Even a parent who tells a child three times in a row: "You must not climb this ladder - I'll tell you just once more!" not only loses credibility, but the whole affair degenerates into farce.

The logical conclusion must therefore be: If I know how to act, I know how to communicate. But hand on heart: How often does it happen that you just jump into a discussion without clearly knowing what you want? In the end, once again nothing comes of it - in the best case. In the worst case, that's exactly why credibility has suffered. "Talking about something" carries the risk of coming across as untrustworthy, i.e., not very truthful, due to the lack of tangibility of the message.

He who has not defined his goal cannot communicate

In so many companies meetings are held, of which often a large part of the participants do not quite know why one is here now and above all: why I am here right now. If I don't know, the purpose is missing and the conversation is correspondingly tepid and unsatisfactory. In the end, the discussion between the meeting room and the break room leads to the realization that "once again, that was useless. It's not even about the well-known SMART formula of a cunning meeting leader, it's about my appearance, my behavior in the meeting. This has nothing to do with the late arrival of the meeting agenda, but with the fact that I did not define my goal at that very moment.

From such experiences, well-known behavioral theses can be formulated beautifully and courageously: One should be clear, goal-oriented and yet humanly close and tangible. The demands that are made are not only high, but often have an apparent contradiction in them. At the same time, one should have an overview of everything and yet always be in the here and now.

A look at the theater world can show how credibility in communication is related and can succeed. No, it is not about playing something for the other person, but about looking at elements from theater work, with which credible characters and communication are worked on there.

Actions and content must match 

Credibility is not only created in the theater world by ensuring that any downstream actions match what is communicated beforehand. It is like the conclusion of a message when the action takes over what is said. Only then does a coherent, credible overall picture emerge. In addition, there is a key rule from stage work: no action without a goal.

Every little action, even the tiniest one, is concrete and has a goal. There is no actor who is looking for or doing anything on stage. He looks for a lost key, he admires the lamp, counts the flowers - everything has a goal, a purpose. The rest is dismissed by the director with the label "without motivation" and will never have an effect - and therefore will not get a space or a time slot on stage.

The action must have a clear goal. It must have a clear object. An action is meaningless if it is not completed or if it is performed without an objective. And it is precisely for this goal that an actor must be able to feel enthusiastic. Only actions performed with inner commitment to the goal achieve the effect one intends.

Goal, effect, motivation - then action 

The actor admires the rose lying on the floor. He picks it up because he either wants to remove it, in which case he is motivated by a sense of order. Or he has the urge to cover all traces of his ex-wife. Or he puts them in a vase because he has inner fire for beautifully designed spaces. That is the goal, the effect, the motivation that leads to the action and that makes this action credible.

If, for example, as a team leader you walk through the production rooms in the morning and shout "Good morning!" to the workforce, there are those who do this because they have read in a motivational book that you do this. But it doesn't work - at best, because at worst, such things can come across as cynical. However, those who are aware of what they are doing here, because they know what their goal is, walk through the halls differently, encounter their fellow human beings differently, as long as they stay in touch with this goal during this time.

Conclusion: Every action - no matter how small - has a goal in everyday life.

Author:
Stefan Häseli is an expert in credible communication, keynote speaker, moderator and author of several books. As a trained actor with years of stage experience, he writes entire evening programs himself. In addition, he has engagements in feature films, TV series, TV commercials and training films. He runs a training company in Switzerland. Häseli is a multiple international award-winning speaker and trainer. Communication in its different worlds and the details in language fascinate him and shaped his professional career. His professional articles and columns are characterized by subtle humor. 

The company Felfel, itself a startup until a few years ago, continues to focus on growth and acquires Snäx. Since its founding three years ago, the young company Snäx has successfully established itself in the market for employee catering and built up a large customer base in German-speaking Switzerland. The startup was founded in 2019 by Sparrow Ventures. Like Felfel, Snäx relies on refrigerators that can be placed in companies and are regularly filled. Order processing for meals is done through an app. Lida Ahmadi, CEO and co-founder of Snäx, is delighted and says: "We are very pleased that the exit of Snäx could be completed successfully. We are convinced that we have found the ideal buyer in Felfel, because we not only share the same vision, but also have confidence in Felfel's team that they will best represent the interests of our employees and customers."

Founded in 2014, Felfel now serves 800 customers across Switzerland and employs 120 people - a large proportion of whom work in culinary development, technology and data analysis. In addition to its focus on fresh meals at the workplace, the company also runs Gavetti also its own brand of coffee tailored to offices. "In order to be able to meet the high quality requirements despite the complex market conditions, reaching a critical size is essential," explains Anna Grassler, co-CEO of Felfel. "We have been following Snäx's developments since its inception and are convinced that the young company is not only an ideal fit for us, but will also integrate seamlessly with us. We look forward to this challenge and to welcoming new customers and team members to our family."

Source: Felfel AG

Rising energy prices, supply chain issues, supply shortages and growing inflation are shining a new spotlight on sustainable and environmentally conscious behavior. The most environmentally friendly and at the same time most cost-effective resource is the one that is not used or consumed in the first place. In a thoroughly digitalized society, this also and especially applies to the handling of data. Aparavi, a solution provider for data intelligence and automation, explains how responsible data hygiene reduces costs, minimizes risks and at the same time contributes to sustainability. It's a matter of shedding data baggage.

1. Reduction of the data stockCompanies hoard terabytes of data on internal and external storage systems. Much of it is redundant. By analyzing and cleansing dark data, i.e. primarily unstructured ROT data (redundant, obsolete, trivial), storage requirements and resource consumption can be massively reduced.
2. Elimination of risk factorsUnstructured data is a ticking time bomb of unknown risks. For example, passwords, access data or sensitive, business-critical information can be hidden in this data swamp. This potential danger is eliminated if the data is identified as superfluous or critical and then either backed up or deleted.
3. Reduction of storage costs: Deleted data no longer needs storage. Data cleansing reduces storage space requirements and thus both hardware and software costs as well as space requirements, for example for backup and archiving. Companies thus save costs in the six-figure range. The costly oversizing of resources (provisioning) thus becomes superfluous.
4. Fulfillment of compliance and security requirementsEliminating risk factors also makes it easier to comply with security requirements and data protection laws, such as the DSGVO or the IT Security Act. In addition, the higher data transparency facilitates security handling.
5. Reduction of the carbon footprint: The more dark data that can be deleted after inventory, analysis, and cleanup, the fewer resources need to be allocated to data storage. This allows companies to reduce environmental impact and document a concrete verifiable measure in ESG reporting.
6. Minimization of the administration effortData cleansing can be carried out by trained employees in the specialist departments. This relieves the IT department. Once the data has been consolidated and reduced, another part of the costs for internal administration is eliminated. IT experts freed up as a result can thus be deployed for other, value-adding activities.

"Companies need to rid themselves of their data waste, because unstructured data is expensive and dangerous," explains Gregor Bieler, CEO EMEA at Aparavi. "By doing so, they also simultaneously reduce their CO₂-footprint - and create the basis for good karma." The company was founded by Adrian Knapp in 2016 in Zug, where its headquarters are also located. Other locations are Munich and Santa Monica, USA.

Source and further information: Aparavi

Until now, universities of applied sciences (UAS) have not had the right to award doctorates. Since 2017, the first cooperation models have been financially supported by the ERI Dispatch: Twelve cooperation projects for doctoral programs of UAS/PH in collaboration with Swiss universities and six cooperation projects for doctoral programs of UAS/PH in collaboration with foreign universities have been approved. More have been added in the meantime. The first persons have completed the doctorate in the cooperation model today. The umbrella association of UAS graduates FH Switzerland has conducted a survey to evaluate how the situation is currently perceived by the various stakeholders.

Young professionals want independent 3rd cycle at universities of applied sciences

According to the survey of UAS Switzerland, 88% of the interested parties would like UAS to be allowed to award the 3rd cycle (doctorate, PhD, etc.) themselves. The most frequently chosen argument is "so that the higher education landscape is really equivalent but different". Among students and graduates, 57% find a doctorate at universities of applied sciences useful. The most frequent reason given is "to complement the 3rd cycle with an application-oriented/practice-related program". In the case of supervisors, 60% of the participants in the survey are in favor of the requirement, and in the case of universities of applied sciences, the figure is 64%.

The reasons given for a doctorate at a UAS coincide with the argumentation of the umbrella organization of UAS graduates: The different profile of the UAS requires that this be transferred to the third Bologna level as well. According to the Higher Education Promotion and Coordination Act, the Swiss higher education area consists of "equivalent but different types of higher education institutions" with a research mission. An independent doctorate at the UAS can be derived from this law. The 3rd cycle can be supplemented by the participation of the UAS with an application-oriented/practice-related program. This would strengthen the UAS profile, ensure the transfer of research into practice, and promote young talent at the UAS. UASs would have the opportunity to train their own faculty more easily themselves. "New, different, practical, but still scientifically based: Therein lies the great opportunity of a 3rd cycle at the UAS," Andri Silberschmidt, National Councilor and President of UAS Switzerland, summarizes the arguments.

Further results of the survey

Among those interested, "I would like to complete my studies with a doctorate" is the most frequently cited reason for a doctorate at universities of applied sciences. Among students/graduates, planning a career at a UAS (lecturer, etc.) plays an important role.

For those already looking for a doctorate (50%), the search took an average of two years. For those who were able to start a doctorate (students/graduates), the search took less than a year. Those interested received an average of three rejections. 

According to 50% of the students/graduates surveyed, the cooperation between the university of applied sciences and the university colleges is working. 34% do not give a clear answer. 16% are dissatisfied with the cooperation. Reasons given include that the cooperation is not institutionalized in any way and that permeability is insufficient. The universities of applied sciences find that the cooperation works (73%). Among the supervisors, 65% state that the collaborations work.

Conclusion: Doctorate at universities of applied sciences should be possible

The existing opportunities for UAS graduates to do a doctorate should be further expanded. The cooperation model between universities of applied sciences and universities, with which good experience has been gained, serves as a basis. It should be initiated at further universities of applied sciences and departments so that interested UAS graduates are given access to the 3rd cycle.

Source: FH Switzerland

Whether for remote buildings that do not benefit from the usual network expansion due to their location or for temporarily used business locations that do not have an Internet connection: For this situation, Swisscom offers 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access), a connection to the super-fast ultra-broadband network via mobile communications, replacing the Internet via the fixed network connection. Friederike Hoffmann, Head of Connected Business Solutions at Swisscom, says of the Internet via 5G: "5G FWA offers our business customers great potential. This means they benefit from the fastest Internet at their locations and are ready to take full advantage of all services."

Internet via 5G with additional benefits

Thanks to Swisscom's "Enterprise Connect" network solution, customers without a fiber or copper connection can easily integrate one or more business sites into their site networking via 5G FWA. This makes this telecoms service provider the only provider in Switzerland to offer customers cloud-based networking of business sites with a fixed wireless access solution via 5G, according to the company. Swisscom is using FWA to complement its fixed network infrastructure, increasing the availability of ultra-broadband. But 5G FWA can do even more: the solution can also be used as a 5G mobile backup (failover). In this case, the Internet connection is ensured via a fiber-optic or copper connection. 5G FWA intervenes as a failover - the connection is additionally secured via the mobile network.

Easy to use

The prerequisite for using 5G FWA is mobile coverage with 5G or 4G. Swisscom's 5G network, which has won several awards as the best in Switzerland, is available to the population for 99%. The faster version 5G+ is currently available for over 70%. Setup requires a small receiver, Nokia's 5G Mobile Toolkit; this is mounted on the outside of the building. The toolkit connects to the cellular antenna to establish a wireless data connection to the Swisscom network. Business customers can use 5G FWA with Enterprise Connect as 5G Mobile Access or as an option 5G Mobile Backup.

Source and further information: Swisscom

International SOS, a leading provider of safety and health services, has just released its annual interactive Risk Map 2023. This helps companies and their mobile workers gain a better overview of the level of risk in each country around the world. With the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the security conflict in Ukraine, the risk map provides valuable information that enables organizations to identify and understand the specific impact of these risks on their employees. As global risks continue to evolve around the world, the use of data-driven tools such as the risk map can help organizations and companies meet their duty of care in these often uncertain times.

Mental illness as a risk

In addition to the medical and safety risk levels, the map now offers a further category representing mental illnesses worldwide. This is based on external data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Global Burden of Disease. The new risk layer shows the estimated percentage of a given country's population suffering from mental illness. This allows organizations, particularly large multinationals, to understand which locations may be vulnerable to the onset of mental illness. The data shows the extent of the epidemic increase in mental illness that employees are facing and employers are having to absorb. It is estimated that approximately 14 percent (1 in 7) of people worldwide currently suffer from one or more mental health or substance use disorders.

Dr. Stefan Esser, Medical Director Central Europe at International SOS comments, "Due to the growing increase in travel and health risks in many regions, it is important that companies also focus on mitigating the ongoing impact of mental health issues. Although other acute medical issues regularly arise that can also have a significant impact, mental health issues remain in the background and should not be overlooked." The details provided by the risk map could now help decision-makers better protect employees: "Responsible parties can see at a glance at which locations access to medical care is more difficult or which locations are particularly vulnerable to the occurrence of mental health problems," says Stefan Esser.

World risk map shows changing security situations

In various countries, the risk level has changed compared to the previous year. For example, the Caribbean islands have improved significantly in terms of medical risk, mainly due to the relaxation of COVID-related travel restrictions. In contrast, the medical risk for Mali was raised to "Very High" due to the complex security environment in Mali. This has led to a challenging humanitarian situation and is weakening health systems in the face of increasing demand. The risk map also provides a better understanding of the overall security situation in the countries through which employees may be traveling or working. This in turn helps companies develop tailored solutions to mitigate the specific risks their employees may face.

In various regions of the world, the security situation has changed compared with previous years. In Africa, for example, there has been an increase in risk ratings, particularly in the Sahel, where areas of extreme security risk have expanded due to increased militancy. This trend is also evident in Mozambique and other parts of Africa. Or in Latin America, where a rise in crime, due in part to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to an increase in high-risk areas in Colombia.

Security: Ukraine crisis changes the security situation in Europe

The biggest security crisis of the past year was undoubtedly the conflict in Ukraine. This is reflected in the security layer of the map, as parts of Ukraine are now marked with an "extreme" security risk. Gautier Porot, Head of Crisis management Practice EMEA at International SOS comments, "The security crisis in Ukraine has affected the country and neighboring regions in many ways. International SOS has worked with a wide range of organizations and companies during this difficult time, providing support on all security, health and travel matters. Our support has been provided in two ways: on the one hand, at a strategic level, with the aim of directly advising the crisis cells of the companies so that they understand the current situation, the possible evolution of the situation and the immediate measures to be taken in order to preserve their freedom of action. Secondly, at the operational and tactical level, by means of evacuations for large multinational companies around the world, including Swiss companies. In this regard, where necessary, we have assisted some of their employees, i.e. international employees and Ukrainians without military obligations, to leave Ukraine." In addition, International SOS has assisted companies that have remained in Ukraine with on-the-ground assistance as well as timely information, about the risks that may affect them. This is proving particularly important for non-governmental organizations, for the media and for service companies, where many Ukrainian employees want to return home to visit relatives. "We are monitoring the current situation in detail and continue to keep our clients informed of the state of the conflict, taking care to provide them with an objective assessment of the facts, including their short, medium and long-term implications. It is critical to consider this conflict extremely carefully, as insidious and (slow) emerging crises could have systemic implications for the entire region and beyond (e.g., energy crisis, food crisis). To prepare for future crises, it is essential to go through future scenarios and possible solutions to problems. This makes it possible to limit the impact of the crisis - in terms of the company's resilience. Detecting weak signals is one of the most important success factors here," adds Porot.

Despite the far-reaching impact of the Ukraine conflict and an observed rise in social unrest associated with increased costs of living, the fundamental security risk environment in Europe has not changed.

Overall, employees are increasingly mindful of risks, and are more concerned about travel than they were before the pandemic. Therefore, companies should consider changes in risk assessment and trends in their planning. They should ensure that employees have access to reliable information about the risks they may face, support them with effective risk mitigation measures, and create clear communication plans for employees before and during higher-risk travel.

Source: International SOS. Go to the interactive map here.

The new CEO of Huawei Technologies Switzerland is Michael Yang. For this new role, he is moving from Germany to Switzerland: Michael Yang was previously Chief Representative of Huawei's capital office in Berlin and was responsible for government relations, communications, and activities such as the Huawei Cyber Security Innovation Lab in Bonn and the Huawei Digital Competence Center in Saarbrücken.

According to the provider of information technology and telecommunications solutions, Michael Yang has already gained experience in the management of Huawei national companies in the Netherlands and in West Africa. In his more than 14-year career at Huawei, he has already held many other management positions; among other things, he looked after the major customer Deutsche Telekom for more than 4 years as General Manager. After graduating from Beijing Foreign Studies University, he started as an account service manager at Motorola.

Michael Yang is eager to take on his new role, adding: "Huawei has been firmly anchored in Switzerland for almost 15 years and maintains excellent relationships with renowned customers and loyal partners in our various business sectors. I am very confident that we can contribute even more to Switzerland's digitalization, innovation, and sustainability with our existing solutions and many new smart technologies. This makes Huawei not only an investor, but also a partner that enables innovation, protects the environment and saves energy, and contributes to many households, businesses, institutions, and organizations in a wide range of sectors in Switzerland," the designated CEO is quoted as saying.

Huawei has had its Swiss headquarters in Liebefeld (Bern) since 2008 and has maintained additional offices in Dübendorf, Oerlikon (Zurich), and Lausanne since 2012. Currently, Huawei Switzerland has over 400 employees from more than 30 different nations. Huawei works with all major Swiss telecommunications providers and is also active in the enterprise and consumer sectors.

Source: Huawei

Small and micro retailers across Europe are responding to the difficult business environment with energy-saving measures, reductions in margins, price increases and cuts in their own wages. Even though many fear a drop in sales for the Christmas season, 83% in Switzerland rule out temporary or permanent store closures. This is because for more than a third of the SumUp retailers surveyed, rising energy prices and material costs are having the greatest negative impact on business performance. In Switzerland, energy costs (39 percent) are causing retailers slightly more headaches than rising material costs (30 percent). Added to this is the change in customer shopping behavior: 36% of retailers feel that customers in Switzerland are shopping less often and spending less in the process. These developments are also observed in the UK, France, Italy and Germany.

Swiss traders most positive

Christmas is the peak sales period for many companies. In Switzerland, retailers are rather confident about the seasonal business: one in six retailers (12%) expect more sales than in 2021. Among our neighbors and in the UK, these figures are significantly lower at 5 to 9 percent. In addition, around half of the small and micro retailers in these countries expect sales to decline. A third of the Swiss SumUp retailers do not feel any increase in stress levels - the situation in Italy, on the other hand, is quite different: there, 80% of the survey participants perceived the current situation as stressful. To reduce stress, European retailers rely heavily on yoga or meditation (approx. 20%) and spend more time with family and friends (approx. 20%). Professional support in the form of psychological help is sought most frequently by the British (9.5%) and least frequently by the Germans (2.8%). Switzerland is in line with the European average with 7%.

How retailers in Switzerland and Europe are dealing with the challenges

In Switzerland, 47 percent of respondents want to continue reducing energy consumption. The situation is similar in Germany (47%) and also in Italy (39%), while in the UK (31%) and France (29%) energy saving is less of a focus. Across Europe, Swiss companies are most likely to cut costs in their own wages as well: 28% cite this as a savings option. This willingness is also strong in France (24%) and the UK (26%), but somewhat lower in Germany (18%) and Italy (15%). In addition, just under a third of all retailers across Europe feel compelled to reduce their margins - in Switzerland, the figure is clearly lower at 21%. However, small and micro retailers in Europe will also have to pass on prices to their customers: on average, two-fifths of those surveyed plan to increase prices, and in Germany even more than half (52%).

Source: Sumup

If Switzerland and Liechtenstein want to achieve their net-zero climate targets, additional alternative energy sources are needed. Also in view of a possible energy crisis, the importance of domestic and renewable energy sources is increasing. Wind energy is still little used in Switzerland. The Swiss Climate Foundation is therefore giving wind power technologies a boost and supporting two local SMEs in the realization of innovative wind energy projects.

Wind energy from your own roof and in the high alpine region

In this sense, the foundation promotes the Locksmith Nägelin from Kaiseraugst in the development of vertical turbines for local electricity production. The 1×1 meter turbine is intended to supply renewable electricity virtually silently on private house roofs or along highways, for example, even at low wind speeds. Urs Giger, an engineer and mechanical engineer from Uri, is also receiving new funding from the foundation. His company is developing what is currently probably a unique concept for wind turbines in the high alpine region. The technically sophisticated "wind bridge", which is tailored to the Alpine region, connects five wind turbines in a joint construction and is expected to harvest up to five times more wind than conventional individual turbines.

"Wind power plays an essential role in the energy transition," says Daniel Wild, member of the Board of Trustees of the Swiss Climate Foundation and Chief Sustainability Officer at Bank J. Safra Sarasin. Wind power technologies are particularly important in winter: "Wind power can bridge potential electricity gaps in winter when photovoltaics and hydropower supply less energy. New technologies and bold ideas in the field of wind power are therefore urgently needed. With our funding, we are helping to strengthen such technologies."

1.1 million for ten innovative SMEs

The Swiss Climate Foundation has awarded a total of 1.1 million Swiss francs in its current funding round. Ten climate innovations are now receiving funding from the foundation. These include the online platform useagain.chwhich focuses on the circular economy in the construction industry. The platform acts as a marketplace and process support for the reuse of building components and thus aims to reduce the waste of resources in the construction and real estate industry.

The commitment of the Swiss Climate Foundation is made possible not least thanks to partnerships with large companies: A total of 30 service providers from Switzerland and Liechtenstein have supported the initiative to date and donate the funds from the redistribution of their CO₂-Levy. In October, the Basler Kantonalbank (BKB) and the Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (BLKB) joined the foundation as partner companies. And even earlier, the foundation was able to an increase in partners record. Ennio Perna, Head of Sustainability at BKB, was newly elected to the Foundation Board.

More information: Climate Foundation Switzerland

Recruiting new staff for companies is increasingly becoming a major challenge. There is a shortage of skilled workers across all industries. In particular, positions for healthcare specialists, IT specialists and engineering specialists are currently very difficult to fill. This is shown by the Shortage of Skilled Workers Index of the Adecco Group Switzerland and the Job Market Monitor Switzerland of the University of Zurich.

Corona pandemic: a curse and a blessing for the Swiss labor market

The Corona pandemic has had a noticeable impact on the Swiss labor market over the past two years. The outbreak of the pandemic and the accompanying measures severely slowed down large parts of the economy in 2020 and 2021. Despite the introduction of broad-based economic support measures, as well as the expansion and simplification of short-time work compensation, the effects on the labor market were clearly felt. Unemployment figures shot up. At the same time, companies were looking for noticeably fewer staff, as can be seen from the decline in the Job Index. These two opposing effects resulted in the demand for skilled workers reaching a low in 2021.

It was not until access to vaccination and the gradual abolition of the measures that the need for consumption increased by leaps and bounds, both nationally and internationally. The strong economic upswing drove the number of job postings to new record levels at a rapid pace. Companies in all sectors needed significantly more staff in one fell swoop to meet the increased demand. The increased demand for personnel, in turn, caused unemployment figures to fall dramatically. While SECO still counted 120,294 unemployed in September 2021, this figure fell to 89,526 in September 2022. Even groups of the unemployed that usually have a longer placement period, such as 50-64 year-olds (-25.6%) and the long-term unemployed (-47%), benefited from the companies' thirst for personnel.

Record values wherever you look

Despite these findings, the sharp increase in the shortage of skilled workers is causing consternation among labor market experts: The Skilled Worker Shortage Index reaches a record 155 points this year; a value that has never been recorded before. Compared to 2021, the current index is a full 68% higher. Moreover, it exceeds the value of the pre-crisis year 2019 by 21%.

A look at the language regions shows that both German-speaking and Latin-speaking Switzerland achieved record levels, with the demand for skilled workers in German-speaking Switzerland (+77%) increasing significantly more than in Latin-speaking Switzerland (+48%). The difference in growth between the language regions is mainly due to the fact that German-speaking Switzerland suffered a significantly greater slump in demand for skilled workers at the beginning of the pandemic than Latin Switzerland. Thus, the labor market in German-speaking Switzerland had a significantly greater catch-up potential, which is now reflected in a stronger upswing.

"The Corona pandemic was a roller coaster ride for the Swiss labor market. While the demand for skilled labor initially reached an all-time low last year, it skyrocketed all the more rapidly to unprecedented levels this year. The retirement of the baby boomers and the discussion about re- and near-shoring of production activities due to global uncertainties are likely to cause the demand for qualified specialists to rise further. That's why companies are increasingly choosing their employees not the other way around," says Marcel Keller, Country Head Adecco Switzerland.

Greatest shortage of personnel among specialists in health care professions

Specialists in health care professions (e.g., medical specialists, specialized nursing staff and pharmacists) occupy first place in the shortage of skilled workers ranking. There was already a significant shortage of specialists in this occupational group before the pandemic. The shortage has also worsened since then. Corinne Scheiber, Head of Adecco Medical, states: "One reason for the worsening shortage of healthcare professionals is that Switzerland does not train enough specialized healthcare personnel to meet the actual demand for these professionals. In order to close this gap, a considerable part of the health personnel is recruited abroad. For example, according to the Swiss Health Observatory, the proportion of graduate nursing staff with a foreign diploma in Swiss hospitals and nursing homes was as high as 30 percent in 2019. The FMH physician statistics come to a similar conclusion with regard to physicians. Many healthcare professionals come from neighboring countries. In these countries, however, there is also an increasing shortage of healthcare specialists. The competition for these specialists has therefore intensified. Furthermore, Yanik Kipfer from Stellenmarkt-Monitor Schweiz states: "The increasing shortage of specialists is putting additional pressure on existing healthcare staff, as the workload is increasing due to the lack of personnel". Corinne Scheiber adds, "There is a noticeable frustration about the challenging working conditions and the slow implementation of the nursing initiative. As a result, many professionals are opting for temporary positions, which promise better pay and greater flexibility than permanent employment."

Second place goes to developers and analysts of software and IT applications (e.g., computer engineers, software developers, and systems analysts). Similar to specialists in the health care professions, this occupational group has been experiencing a significant shortage of skilled workers for several years, and this year the shortage has again intensified and reached an all-time high. James Peck, Vice President of LHH Recruitment Solutions Switzerland states, "Especially software developers:inside with experience in object-oriented programming languages such as, Java or C# and front-end software developers:inside with knowledge of Angular or React frameworks are currently desperately sought." It is somewhat surprising that the occupational group of information and communication technicians (e.g. web content managers, telematics specialists or e-commerce specialists) have lost eleven places this year. This is after the demand for skilled workers in this occupational group had risen sharply in 2021. Yanik Kipfer from the Job Market Monitor explains "Information and communication technicians:inside seem to have benefited from the corona-induced increased demand for e-commerce solutions. However, the e-commerce boom now seems to be returning to normal, as noted by the Swiss Retail Federation. This is also causing the demand for these professionals to stagnate."

Ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the industry

In addition to construction foremen, foremen and production managers, who occupy fourth place, industrial occupations are also clearly affected by a shortage of skilled workers. For example, engineering technicians and similar specialists (e.g. mechanical engineers, electrical engineers or process controllers in metal production) occupy third place, while polymechanics, production mechanics, machine mechanics and fitters occupy fifth place. The shortage of skilled workers in these occupational groups has increased considerably year-on-year. Yanik Kipfer of Job Market Monitor Switzerland notes, "The strong demand for skilled workers in industrial occupations shows that Switzerland continues to have a strong industrial base." James Peck, Vice President of LHH Recruitment Solutions Switzerland, further explains, "In order to withstand international competition for industrial products, Swiss industry has specialized in complex and technically demanding niche products, such as the production of precision tools, medtech or the development and construction of subsystems for aerospace. This results in various niche markets for industrial professions in which candidates with very specific skills are sought. These skills are difficult to transfer to other niches, making it difficult to find suitable skilled workers." Furthermore, Tom Vanoirbeek, VP of Adecco Workforce Solutions Western & Southern Switzerland, adds: "Especially in technical professions such as those in the watch industry, we are facing a significant skills shortage, which affects not only the highly skilled, but also the low-skilled professionals. Adecco Switzerland has therefore created the Watch Academy in Geneva to invest in new talent. The Watch Academy's mission is to train technically gifted individuals to become watchmakers, thus enabling them to enter this unique industry."

Occupational groups with an oversupply of skilled workers

There is not a shortage of skilled workers everywhere. At the bottom of the ranking are occupational groups in which there is an oversupply of skilled workers. In these occupations, more people are looking for a job than there are vacancies. In last place are unskilled workers, skilled workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing (e.g., assistant cooks, gardeners and parcel delivery workers), followed by managers, general office and secretarial workers and other office workers (e.g., data entry clerks, library assistants and proofreaders). For many occupational groups in the lower segment of the ranking, the demand for skilled workers dropped drastically with the outbreak of the pandemic. Nevertheless, it can now be observed that the shortage of skilled workers is also noticeably worsening for the occupational groups with a surplus of skilled workers. In other words, the situation for employees in these occupational groups is improving significantly compared with the previous year, as fewer job seekers are competing for the vacancies. At the same time, however, this means that it is becoming more difficult for companies to find suitable skilled workers, even in the occupational groups at the bottom of the ranking.

Source: Adecco Group

Karin Zahnd Cadoux, who was elected to the Board of Directors of Bank WIR in 2014 and as its Chairwoman in 2019, has decided not to stand again in the overall renewal elections of the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on June 5, 2023. The 49-year-old cites personal reasons for this decision: "I am a workaholic, but two deaths and a serious illness in my immediate environment have caused me to rethink my priorities." As head of the company, Zahnd Cadoux therefore not only wants to focus more on her own business again, but also to have more time for her family.

In order to strike a balance between continuity and a breath of fresh air, the Board of Directors of Bank WIR supports the presidential candidacy of Marc Reimann (41). The CEO of Zirkumflex AG, headquartered in Cham, has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2013 - and its Vice Chairman since 2021.

"During my term of office, I was able to contribute to setting an important course for a continued successful future at Bank WIR," concludes Zahnd Cadoux. She describes her designated successor as a "young, digital-savvy man with foresight, who has all the qualities required for this office.

Source: Bank WE