Pfyffer Schmid win ASCO Award

The umbrella organization of the Swiss consulting industry ASCO (Association of Swiss Consultants) annually honors the best and most sustainable business transformations in Switzerland. At this year's "Oscars of Management Consultants" ceremony on June 28 in Zurich, Pfyffer Schmid Organisationsentwicklung GmbH was named the winner in the category of consulting boutiques (1-9 employees). The award was given for the project to merge the two civil engineering offices of the canton and city of Schaffhausen into a joint competence center.

Broad political and internal support

The project was approved by the people in November 2015 with almost 70 percent of the vote in favor. It also enjoyed a high level of internal acceptance among managers and employees - although it also led to staff reductions. In July 2016, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new joint depot building will take place. In the new organization at the new location, the previous services can be maintained and in some cases even improved with reduced use of resources. Through the use of synergies, the project will generate recurring annual savings of CHF 1.3 million. The relocation of the municipal depot area to the periphery will also free up land in a central location for higher-quality residential use.

Cooperative leadership as the key to success

Pfyffer Schmid chose a collaborative approach - and developed the script of the transformation together with the client. In the planning and implementation phase, they facilitated the critical workshops and meetings. In each case, the content was prepared in a lean core team and then discussed and finalized in broad workshops with all executives. From the point of view of Dieter Schmid, the head of the mandate, this led to success: "Through the early involvement of all stakeholders and the cooperative handling of the issues, we were able to find viable solutions. This would not have been possible in a classic top-down process." The cooperative leadership methodology under the motto "rising above" was developed by Marc Pfyffer and Dieter Schmid; today it is also taught at the Zurich School of Economics HWZ.

A pioneering project throughout Switzerland

In its laudation, the jury judged the project "Competence Center Civil Engineering Schaffhausen" to be "a Swiss model project that demonstrates how synergies in public administration can be used constructively across the sovereign boundaries between canton and municipalities."

More information:

ASCO: Umbrella organization of Swiss management consultants: www.asco.ch

ASCO Award: www.asco.ch/award/asco-award-2016

Pfyffer Schmid Organizational Development Ltd: www.pfyfferschmid.ch

Cooperative leadership according to Pfyffer Schmid: www.uebersichhinauswachsen.ch