On the first "Sustainable Procurement Day" on June 20, 2024 in Zurich, companies such as Swiss Post, LyrecoBLS, Appenzeller Bier and Thermoplan will provide insights into their procurement strategies and activities. The event, which was launched by the Pusch Foundation, öbu - The Association for Sustainable Business and procure.ch, is aimed at companies from all sectors that want to integrate sustainable products and services into their supply chains and make them more transparent. Over 130 participants are expected to attend to learn about examples, trends and experiences in sustainable procurement and to exchange ideas.

Relevance for Swiss companies

As larger companies at home and abroad are paying increasing attention to the sustainability of their supply chains, it is crucial for Swiss SMEs (who supply these companies directly or indirectly) to adapt to these requirements. Participation in the conference offers the opportunity to obtain comprehensive information at an early stage about the necessary steps and to network in order to remain successful in the global market dynamics.

Exciting inputs, different perspectives

The conference program includes five keynote speeches and seven focus topics, which will provide participants with practical insights and in-depth discussions with experts and practitioners in the form of small groups.

Experts from the fields of environmental protection, law, procurement, digitalization and business will be appearing on the big stage: Elgin Brunner (Member of the Executive Board) WWF Switzerland, Niclas Meyer (Senior Consultant) BSS Volkswirtschaftliche Beratung AG, Marion Roeder and Gina Obrecht (Business Development, Data Driven Sustainability) Swisscom, Mirko Kleiner (Pioneer of Lean-Agile Procurement) Lean-Agile Procurement Alliance and Björn Jung and Matteo Trachsel (Sustainability) Thermoplan AG.

Sustainable procurement in 7 focus areas 

In the thematic focus groups, the participants first receive specialist or practical input and then discuss possible solutions in small groups.

• The tension between strategy and feasibility with the BLS
• Through collaboration on the circular economy with the world's first Cradle to Cradle Gold certified printing company VÖGELI
• Net zero with sustainable procurement: reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain with Swiss Post and Lyreco Switzerland
• Circular economy and resource efficiency in procurement with the Locher brewery (Appenzeller Bier)
• Social procurement risks: Corporate due diligence, protection of human and children's rights along the supply chain with Solidar Suisse and Save the Children
• Compliance, regulation, due diligence with MME Legal
• Sustainable procurement and digitalization with SAP

Tickets can be ordered here

Sources and further information: Foundation for Practical Environmental Protection Switzerland - Pusch (https://www.pusch.ch/) , öbu - The Association for Sustainable Business (https://www.oebu.ch/) and procure.ch - Professional Association for Purchasing and Supply Management (https://www.procure.ch/) .

For the fourth time, the "Myni Gmeind" association, in collaboration with the Swiss Association of Municipalities and the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, surveyed Swiss municipalities on the progress of their digital transformation. Of the total of 2131 Swiss municipalities, 560 municipalities (26 percent) completed the questionnaire in full and a further 1121 municipalities (53 percent) completed it in part. This pleasing response rate provides a solid pool of data that allows for meaningful findings.

Digitization in municipalities as a top topic

Digitalization and cybersecurity are the topics that municipalities are currently most concerned with, alongside others such as infrastructure projects and finances. According to the survey, four out of five municipalities see the digital transformation as a means of increasing their efficiency, and just as many also see it as a service for the population. "The digital transformation has finally arrived in municipal councils and administrations," says Alex Sollberger, President of Myni Gmeind. 41% of all municipalities now see themselves as pioneers in the field of digitalization. This is significantly more than in the previous year, when only a third of municipalities answered this question in the affirmative.

The results also show that it is not necessarily digital skills or know-how that are decisive for the success of digitalization, but rather openness to the topic. The municipalities also identified a clear political will for digital transformation as the most important success factor. 61% of those surveyed stated that they felt this will in their municipality to a greater or lesser extent.

Problem: Human and financial resources

Just as important as the will and openness towards digitalization is the availability of human and financial resources, as the majority of respondents state. However, there is a gap between desire and reality: only 42% of municipalities state that the financial requirements for digital transformation are given or rather given. When asked about the availability of human resources, only a third of the participating municipalities gave a positive assessment. A clear majority of respondents rate their human resources for digital transformation as insufficient or somewhat insufficient. The municipalities see the solution as either increasing personnel resources by creating additional full-time equivalents or temporarily outsourcing tasks to external service providers. "Both options would generate additional human resources for the digital transformation, but would also increase the challenges in terms of financial resources," says Alex Sollberger.

One thing is clear: no one can avoid digital transformation today. The public's expectations of modern administration have grown. Especially in Switzerland, a high-wage country, it makes sense to automate processes as much as possible. Digitalization can also help to alleviate the shortage of skilled workers in the long term. In the meantime, almost half of all municipalities (47%) have already defined a position or person to coordinate the digital transformation across all departments.

Source and further information: Swiss Association of Municipalities, Myni Gmeind Association

The telecommunications service provider mobilezone has received two sustainability awards from EcoVadis. These show that the company's sustainability initiative is bearing fruit, according to the statement. Markus Bernhard, CEO of the mobilezone Group, says: "We are delighted with the awards, which recognize mobilezone's initiative in the area of sustainability and show that we are on the right track with our strategy."

According to mobilezone, sustainability is one of the five cornerstones of its corporate strategy. The company's sustainability strategy was introduced in 2020 and has been continuously developed since then. It is based on the topics of governance & compliance, employees, customers, the smartphone cycle and environmental management. The importance of the second life and refurbishing of smartphones has continued to increase - mobilezone is therefore placing a strong focus on this sustainability issue, the company adds. In the past reporting year, the mobilezone Group calculated the Group-wide CO2 footprint for the first time, including consumption in the upstream and downstream supply chain, in order to be able to define reduction targets for the entire company in the future. In the area of social sustainability, mobilezone will continue to be committed to the training of apprentices and the promotion of their talents and will strive to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. And in the area of governance and compliance, mobilezone is focusing on responsible corporate management, the continuous development of transparency in sustainability reporting and compliance with legal and ethical standards.

EcoVadis evaluates and certifies companies worldwide in the areas of ecology, social issues and sustainability on the basis of internationally established standards and guidelines.

Source and further information: mobilezone

The growth of findependent (known from the TV show "The Lion's Den Switzerland) has accelerated in the last six months, not only increasing the number of clients to over 12,000, but also boosting assets under management to over CHF 110 million. According to Findependent, it was able to manage this growth with its existing team. The start-up is still very lean with seven employees.

The existing investors are convinced by the development. They have therefore provided additional growth financing totaling CHF 1.5 million in recent months. This means that findependent has received CHF 3.5 million since it was founded by Matthias Bryner and Kay Foerschle and has remained independent of a bank or other companies throughout all financing rounds. "Matthias and his team continue to impress me. They work with passion and dedication to make the benefits of investing accessible to everyone," says Roland Brack, explaining his commitment. He has been an investor in findependent since 2021.

Now, for the first time, crowdinvesting gives everyone the opportunity to not only with independent but also in findependent as a company. "We want our customers to be even more closely involved in our journey and at the same time fulfill a frequently expressed wish," says Matthias Bryner, CEO and founder of findependent, explaining the decision. From July 1, 2024, there will initially be an exclusive subscription period for existing customers for 3 days. The general public will then also be able to invest in findependent between July 4 and 14. At least CHF 2 million is to be raised. "To expand our product, further develop the app and position ourselves appropriately for future growth," says Bryner, explaining the use of funds.

Matthias Moser was newly elected to the Board of Directors in order to broaden the Board's support in the context of future growth. Moser has broad and long-standing experience in the banking business, particularly in risk management. He is 61 years old and lives in Frick.

Source and further information: findpendent

The Swiss award landscape has a prominent newcomer: the makers of Best of Swiss Web and Best of Swiss Apps present the "Best of Swiss Software"Award. Best of Swiss Software stands for outstanding individual software projects and examples of successful integrations of software platforms such as ERP, CRM and industry solutions. The aim is to support innovation and make outstanding achievements visible. Best of Swiss Software thus sets quality standards and puts the best teams and companies in the Swiss software industry in the spotlight.

Four categories

Swiss ICT service providers have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in four categories:

• Business SolutionsCustomized software developed to automate and support various business processes.
• Cloud Native SolutionsIndividual software for user companies or product manufacturers that has been optimized for cloud platforms and takes into account as many modern architecture and development principles as possible.
• Data & AI SolutionsIndividual solutions developed to build company-wide data platforms, create applications and train AI models or develop generative AI solutions based on them.
• Core Business Integration: Introduction of a standardized ERP, CRM or industry solution platform that has been ideally optimized to the requirements and processes of a company by means of parameterization and in-house module development.

The adjudication process

In a two-stage process, the University of Bern and the jury carefully examine all submitted projects for their quality and innovative strength. Each category is awarded 1x gold, 1x silver and 1x bronze.

• Level: Assessment- In a first step, all submitted projects are evaluated by the assessment partner, the Institute of Information Systems at the University of Bern. A maximum of 12 projects per award category will be nominated for the award.
• Level: Competition- The nominated projects will be presented by the entrants in a 30-minute Q&A session on the jury day. The jury, consisting of 5-10 renowned experts from the ICT industry and representatives of important clients, will evaluate the presentations and determine the winning projects in each category.

The most important data

The submission deadline for all four Best of Swiss Software categories is Monday, August 26, 2024. The Best of Swiss Software Award Night will take place on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at the Kongresshaus in Zurich in combination with the "Best of Swiss Apps" award ceremony took place.

Source and further information: www.bestofswisssoftware.ch

The gradual recovery in foreign demand, lower inflation and the easing of monetary policy are stimulating the economy in Switzerland. Although this positive development is encouraging, it is further exacerbating the shortage of skilled workers, as the latest ManpowerGroup survey on employment prospects shows. Accordingly, companies are looking even harder for skilled workers: at 34%, the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook for Q3 2024 is up again compared to both the second quarter (29%) and the previous year (Q3 2023: 27%).

Employers in Switzerland are therefore much more optimistic about the future than their European counterparts; no other country in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (net employment outlook 18%) has better employment prospects. In neighboring France (24%), Germany (23%) and Austria (20%), the employment outlook is also above the EMEA average. Italy is below the national average at 16%.

Swiss employment trends: regional differences

The positive economic conditions are having a positive impact at different levels in six out of seven Swiss regions. As the aforementioned survey on employment trends, which was conducted in more than 570 companies, shows, net hiring intentions in Zurich, Northwestern Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland and the Lake Geneva region are above the Swiss average. This is probably due to the demand for employees in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors.

Central Switzerland and Espace Mittelland, on the other hand, are falling, but are still recording high levels of employment intentions. In Ticino, however, as in Q2 2024 (-14%), companies expect hiring activity to decline due to the slowdown in the secondary sector. 

Energy and utilities sector urgently looking for personnel

A positive net employment outlook is forecast for Q3 2024 in all sectors surveyed. From Q2 to Q3 2024, employees in the energy and utilities (+39 percentage points), communication services (+26 percentage points) and information technology (+14 percentage points) sectors are benefiting from employers' hiring intentions. In the other sectors, the net employment outlook is declining compared to Q2 2024 despite positive values.

"Energy and utility companies are likely to expect a positive vote on the federal law on a secure electricity supply from renewable energies and will need skilled workers accordingly. In view of the significant changes in the Swiss banking sector, the net employment outlook of 42% in the area of finance & real estate seems surprising. However, the digital transformation and the further development of business models among financial service providers require new skills and specialists. In the real estate sector, the market outlook is very good, so hiring is possible," says Eric Jeannerod, Country Manager ManpowerGroup Switzerland.

In terms of company size, all companies are planning to hire. Companies with 250-999 employees (47%) have the highest net employment outlook, followed by companies with 50-249 employees (45%) and companies with fewer than 10 employees (39%). The employment outlook for companies with 1000-4999 employees has deteriorated noticeably. While the outlook was still at 33% in Q2 2024, it was only 8% in Q3 2024. This is likely due to globalization. The stronger a company's presence on the global markets, the more it is affected by the current geopolitical uncertainties. 

Artificial intelligence causes employees little concern

"When it comes to the shortage of skilled workers, artificial intelligence should not be overlooked as an 'additional workforce'. 57% of the companies surveyed stated that they are early or current adopters of technologies such as artificial intelligence or tools such as ChatGPT, machine learning and virtual reality. This high level of integration of artificial intelligence shows that Swiss companies want to take advantage of the benefits of artificial intelligence," says Eric Jeannerod.

Only a minority of employees seem to have concerns that artificial intelligence could jeopardize jobs. The majority of managers and specialists have a positive attitude towards the technology. Employees in production companies or those who are in direct contact with the public are more concerned. "In my view, the importance of professions where human contact and manual activities are essential - such as in the catering or care professions - will increase. Artificial intelligence and automation will ease the burden here," emphasizes Eric Jeannerod.

This positive attitude is reflected in the challenges that companies see in the introduction of artificial intelligence. Only around a quarter (24%) of respondents fear that employees will resist the change. Among managers, around a fifth (21%) see a corresponding risk. The challenges relating to data protection and regulations (36%), the lack of suitable tools and platforms (29%) or high investments (28%) as well as the complexity of introducing artificial intelligence are seen as more significant.

Source: ManpowerGroup

On June 6 and 7, Interlaken was all about the Swiss economy: the Swiss Economic Forum (SEF) took place for the 26th time over these two days. Around 70 speakers from Switzerland and abroad gave presentations. The 1350 participants at the sold-out forum showed that they are resilient, persistent and cautiously optimistic. Corine Blesi, Managing Director NZZ Connect, is very satisfied with the 26th edition of the SEF: "We are convinced that the entrepreneurs will lead the Swiss economy into a more positive future with the necessary determination and resilience."

Top-class speakers with interesting discussion topics

The program offered a variety of outstanding national and international personalities from the fields of business, politics and science. As is tradition, President Viola Amherd opened the forum. She is currently very much in the spotlight due to the unstable global security situation. "We need to prepare for a prolonged crisis and be flexible," was her succinct assessment of the situation. The political side of things continued with Sanna Marin, the former Prime Minister of Finland, and Micheal R. Pompeo, the 70th Secretary of State of the USA. Sanna Marin took a look into the future: "The system change is upon us and we must use new technologies such as AI or quantum", said the former Finnish Prime Minister. Michael R. Pompeo recommended learning from history - also with regard to the upcoming presidential elections in the USA: "I believe in our constitutional system. Throughout history, it has always produced good results."

Other highlights for the participants included the emotional performance by world-class athlete Dominic Lobalu and his coach Markus Hagmann. Or professional footballer Lia Wälti, who explained the difference between men's and women's football with a twinkle in her eye: "Women's football is more honest. We spend less time on the ground."

Impetus for SMEs at SEF24

At the Swiss Economic Forum, the focus is naturally on the economy and therefore also on SMEs. Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, began by explaining why cooperation between industry, politics and society is crucial for the mobility transition. Caspar Coppetti, Co-Founder of On and Daniel Gutenberg, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hookipa, spoke about what the current situation means for start-ups and young entrepreneurs: "Our drive is no longer 'survive', but 'create'". Jeff Rowe, CEO Syngenta Group, urged company bosses to continue working as before. Georges Kern, CEO Breitling, also encourages his colleagues: "To come out of the crisis stronger, we have to gain market share, be better than the competition and make a double and triple effort." The appearance of the young analog astronaut Eleonore Poli, who may one day fly to Mars, was also impressive and out of the ordinary. She told everyone to be open to trying out new things and meeting new people.

And last but not least, prizes were once again handed out at SEF24: The Swiss Economic Award honors outstanding entrepreneurial achievements every year. The 2024 winners are Flowit AG (services), Voliro AG (deeptech/life sciences) and Qumea AG (production/commerce), see our Report here.

Source and further information

How can procurement align itself sustainably in the face of these challenges? This is a question that also concerns the Lyreco Group. With 12,000 employees, it is active in 42 countries on 4 continents. The Lyreco Switzerland AG delivers around 7000 customer orders every day. The company attaches great importance to sustainability and is constantly optimizing its logistics with the aim of creating an overall process that is as ecological as possible, as Tina Kempf, Head of Sustainability Management at Lyreco Switzerland, explains in the following interview.

Ms. Kempf, 7000 order deliveries a day is quite a lot. What are the most popular or most frequently ordered product groups?

Tina Kempf: Coffee capsules are clearly one of the most frequently ordered items.

However, coffee capsules are not necessarily considered sustainable...

I have to disagree. This example in particular shows that sustainability is not so trivial. But strictly speaking, any type of consumable is not sustainable per se. As a retailer, we are also aware of this. That's why our strategy is to focus on sustainability, especially when it comes to shipping. The use of e-vans and cargo bikes for deliveries contributes to this.

Sustainability has now also reached procurement. How does this affect your customers' ordering behavior? Are they focusing more on sustainable products?

We realize that sustainable products are important to more and more customers. But we would actually like it to happen faster. Unfortunately, however, large public and private organizations too often completely ignore sustainability in tenders or only give it very low priority. As a result, the issue continues to fall by the wayside. In the end, price is too often the only decisive criterion. As a retailer, we are in a "sandwich position"; however, we can support our customers by gradually phasing out less sustainable products. We also proactively approach companies - especially large ones that are subject to reporting requirements - and advise them on how they can make their procurement more sustainable. It depends on where they want to set their priorities: Less CO2 emissions or fair trade. Our own vision is to find as many levers for more sustainability as possible. However, data on the CO2 footprint of many products is still missing.

And how sustainable is your own procurement system? What criteria do your suppliers have to meet?

We check all our suppliers for sustainability. Either they already have a certificate themselves, e.g. from EcoVadis or B Corp, or they have to carry out a self-assessment by answering our ESG questionnaire. We only look at their products once this has been completed. All new products that we add to our range must be verified by us as sustainable. We also work according to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and have set ourselves Scope 3 (emissions caused by companies' supply chains and other activities that are not under the direct control of the company, editor's note) as a target. We are now in the process of obtaining the necessary data for our products. We still have some products that do not meet our sustainability criteria, but we aim to have streamlined our range by 2026.

What role do new legal regulations, such as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, also play?

We are hardly affected by this law because we are a retailer and not a manufacturer. In addition, the Group headquarters are located in France, where other regulations apply. Overall, however, we have a concentrated load of resources at our disposal to implement regulations. We also implement regulations that do not actually apply to Switzerland, such as the ban on single-use plastic. In other words, we are voluntarily doing away with single-use plastic and removing manufacturers who do not do so from our range. However, it remains clear that creating transparency in supply chains is still a major problem.

And this is also the topic of Sustainable Procurement Day. Your company is a partner of this event. What prompted you to enter into this partnership?

We can use this conference to present a few good practical cases, precisely because we are both buyers and sellers. We would be happy to share our experiences.

And what recommendations can you pass on to companies that are only just starting to make their purchasing more sustainable?

The topic must be tackled strategically. First of all, the question must be asked: Where can and do we want to be sustainable? This must start with the core business, after which we can derive how we can make purchasing more sustainable. The circular economy must be seen as the measure of all things, and this must also be demanded from suppliers.

That's probably easier said than done. What are the biggest stumbling blocks?

These are human habits! Almost all buyers have their "favorite suppliers". If one of them no longer fits in with the company's sustainability concept: How do I let them know? That is difficult. That's why we held the "Lyreco Unboxed" conference for the first time in January 2024. We invited Swiss SMEs and other business representatives to report openly and honestly - in other words, "unboxed" - about how difficult it is to make supply chains more sustainable and to admit that you can also fail at first. It is simply important that suppliers and buyers communicate transparently.

Transparent communication: This is also your core message that you would like to convey at Sustainable Procurement Day?

Yes, absolutely. We don't want to sell customers something that isn't sustainable. How is an expensive ballpoint pen made from biopolymers that writes 5,000 meters but is only used once supposed to be more sustainable than a cheap model with a range of 500 meters? This is precisely the kind of question that needs to be addressed.

Sustainable Procurement Day: First Swiss business conference for sustainable procurement

Pandemics, resource scarcity, stricter climate and biodiversity laws, growing social inequality and new technologies are just a few examples that will increasingly concern companies and their procurement departments and for which they need to be prepared. How can procurement align itself sustainably in the face of these challenges? This is exactly what the Sustainable Procurement Day  with buyers from a wide range of industries. With the Sustainable Procurement Day Push, öbu and procure.ch has launched a new event that focuses on the risks and opportunities of sustainable procurement.

Tickets can be ordered here

The question can also be posed differently: Do the people around you help you to grow and become a better person? Or do they hold you back?

It's not about immediately changing your whole life, but about consciously reflecting: Do you have a good mix of people around you? (And of course your own children are usually excluded from this).

Here are three key questions that can help you gain clarity about your environment:

• Question 1: Who helps you with your further development? Does this person help you to develop yourself - directly or indirectly? Or are they limiting you because they keep repeating the same thoughts and stories? The fact is: if you are not developing in the company of this person, this is an indication that this relationship should be reconsidered.
• Question 2: Who is holding you back?ck? Is there someone who is actively or passively hindering your steps forward? A simple example: You have a new idea, but whenever you bring it up, it is waved off with "It won't work anyway". Attention: There are often people like this among colleagues.
• Question 3: Who inspires you? Are there people who make you feel positive and inspire you when you talk to them? Such people are really valuable. Ask yourself how many inspiring people you have around you. If the answer is "none", you should consider what this means for your personal development.

So what to do? Here are a few pointers to help you rethink and regroup the people around you:

• Group 1: Who should you see more often? Consciously look for people who inspire and support you. There's no point in always spending time with the same people out of habit if it doesn't get you anywhere. Concrete tip: Make an appointment once a week (or once a month) with a person you might want to see more often in the future.
• Group 2: Who should you see less often? You don't have to end a friendship straight away, but perhaps you can reduce the frequency of contact. It might be enough to spend time together every few months instead of every week. Or don't start a conversation with this person at the coffee machine every time.
• Group 3: Who should you part with? Some relationships have simply served their purpose. It is okay to end such contacts, especially if they have a negative impact. This often leads to a natural separation. In a professional context, this may mean that you consider whether a change of department or even company makes sense if many of your colleagues are no longer a good fit.

Conclusion: By consciously choosing the people around you, you can actively shape the direction of your life.

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

The award for the Best Workplaces in Switzerland, organized by the consulting service provider Great Place to Work, took place for the 16th time. The prizes were awarded in five categories: "Large Workplaces" (15 participating organizations), "Medium Workplaces" (10 participants), "Small Workplaces" (15 participants), "Very Small Workplaces" (15 participants) and "Micro Workplaces" (5 participants). Hilti took first place in the category for large organizations (250+ employees). This is the 9th time that the long-established company has taken part in this competition and, after five rankings in the top 3, has now made it to the top for the first time. Hilton took first place in the Medium category with 100-249 employees. In the Small category with 50-99 employees, the IT company innosolv AG took first place. goSecurity led the Very Small category with 50-99 employees, while Urovant Science GmbH topped the podium in the Micro category with 10-19 employees.

What makes a good employer

According to Great Place to Work, a good employer creates an environment in which employees can sustainably develop their potential. The basis for this is a high level of trust, achieved through practiced values and leadership quality. This year's evaluation shows that the frontrunners in the ranking stand out from the Swiss average in particular due to the high level of integrity of their management. Pride in one's own employer is still an important factor when it comes to job satisfaction, writes Great Palce to Work. However, compared to previous years, the role of managers has become much more important and is now one of the top factors for a great workplace culture. Michael Hermann, consultant and co-owner of Great Place To Work, says: "The honesty and integrity of line managers is no longer just an implicit requirement. Rather, they have a direct influence on the attractiveness of the employer and the commitment of employees in the workplace. It is pleasing to see that the best employers in Switzerland perform particularly well here". 

A great workplace culture plays a decisive role in employer branding, especially in times of the much-cited shortage of skilled workers. By communicating the corporate culture to the outside world, employees are more authentic than any advertising film and thus help to arouse the interest of potential employees and build a strong, authentic and honest employer brand, the report continues. Last but not least, a great corporate culture naturally also leads to more commitment, productivity and added value from employees. 

The employers recognized as Best Workplaces 2024

The decisive factor for the Best Workplaces award is the comprehensive feedback from all employees (all organizations) as well as the evaluation of the HR processes and measures (from 20 employees) of the participating organizations. The scientifically developed questionnaire consists of 60 questions and is completed by an average of 83% of all employees in an organization. 

Best Large Workplaces (250+ employees)

1. Hilti AG & Hilti Switzerland AG
   Construction
   2705 employees
2. DHL Express Switzerland
   Transportation
   1109 employees
3. SAP (Switzerland) AG
   Information and telecommunications technology
   953 employees

Best Medium Workplaces (100-249 employees) 

1. Hilton
   Hospitality
   166 employees
2. APP Management Consulting AG
   Information and telecommunications technology
   104 employees
3. isolutions ag
   Information and telecommunications technology
   153 employees

Best Small Workplaces (50-99 employees) 

1. innosolv AG
   Information and telecommunications technology
   58 employees
2. smahrt consulting AG
   Information and telecommunications technology
   56 employees
3. Amgen Switzerland AG
   Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Industry
   76 employees

Best Very Small Workplaces (20-49 employees) 

1. goSecurity AG
   Information and telecommunications technology
   21 employees
2. sipcall
   Telecommunications
   34 employees
3. bitvoodoo
   Information and telecommunications technology
   38 employees

Best Micro Workplaces (10-19 employees)

1. Urovant Sciences GmbH
   Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Industry
   11 employees
2. Berformance Group AG
   Services
   15 employees
3. OMIT AG
   Real estate and housing
   16 employees

The complete rankings can be found here: https://www.greatplacetowork.ch/

Employee engagement is lower than it has been for years. Employees need to look for ways to take control of their own happiness in their careers and day-to-day work. The experts at Hogan Assessments, a leading provider of personality assessments for companies and leadership consulting services, have identified three ways to improve job satisfaction and engagement.

Tip 1: A new job is not always the solution

If you are unhappy with your current job, you may think that changing jobs is the easiest way to a more fulfilling working life. However, this is not always the case. Instead, you may find yourself stuck in the same situation, just in a different company - at least if you don't first get to the bottom of why you're unhappy in your current position.

Often you are not looking for a new job, but for a new attitude. If you start a new job but follow the same pattern, the work-life balance you have longed for may remain out of reach. So before you take the plunge and change jobs, you should first consider your own priorities within the company. "Ask yourself important questions, e.g. what makes me unhappy? Is it my area of work or my workload? Is it a lack of flexibility? Am I under pressure to perform or can I not say "no" for fear of not being considered a 'team player'? Once you have listed what makes you unhappy, you can then consider whether something can be changed in your current role. Only if this is not possible with your current employer should you look for a new job. But if the problems can be solved, work with management to see how you can change your situation," advises Dr. Ryne Sherman, Chief Science Officer of Hogan Assessments and co-host of The Science of Personality Podcast.

Tip 2: The importance of interpersonal relationships

According to the World Happiness Report, building strong personal relationships is central to a happier life - and the same is true in the workplace. The support of our social environment is crucial to our development as human beings and building strong relationships within the team and with colleagues can play a big part in how happy you are at work.

Current data supports these findings. According to the study, having a best friend at work is crucial for job satisfaction and personal well-being. According to this study, working with a friend in the office is more enjoyable, provides emotional support and improves work performance through better communication and collaboration. "The more connected employees feel, the more engaged they are in their work. Cultivating relationships can also have a positive impact on the quality of work. The more comfortable you feel asking for help or collaborating with colleagues, the stronger your team's performance will be," explains Dr. Ryne Sherman. Employees need social support, but they must also have responsibility and be able to identify with the corporate culture. A strong social environment in the workplace keeps even the most remote team member engaged and motivated to perform exceptionally, regardless of the challenges.

Tip 3: Avoid unnecessary stress

Stress is one of the main causes of burnout and can affect employees' motivation and commitment. They are dissatisfied and feel overwhelmed. While stress in the workplace cannot be completely avoided, there are steps you can take to banish unnecessary stress from your everyday life as far as possible. It can help to better understand your personality - and therefore the values that guide your behavior and decisions. "If you're aware of your values, you can target your engagement and success. Hogan is in a unique position to help employees assess their personality traits and work habits. This allows them to identify and eliminate habits that add unnecessary stress to the workday and uncover patterns or behaviors that cause stress," says Dr. Ryne Sherman. When employees are aware of their personal values, they can better understand why they act, react or interact in a certain way. They can also identify what kind of environment, work or organization they need to thrive and succeed. Those who identify the connection between work habits and personality traits can change their work processes and habits more effectively - reducing daily stress and avoiding burnout for a happier and more engaged work life.

Source: www.hoganassessments.com

"After many years of experimentation and investment, the time is ripe for a productivity boost. Digitalization can now deliver on its promises of greater efficiency and cost benefits in industry," says Sebastian Perez Peña, Senior Consultant at Staufen.Inova. This consulting firm surveyed more than 200 industrial companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the "Performance Drivers 2024" study.

Rapid change expected in the industrial world of work

The results show. The new digital analysis options would now enable deep insights into the processes - including their controllability in real time. "This provides the basis for far-reaching and continuously adaptable optimization measures that serve as drivers for operational excellence in the company," says the industry expert. 73% of the companies surveyed in the DACH region associate the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) with "enormous economic potential for our industry". As many as 81 percent expect a significant increase in productivity for their own company. According to Staufen.Inova consultant Perez Peña, the industry is in a state of upheaval: "84% of the study participants expect a rapid change in the industrial world of work due to technological developments. The close integration of employees with intelligent systems will soon characterize everyday working life."

Data analyses to improve results still have a lot of potential

Networked machines and automatically controlled supply chains are leading to a growing mountain of data in companies. However, this is increasingly being used productively. As many as 83% of companies believe that data analysis can be used to quickly identify weaknesses and improve results. However, 86% also admit: "We can make much better use of the potential of data analysis to improve results".

"Digitalization projects do not take place in isolation, but are usually accompanied by process improvements. The success of this approach: two thirds of the study participants are already making more data-based decisions and less based on gut instinct as digitalization increases. And six out of ten companies note that access to data has now improved," reports AI expert Perez Peña. Nevertheless, he still sees room for improvement in the changes achieved so far: "Decision-making processes have only become faster in 39% of companies and only 18% have reduced hierarchies. In order for digitalization to develop its full potential, companies must also allow a new type of collaboration in order to consistently align their processes with value creation and operational excellence. The goal is always a harmonious and perfectly coordinated overall system."

Source and further information: www.staufen-inova.ch