The attitude of their employees toward cyberattacks makes small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland vulnerable: It is true that they are aware of the general risks of cybercrime and the great damage potential of an attack. However, they do not consider their own company and themselves important enough to be a worthwhile target. This attitude can lead employees to be insufficiently vigilant. These are the findings of a study conducted by the ZHAW School of Management and Law in collaboration with Allianz Suisse. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with employees from selected SMEs to understand their attitudes and the drivers of decisions made regarding cyber risks.

Current widespread home office increases risks

"Cyber criminals usually target people and try to use them to inject malware into the corporate system or obtain passwords. The attitude and behavior of employees are therefore crucial in defending against attacks," explains Carlos Casián, co-author of the study and underwriter Property / Cyber Risk at Allianz Suisse. "Especially in today's world, where many employees work from home, the risks are increasing: on the one hand, technical aspects such as external access to the corporate network play a role. On the other hand, ad hoc exchanges with colleagues about suspicious e-mails are more difficult, which makes employees more vulnerable to manipulation attempts." According to the study, SME employees primarily associate cyberattacks with geopolitical confrontations, terrorism or organized crime. They see Switzerland, on the other hand, as a sphere that is significantly safer by comparison. "However, this is a fallacy. In this country, too, around a third of SMEs have already been exposed to attacks," says study leader Carlo Pugnetti, a lecturer at the ZHAW School of Management and Law.

Cyberattacks only perceived as a problem for specialists

The SME employees surveyed feel relatively helpless when it comes to recognizing a specific attack on their own company and reacting to it. In such a case, however, they assume that specialists would help. This assumption can encourage a certain passivity and lead employees to underestimate their own role in minimizing cyber risks. At the same time, the study results show that SMEs have a corporate culture with a strong solution orientation. Accordingly, employees usually act proactively and would want to help deal with a specific case of damage.

Strategies for more cyber security in SMEs

In order to reduce the risks and impact of a cyberattack, the authors of the study make a number of recommendations for greater cybersecurity in SMEs: These include information measures within SMEs that sensitize employees to the objective threat and show them how they can contribute to its defense. Furthermore, companies should develop strategies to cope with possible attacks and associated IT system failures and train for these scenarios. In developing appropriate solution strategies, companies should actively involve their employees and take advantage of their dedicated working attitude.

Special methodology

The study "Cyber Risks and Swiss SMEs - An Investigation of Employee Attitudes and Behavioral Vulnerabilities" was conducted by the Institute of Risk & Insurance at the ZHAW School of Management and Law in collaboration with Allianz Suisse and with the support of various partners. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 17 employees from various functions in three selected SMEs from the heating and manufacturing sector. To do so, they used the so-called "deep metaphor interview technique," in which interviewees selected images that expressed their perceptions and attitudes toward various aspects of cybercrime. "Thanks to this methodology, we were also able to identify personal patterns of attitudes that the interviewees themselves were not immediately aware of," explains Carlo Pugnetti. "The focus was accordingly on bringing hidden insights to the surface and thereby developing more effective measures." The interviews took place in September 2020.

Sources: zhaw and Allianz Suisse

Cybersecurity affects us all - more than ever. Because digitization is advancing, fueled by the consequences of the Corona pandemic even faster than before. However, IT security is not the best everywhere, especially among SMEs - often the necessary know-how and risk awareness are lacking. And with even more home offices, the attack surface for cybercriminals is even growing exponentially. So it's all the more important that SMEs upgrade when it comes to cybersecurity. A new book addresses this concern and provides practical support.

IT security for SMEs: How does it work?

For over 20 years, the Swiss IT security company Dreamlab Technologies has been developing IT security concepts and solutions for customers on four continents. Its founder and CEO Nicolas Mayencourt has now co-authored a book with Marc K. Peter from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland entitled "IT Security for SMEs". In this guidebook, the authors share valuable insights from their many years of practice in the IT security and digitalization field. They raise awareness of dangers and risks and provide concrete measures to effectively counter them. The book is intended to help KM owners take important precautions to sensitize themselves, their employees and partners and to plan further security precautions with IT specialists.

Support for IT security concepts suitable for SMEs

The authors clearly explain which strategies have proven effective in protecting against threats from attackers and also provide checklists and step-by-step instructions. Based on the most important topics - infrastructure and technology, communication, organization and legal matters, and access management - an IT security concept is created that makes companies fit for the future. Readers learn which strategies have proven effective in protecting against threats and risks posed by technology, the Internet and digitization. The book (ISBN 978-3-03875-343-8) is available in the Observer Publishing published and also available there.

The Digital Leadership Barometer was founded in 2018 and will be conducted for the second time in 2020. It is supported by various partners. These include the Swiss Association of Master Builders (SBV), Raiffeisen Enterprise Center (RUZ), SUPSI's Dipartimento tecnologie innovative (DPI) or HWZ Alumni. 205 people completed the 2020 questionnaire in full. Almost 70% of the participants belonged to middle or upper management. Study authors are Dr. Urs Jäckli and Dr. Claude Meier (picture).

Gap between theory and practice

"The respondents rate the strategic importance of digitization as very high, with 81 out of a possible 100 points. However, companies see themselves as less advanced in the implementation of digitization," says Dr. Claude Meier, co-author of the study and Head of the Business Methodology Unit at the HWZ. His co-author, Dr. Urs Jäckli, study and project manager at the HWZ adds: "The current study shows a positive influence of digital training of employees on the progress of digitization in the companies."

The Digital Leadership Barometer rises...

As far as the structures for managing digital activities in Swiss companies are concerned, a marked increase with a focus on digital projects was observed in all areas. As recently as 2018, around 33% of the participating companies had no such structures at all, compared with around 22% today. 55% are now working on digital projects, an increase of 8 percentage points compared to 2018. Other structures for managing digital activity mentioned more frequently in the 2020 results include exchange groups across departments and committees.

The strategic importance of digitization in companies increased slightly from 2018 to 2020. This also applies to digital progress in companies. However, there is still a discrepancy between the perceived progress of digitization in one's own company and the strategic relevance attributed to the topic of digitization, although this gap is narrowing.

Progress thanks to digital education

The HWZ study on digital leadership found a statistically significant correlation between a company's progress in digitization and digital literacy. In particular, those companies that provide their employees with resources and further training, familiarize them with digital applications and working methods, and thus significantly increase their own level of digitization, develop positively.

Source: HWZ

At ams.erp Solution AG, Giordano Di Fronzo will take over from the previous Managing Director Richard Dörig, who retired from the company at the end of 2020. Di Fronzo will be supported at management level by long-time ams employee Guido Tobler, who will continue to be in charge of consulting, and by Thomas Frehsonke, who has been responsible for new customer sales and presales since the beginning of January 2021. The common ambitious goal of the new management is to further increase the satisfaction of existing customers and thus to establish the product more deeply in the Swiss market.

By expanding the management to three members, who hold an equal share in the company as partial shareholders, Giordano Di Fronzo sees the Swiss ams site as more secure and better positioned: "The new starting position offers both existing and all future new customers a higher degree of security. Thanks to additional staff capacity in technical consulting, we are now much more flexible, enabling us to implement the demanding requirements of the target market more sensitively."

ams.erp Solution AG focuses on existing customers

The new management trio, which previously gained extensive experience in the target market's midmarket, will use this expertise to guarantee existing customers greater added value with the use of ams.erp in practice. Ongoing product innovations and enhancements will pave the way for digitization in line with the needs of medium-sized businesses.

As a result of the new starting position, Thomas Frehsonke wants to use this decisive factor for new customer sales business: "We want to use satisfied reference customers to create the impetus we need to increase awareness of the ams.erp brand in Switzerland. The aim is to generate as many synergy effects as possible," affirms the head of sales, who comes from a plant engineering background and had introduced the ERP solution himself in the past as project manager of an existing ams customer and thus knows the customer role from practical experience.

Customer potential in the batch size 1+ range

When asked about the industries and sectors in which the greatest potential for new ams customers could lie, Guido Tobler mentions companies from the batch size 1+ environment, in which ams.erp has its inherent strengths, as well as those in the ancillary construction sector, such as steel, metal and complete construction. Ruch Metallbau, a new customer, was recently acquired from this sector, which has recently been receiving a noticeable increase in inquiries. In addition to general automation and digitization strategies, Guido Tobler focuses on the integration of mobile processes with ams.mobile. The completely newly developed ams.project module gives the ERP solution an industry-specific, fully integrated project planning tool, which can optionally be combined with workforce scheduling from software partner Innosoft. "It is important to add here that with the spare parts management in ams.erp a lot of functionality has always been provided for the after sales area. With Innosoft, we now also have an excellently integrated product for scheduling fitters and service staff and for invoicing their services," says the consulting manager.

Demonstrate the benefits of project management software

Giordano Di Fronzo, Guido Tobler and Thomas Frehsonke agree that fiscal 2021 will present them with some challenges due to the development of the Corona pandemic, which could not be foreseen at the beginning of the year. However, they are confident that they will be able to meet these challenges. All three have many years of their own experience in medium-sized companies and therefore know their requirements very well from practical experience. "We are very confident, because although Switzerland is a smaller market, it offers an enormous amount of potential, as many companies are located in the high-tech segment. It is up to us to show the Swiss SMEs the benefits of our end-to-end project management software ams.erp", Giordano Di Fronzo concludes with an optimistic view into the future.

More information

The global supply chain study by Orange Business Services shows: The global pandemic reveals necessary changes for future-proof supply chains. Around 83 percent of the companies surveyed in this study stated that they are more aware of supply chain risks such as raw material shortages, production stoppages or transport blockages than they were a year ago. Accordingly, the pandemic is something of a wake-up call for companies. In particular, speed, agility and innovation are seen as essential for mastering future challenges. In addition, to ensure survival, building resilience and sustainability in supply chains through digitalization and real-time data insights is a priority within transformation strategies for many companies. In fact, 44 percent of companies plan to launch real-time data initiatives in the next two years.

Strengthening the supply chains

According to the survey, nearly eight out of ten companies have accelerated the digitization of their supply chain. In addition, nearly 50 percent of respondents are considering revising their risk management strategies in the next two years. Also gaining importance is automation to manage rapidly changing demand. In fact, 42 percent of companies say they are using automation to manage risk. The same number (42 percent) plan to do so in the next two years.

The extent to which the pandemic is affecting supply chains is also made clear by the following findings: two out of five study participants say that their supply chain was unable to keep up at the first peak of the pandemic. This is where technology enablers such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, 5G and Big Data analytics will play a big role in the future, as they improve supply chains through improved planning and execution. Collecting and sharing real-time data increases efficiency and transparency throughout the supply chain. At the same time, it supports relationships between suppliers and manufacturers to make smart decisions.

"The global health emergency has led organizations to accept the fragility of their ecosystems. Critical gaps must now be closed to ensure end-to-end transparency on a global scale and minimize risk to businesses and organizations. Digital technologies and capabilities are key to enabling companies and their partners to secure the supply chain. Digitization and data capture will also be key enablers to become more sustainable and save both costs and the planet's resources," says Kristof Symons, Executive Vice President, International, Orange Business Services.

New impetus for sustainability programs

Although the pandemic has pushed the issue of sustainability down the corporate agenda, 59 percent of respondents said that a company that is not run ethically and sustainably poses a significant business risk that impacts the bottom line. Smart factories, for example, are capable of saving around 30 percent on energy costs.

Looking ahead, 85 percent of the companies surveyed plan to make investments to become more sustainable. These include new data collection technologies to gain better insight into sustainability metrics, as well as management and control of factors such as energy consumption. 78 percent of companies see sustainability as an opportunity to drive product and service innovation - a key advantage in maintaining competitiveness.

"The pandemic will eventually and somehow come to an end. But climate change, sustainability - these developments and risks will remain for the next decades," explains Erwin Verstraelen, CDO and CIO at the Port of Antwerp. "For example, the European Green Deal will put more pressure on all stakeholders to identify the origin of emissions and minimize their environmental footprint. The supply chain is an important element in this." Should companies live up to their claim, digitally driven sustainable management programs are expected to be nearly universal in the next two years.

Source: Orange Business Services

René Descartes: Ability to form opinions is unlimited

For some people - like Donald Trump - this correspondence between opinion and facts is 100 percent: From his point of view, there can be no truth other than his own opinion. And since, according to Descartes, the ability to form opinions is unlimited, we can also create "truths" at will (such as having won the election). I think this explains very elegantly many of his behaviors that are strange to clear-thinking people.

But this is not about the ex-president, but about parallels to our leadership. Because for each of us, too, the line between belief and truth sometimes becomes blurred. Awareness of this can help you to deal elegantly with some typical leadership challenges.

Three findings

Here are three examples of our fuzzy thinking in leadership and what we should do with it:

1. Limited potential. All too often, we believe that our potential success is severely limited. Mentally, we move in a bubble of past experience (e.g., by observing the market environment). However, history shows time and again that these experiences are not truths, but opinions. This is important when you are working on your business strategy.
2. Fixed Identity. "We are not who we are, but who we define ourselves to be" is a frequent statement of mine. Most of the time, we have formed very fixed opinions about ourselves and others that we believe to be truths. But in reality, we can adjust our identity at any time. However, it is not easy. As a first step, however, we need to let go of the belief that "this is who we are."
3. Lack of courage. We love to categorize failures as confirmation of our entrenched beliefs. When in fact they would be more suitable as proof that our assessment was not quite right at this point and that we should therefore adjust it before the next attempt. We always do this instinctively when something is really important to us. Otherwise, we often lose courage because we believe that failure is a sign that we should rather not try.

You see, this is how you can use direct insights from philosophers for your leadership. Good luck with the application!

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

In a thought experiment, let's imagine a future situation in the summer of 2022. Let's say Thursday, August 11. It is afternoon. The weather is nice. And we look back on the last 2.5 years, in which the coronavirus has shaken up so many things in our lives.

In year 1 after the Corona crisis

We ask ourselves: How does it compare today with the past, when we didn't know anything about Covid-19? What has changed? What new territory have we entered? Where have we evolved? What practices that we once thought were impossible have we been able to integrate into our daily lives without any effort at all?

We realize: a lot has happened. Each of us has entered new territory. In the family, among friends, and at work. The compulsion to change has uncovered many operational opportunities. We can do things faster, more creatively and more efficiently than we thought. Now we need to seize the strategic opportunities as well.

Part 1 - Social Distancing: Virtual Reality is socially acceptable and permeates everything

It's 3:23 p.m. I'm sitting on our balcony at home in the shade and clicking my smartphone into the VR mask for the upcoming meeting. As spokesperson for the Shareholders' Committee, I have - as always - invited the Supervisory Board and the CEO to jointly review our key performance indicators and planning assumptions. After six months of practice, my nervousness about VR meetings has largely subsided.

I check the VR goggles and enter our protected virtual reality meeting room in the next moment. I am the first person in the cozy, old parlor of a mountain farm in Vorarlberg. I still have to smile that, with all the digitalization, it was precisely this romantic retro motif that won the last ideas competition among our employees. But it fits in well with us and our commitment to tradition and down-to-earthness.

I wonder about my steep learning curve. It started with wild improvisation. When we started organizing web meetings and WhatsApp groups right away - from home and sometimes without a good Internet connection. Without this leap, I wouldn't be using VR glasses today as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

I am pleased that our VR initiative launched at the beginning of 2021 has not only strengthened our compliance with social distancing regulations, but also upgraded our operational capability in the event of a crisis. And along the way, we were even able to noticeably and permanently improve our carbon footprint. In the meantime, even the "mileage collectors" at our company appreciate it when they lose less of their life and working time to travel. Like me, many have become accustomed to spending more time at home and with their families.

The creaking of an old floorboard on the porch announces a new participant. It is our CEO and Chairman of the Board, who is currently on an exhausting trip abroad and has become a pro at shimmying from quarantine zone to quarantine zone. We shake hands warmly as we greet each other. The sensory glove that we have been using as a pilot for a few weeks now conveys the hands-on character of my counterpart one-to-one. We are full of beans. In the next one and a half days, we want to discuss a lot and work intensively together at our "strategic lookout hut. Together, we go through our agenda once again, which is stored in our "governance cloud.

Now the six members of the Supervisory Board enter the room, the Chairman here first as well. Some things remain unchanged. I have to grin. After a personal and casual greeting, I open our meeting.

Click here for part 2

Click here for part 3

Click here for part 4

Click here for part 5

Authors:

Christian Schiede has been advising and assisting entrepreneurial families and family businesses to strengthen cohesion, increase competitiveness and secure value since 2003. Contact: www.schiede.com; schiede@shpadvisors.com

Bastian Schneider has been helping entrepreneurs and management teams strengthen their brands from within and lead their organizations and businesses into the future from this perspective since 2000. In more than 30 industries. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Contact: www.brandleadership.ch; bastian.schneider@brandleadership.ch

The Swiss HR Academy relies on a strong partnership with HR Campus. But not only this: The leading provider of HR seminars is now managed as a joint venture between the HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich, ZGP Zürcher Gesellschaft für Personal-Management and HR Campus. "With the strong partner HR Campus and its many years of HR expertise, the Swiss HR Academy is tapping into additional HR decision-makers and expanding its seminar offering in the area of integral HR management solutions," emphasizes Prof. Matthias Rüegg, Rector of the HWZ, founding partner of the joint venture.

Imparting practical HR know-how

According to HR Campus, its mission is to improve the transfer of practical HR know-how, the promotion of open knowledge and the exchange of experiences in the Swiss HR community. "Our vision is to inspire HR professionals to embrace people-centered HR and equip them with the tools and skills to implement it. By participating in the Swiss HR Academy, we are one step closer to this goal" says Philippe Dutkiewicz, Executive Board Member of HR Campus.

Virtualized HRM

The Swiss HR Academy imparts up-to-date HR know-how, the content of which is significantly supported and supplemented by the competence centers of the HWZ as well as the founding and network partner ZGP. Within a year, it was able to establish itself on the Swiss seminar market. Its seminar offering was immediately and successfully virtualized in 2020: "The current challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic have shown that a hybrid offering of attractive topics, including regulations for home office or remote work, supports companies quickly and straightforwardly in their organizational transformation," says Dr. Daniel C. Schmid, the managing director of the Swiss HR Academy.

Source and further information

The third edition of the Swiss Cyber Security Days (SCSD) will be held entirely online in response to the ban on events related to the coronavirus pandemic. The organizing committee had anticipated the risks and prepared several variants of the event. After 2200 people participated in Fribourg in 2019 and more than 2500 in 2020, a digital version will be implemented this year. The organizers are convinced that with their completely virtual edition, among other advantages, they will also increase their
audience can expand significantly. So, a new virtual concept has been developed for SCSD 2021: Keynotes, Expert Tracks and Best Practice presentations will be accessible via a dynamic platform of the latest generation "SCSD365". It offers numerous opportunities for direct interaction between Internet users and speakers. Keynotes will be streamed in three languages. The presentations and expo area of SCSD365 will be accessible throughout the year and will be continuously supplemented by up-to-date virtual conferences and editorial contributions.

Interactive platform SCSD365

The interactive platform SCSD365 will be launched at the beginning of February. It will remain active throughout the year. The platform is very user-friendly and offers numerous opportunities for interaction. In addition to streamed presentations, online visitors can make interactive video calls as well as live discussions. An AI-driven matchmaking service suggests people to meet virtually. In addition, SCSD365 allows visitors to schedule presentations and meetings and follow up on potential contacts. Virtual booths are available for exhibitors and sponsors, and a marketplace allows them to showcase their products. All papers and presentations will be accessible via streaming, both on the web and via mobile applications. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with the speakers in real time.

Explosion of risks

The last twelve months have dramatically changed the way people communicate and work. The widespread use of home offices exposes companies to increased risk
out, with SMEs in particular being targeted. "A recent studyi shows that a quarter of Swiss SMEs have already been the target of a cyberattack and more than a third have suffered financial or reputational consequences. There is an urgent need to talk more about this and work together to find practical solutions," says Béat Kunz, CEO of SCSD.

March 11, 2021: Dedicated entirely to SMEs

Thus, the opening day of SCSD 2021 is dedicated to national security and the protection of citizens and businesses. Highlights include presentations by the head of the Swiss Armed Forces, Corps Commander Thomas Süssli, the Federal Delegate for Cybersecurity Florian Schütz and Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board, as well as roundtables by the World Economic Forum and the Cyberpeace Institute (CPI). Under the patronage of Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer and InnoSuisse President André Kudelski, an SME Day on March 11 will feature a program of specific presentations on preventing cyber attacks with real-life case studies.

More information

Last year, the mergers and acquisitions business cooled off compared with the previous year. The number of transactions with Swiss participation fell from 402 to 363; at USD 63.1 billion, the transaction volume was only half as large as in the previous year (USD 127 billion). The decline in transaction volume can be attributed primarily to the fact that mega deals failed to materialize last year. Nevertheless, M&A remains an important pillar of some corporate strategies. This is the finding of KPMG's annual "Clarity on M&A" study.

Corona crisis slows down activities in the M&A market

Especially in the second quarter - under the influence of the outbreak of the corona pandemic - the market for mergers and acquisitions suffered a sharp decline. Only 74 transactions were completed, the lowest number since the beginning of 2017. At the same time, with a transaction volume of only USD 7.1 billion, the lowest quarterly figure since the end of 2015 was recorded. A major reason for the lower M&A activity last year was in particular the great uncertainties and restrictions caused by the outbreak of the corona pandemic. As a result, the focus of many companies in the first half of 2020 was primarily on overcoming the challenges posed by the corona crisis on a global scale. "Given the pressing challenges faced by companies, some transactions already underway were put on hold. Travel restrictions and the shift to home offices also delayed transactions," said Timo Knak, head of mergers and acquisitions at KPMG. Some companies had also questioned or postponed planned deals due to the uncertainties prevailing in the market.

Digitization leads to great dynamism in the technology sector

The ten largest transactions accounted for around two-thirds of the total transaction volume in 2020, driven primarily by the TMT industry (technology, media and telecommunications). In 2020, for example, this industry accounted for more than one-fifth of all transactions (80 out of 363) and more than one-third of transaction volume (USD 22.1 billion out of USD 63.1 billion). "The figures clearly indicate that the acceleration of digitalization in the wake of the Corona crisis has had a direct impact on the mergers and acquisitions business," Knak said. Two transactions from the TMT sector in particular stand out, which were also the largest deals of the past year: on the one hand, the purchase of Sunrise by UPC, a subsidiary of Liberty Global, with a deal volume of just under USD 7.2 billion, and on the other hand, the merger of CPA Global, a portfolio company of Partners Group, with the US-based Clarivate Analytics with a transaction value of USD 7.1 billion.

Little M&A activity in the life sciences and pharma sectors

The life sciences and pharmaceuticals sectors, which had still provided great momentum on the Swiss M&A market in 2019, played a subordinate role in 2020. While these sectors still recorded 65 deals in 2019, the figure was 42 in 2020. The transaction volume shrank by a factor of ten year-on-year from USD 65.2 billion to USD 6.2 billion. The decline in the transaction volume can be explained primarily by the fact that no mega deals, which are frequently seen in the pharmaceutical industry, were recorded last year.

Swiss companies on a shopping spree

Swiss companies again acquired significantly more foreign companies than the other way around last year: in 154 cases (42 percent of transactions), foreign companies were acquired by Swiss companies, and in 84 cases (23 percent of transactions), Swiss companies were acquired by foreign companies. National transactions (Switzerland/Switzerland) increased proportionally compared to the previous year and accounted for one-fifth of all transactions with 74 deals (2019: 16 percent). In contrast, the number of foreign transactions with Swiss sellers declined slightly; with 51 transactions (previous year: 59), around 14 percent of all transactions fall into this category.

M&A market will develop moderately - deal technology gains importance

Despite the continuing uncertainty in the market - not least due to newly emerging mutations of the coronavirus - Knak expects a moderate development in the M&A market: "Companies seem to have adjusted well to the new conditions. This is shown, among other things, by the relatively rapid recovery of the transaction market from summer 2020. In addition, mergers and acquisitions remain strategically important topics. Hopes are ultimately based on the fact that with the vaccination campaign underway, the virus can be contained and uncertainties in the market will diminish accordingly." The M&A expert also expects growing momentum to set in, particularly in the e-commerce sector. At the same time, new technologies are available that can support M&A activities. Thanks to improved computing power and greater storage capacities, transactions can be planned increasingly effectively and processed more efficiently. As a result, decision-making processes are becoming more robust and transparent. At the same time, completely new opportunities for customer interaction are opening up.

Source: KPMG

On behalf of XING, the market and media research institute Forsa surveyed around five hundred Swiss professionals aged 18 and over about the current working environment and their career plans for 2021. The survey participants were selected by means of representative random sampling.

Swiss professionals seek new professional challenges despite Corona

More than half (54 percent) of professionals are basically willing to change jobs in 2021. This means that the willingness to change jobs is practically the same as a year ago (56 percent) and is largely unaffected by the Corona pandemic. 16 percent of respondents even have concrete plans to change jobs this year. Another 38 percent are open to a change, but have not yet taken any concrete steps. Contrary to what the high willingness to change might suggest, the majority of respondents (87 percent) say they are very or somewhat satisfied with their current job. This figure is also on a par with the previous year.

Younger employees increasingly have concrete plans to switch

A look at the age groups shows a significant increase in the number of people aged 18 to 29 who already have concrete plans to switch in the coming year (29 percent vs. 20 percent at the beginning of 2020). Overall, the willingness to switch has decreased among the over-50s. At 37 percent, this is nine percent below the previous year's figure of 46 percent.

Pandemic inhibits active job search

Although the general willingness to change jobs has remained virtually constant, the Corona pandemic sometimes discourages employees who are willing to change jobs from actively looking for one. Forty-nine percent of those latently willing to change jobs say that Corona is one reason why they have not yet actively looked for a new job. This figure is even significantly higher in the youngest age group, 18 to 29. Here, 68 percent of those latently willing to change jobs feel held back in their active planning by the Corona pandemic. In addition, Corona puts a much stronger brake on employees' concrete plans to change jobs in the retail sector than in other industries. XING Switzerland Managing Director Robert Bertschinger comments: "A high latent willingness to switch makes actively approaching candidates even more important for companies. There are many people who are open to a change. But in the current environment, they are more hesitant to become active themselves. Hoping that the right candidate will come forward on their own is therefore not a promising strategy."

Middle management slightly less satisfied

While satisfaction with the current job is at least as high as in the previous year among professionals without management responsibility and among members of senior management, the proportion of rather or very satisfied employees in middle management, for example people with team leadership functions, fell slightly from 90 to 85 percent. Robert Bertschinger explains: "In 2020, members of middle management were often particularly challenged by working from home, as they had to assume their direct management responsibilities under completely new conditions. This pressure may have influenced satisfaction."

Younger Swiss Professionals Worry About Their Jobs

Overall, 39 percent of respondents are concerned about job security. Younger people in particular are concerned about the current situation. In the 18 to 29 age group, almost half (46 percent) are worried about job security. In a sector comparison, it is primarily professionals in the retail sector, at 56 percent, who are worried about their own job security. The figures are lower in the industry and manufacturing sectors (39 percent) and services (36 percent).

Dealing with Corona: Good marks for Swiss employers

Just under two-thirds (61 percent) of professionals rate their employer's handling of the Corona crisis to date as good or even very good. Only 8 percent rated their behavior as poor or insufficient. The best marks are awarded by employees in the industry and manufacturing sector, while employees in the retail sector are the most critical.

Source: XING

Since the beginning of January, Lyreco has been expanding its strategy in the area of sustainability and environmental protection and has been operating exclusively with electric delivery trucks in two Swiss cities. Since then, customers in St. Gallen and Basel City have been receiving their orders using this environmentally friendly means of transport. With its range, the electric variant is particularly suitable for city trips. Electric vehicles have many advantages. In particular, the low air pollutant and noise emissions are significant.

Lyreco has been committed to sustainability and environmental protection for years. Since 2012, CO2 emissions have been reduced by 30%. The focus on a low-emission delivery solution began with the launch of the e-rickshaws in 2017 in downtown Bern, Basel and the city of Zurich. With the e-rickshaws, Lyreco Switzerland says it is expanding its commitment to the environment. The goal is to offer low-emission parcel delivery in all major Swiss cities by 2023, the company writes. To this end, another ten city tours will be equipped with e-vans over the next eighteen months. The next electric-powered delivery van will be deployed in the city of Zurich, the company says. In Switzerland, 60 chauffeurs in company-owned vans deliver 6500 customer orders every day.

Source: Lyreco