Swiss Employer Award 2017: These are the best employers in Switzerland

For the seventeenth time, the icommit survey institute in Küsnacht has conducted the employee survey in connection with the Swiss Employer Award. 120 companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein took part in the comprehensive survey. A total of 28,853 employees completed the questionnaire. This corresponds to 78% of all invited persons and is thus a new record. By comparison, the participation rate in 2009 was 65%. Since then, there has been a continuous increase in the participation rate. This is due to the fact that more and more of the participating companies are systematically using the findings of the survey to further develop the company and improve its attractiveness as an employer, writes icommit in its latest media release. This creates trust in the survey, and employees are happy to provide detailed information about their work situation in the survey. Among other things, employees rated work content, structures and processes, cooperation, handling of changes, management, leadership by superiors, employee development and compensation systems. The participating companies were divided into four size categories for the awards. A total of 38 companies received awards.

What distinguishes outstanding companies

If we compare the top three from all four size categories with the other participating companies, they stand out above all in the following four aspects: in their handling of change, in employee development, in what is perceived as fair compensation, and in a high level of trust in management. Here, the ratings of the twelve highest-ranked companies on the hundred-point scale used are on average eight to nine points above the average for all participating companies. In previous years, it was already these dimensions that made the difference between the top companies and the other participating companies. This has nothing to do with the fact that it would be the same participating companies. Only about one-fifth of the companies conduct annual employee surveys, significantly fewer than a few years ago. These aspects are criteria that have to do with the management of the company and a culture of trust. This is where a company can make a real difference!

Swiss Employer Award 2017: The winners

• Category Small Companies (50-99 employees): Ringlikon School Boarding School, Uitikon-Waldegg
• Medium-sized company category (100-249 employees): OPO Oeschger AG Bauhandelsfirma, Kloten
• Category medium-sized companies (250-999 employees): Klinik Adelheid Rehabilitationszentrum, Unterägeri
• Large companies category (1,000+ employees): ISS Switzerland Provider of Facility Services, Zurich

Which industries are ahead

A third of all participating companies received the Swiss Employer Award for their outstanding rating. The companies receiving awards are by no means evenly distributed across all the sectors represented. As in the previous year, industrial companies are found in the lower ranks. This is due, among other things, to the increasing relocation of jobs abroad and the strong Swiss franc. Nevertheless, a quarter of the 23 industrial companies still made it into the top 38. The rankings in the hotel industry and the education sector are similar.

On the other hand, construction again performed very well, as in previous years. 60% of the participating companies received an award. This result is also plausible: when the construction industry is doing well, it is easier to manage a company and employee confidence in the company is correspondingly high. Other sectors with above-average results are companies from the service sector and retirement and care centers, which also received many awards.

The study is supported by the Swiss Employers' Association, HR Swiss (Swiss Association for Human Resources Management), the business magazine "Bilanz" and the icommit institute in Küsnacht ZH, which conducts and evaluates the employee survey.

More information: http://www.swissarbeitgeberaward.ch