The SSIS is the largest study of the Swiss software industry and provides forward-looking statements on revenue and employee growth. This year's study focused on the impact of COVID-19 and the importance of software reuse for Swiss software companies. The results were presented on the occasion of the CNO panels published in Bern on October 26, 2020.

The main results of the SSIS 2020

The SSIS 2020 states moderate growth overall with prospects for improvement: Profitability (EBIT margin) fell by 2.2 percentage points year-on-year to 6% in 2019. At the same time, Swiss software companies were able to increase revenue per employee to around CHF 245,000. Looking ahead to 2020, the software industry expects low revenue growth of 2.7% (2019: 9.5%) and employee growth of just 6% (2019: 11.9%). For 2021, a recovery is in sight with a forecast revenue growth of 10.2% and employee growth of 11.6%.

Swiss software industry successful abroad

2020 formed a successful year for foreign business: In 2020, the Swiss software industry generated around 21% of its sales abroad. After an interim decline in 2018 to around 14%, this represents a return to the export ratio of 2017. Germany remains by far the most important export market with a share of total sales abroad of around 55%, followed by the other European countries. The export share to non-European countries remains relatively low at 14.6%.

Investing in home office infrastructure in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic.

Swiss software companies have not been spared from COVID-19 and the associated restrictions. Overall, however, the Swiss software industry was well prepared for the lockdown. Only 10.2% of the companies surveyed had to make major investments in the company-wide basic infrastructure for home office work (e.g. communication and collaboration software or VPN). However, 86.7% of the companies surveyed had to make larger investments to equip employees' home offices (e.g. in notebooks, monitors or headphones).

More flexible working models as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic

A majority of the Swiss software companies surveyed expect that the experience with COVID-19 and the associated restrictions will lead to the introduction of more flexible working models. In addition, a third of the companies surveyed want to empower their employees even more. Only 4% of the companies want to reduce their dependence on freelancers and sourcing service providers.

Revenue sources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Providers and resellers of standard and cloud solutions as well as providers of customization services for third-party solutions experienced a slight upswing thanks to the pandemic. However, the majority of the industry suffered from the postponement of existing orders and the difficulty in acquiring new customers and new orders.

Swiss software industry wants to reuse more software

Increasing productivity through software reuse is of strategic importance: Reusing software and software knowledge to create new software is of great importance to Swiss software companies: 73.2% of the companies surveyed systematically store knowledge from past projects for reuse, 67.6% consider reuse to be critical to success, and for 50.3% it is even among their declared strategic goals.

Source and further information: ICT Switzerland

Founded in 1962, the family-owned company WESCO specializes in the development, manufacture and distribution of fume hoods and ventilation systems for kitchens, homes, offices and schools. The company employs a total of 300 people at its headquarters in Wettingen and at its subsidiaries in Germany and Italy, generating annual sales of over CHF 90 million. There is now a change at the top of the company: Irina A. Leutwyler succeeds Beat Ernst as the new CEO, who has been in charge of operations since the departure of Dr. Adrian Beer and will now concentrate on his strategic task as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the WESCO Group, which operates throughout Europe. In parallel, he will continue to accompany selected innovation projects.

Experienced manager 

"With Irina Leutwyler, we have appointed an experienced managing director at the helm of our dynamic family-owned company, who brings comprehensive know-how in the development of international sales channels as well as in the opening up of new markets and business areas. I am convinced that Irina Leutwyler, with her drive and passion, will steer WESCO AG into a modern and successful future," Beat Ernst elaborates. "The mission Better Air and WESCO's commitment to the health and well-being of its customers will be our guiding principles."

Irina A. Leutwyler: "Courage to break new ground".

"WESCO is a well-established Swiss brand. I'm looking forward to continuing the success story together with the employees," says Irina Leutwyler and adds: "With a pioneering spirit and the courage to break new ground to develop forward-looking solutions, we create added value for our customers."

Before joining WESCO, Irina A. Leutwyler (46) held demanding management positions in renowned Swiss SMEs and an international industrial group. The electrical engineer trained as an industrial engineer and also holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) in Business Planning.

More information: WESCO

Fall is the budget season for businesses. Upcoming project costs, sales and fixed costs must be defined or forecast. Budgeting should be as realistic as possible right from the start so that there are no nasty surprises at the end of the year and company goals always remain in sight. Traditionally, young companies in particular find it difficult to estimate future costs and revenues. But the impact of the COVID pandemic makes it difficult for even long-time entrepreneurs to forecast their revenues. But especially for companies that work with foreign currencies and have to convert their sales in each case, early planning and hedging is urgently needed - also because the coronavirus will keep international trade in its grip for some time to come.

Autumn: It's time for budgeting

Zurich-based fintech company Ebury offers flexible financial services in the areas of financing, currency and payment services to SMEs operating internationally. In doing so, the company makes use of state-of-the-art technology. In addition, Ebury specializes in protecting companies from currency fluctuations and provides the following tips to help internationally active SMEs take the right measures for the coming financial year. Foreign currencies play a special role here.

Step 1: Estimate your costs or sales in foreign currencies

As difficult as it may seem, every company needs to estimate its expected fixed costs as well as variable costs for the coming year. Existing companies can forecast their revenues based on experience or existing orders. But even start-ups or younger companies should at least estimate their cost side with some degree of reliability: These include rents, insurance, wages and production costs. Here, special attention should be paid to costs or revenues that are spent or received in a foreign currency.

Step 2: Profit or cost protection - define the strategy

Once a rough idea of the coming year exists, the business should consider what is most important to it in terms of foreign currency management. Regular revenues or expenses in foreign currencies are naturally exposed to exchange rate risks. Now, if costs in a foreign currency are to be forecast through the end of the year, the operation should choose to minimize fluctuation: That is, the exchange rate should be fixed so that no unpleasant surprises await at the end of the year. Another option would be to protect operating profit: fluctuating exchange rates can eat up defined profit margins very quickly - in this case, the company could aim to define forecast sales in the foreign currency and fix the margin level based on this.

Step 3: Fix your budget rates

The budgeting is in place, and the currency management targets have been defined: The major part is done! Now it's time to define the budget rates for the various currencies based on the current rate. When defining, a buffer of about 5% can be quite useful, i.e.: Instead of fixing the exchange rate of US dollars to Swiss francs at the current 91 centimes, an exchange rate of 95 centimes can be budgeted. In this way, a pain threshold is set for the conversion and a negative exchange rate movement can be partially absorbed.

Step 4: Set the hedging strategy

With the targets set and the budget course, the next questions arise: What currency development can be expected? What is the industry outlook? Is the order situation relatively secure? Or are there practically no empirical values? All these questions are answered in the fourth step together with a professional. Ebury then defines an individual hedging strategy in close consultation with the company.

Step 5: Ensure flexible fitting

It's done: The measures have been defined, now it's time to implement them. While Ebury implements and continuously reviews the steps discussed, the company is well equipped to concentrate on its core business. Unlike traditional financial services providers such as banks, Ebury constantly monitors international trade and political events to advise clients on adjustments to their strategy. The team in Zurich is supported by state-of-the-art technology and international currency analysts. It does not matter whether the changes are driven by the currency market or whether the order situation of the company itself changes. This allows the SME to focus on the operational business, which can be worth its weight in gold in uncertain times like these.

Source and further information: Ebury

Maybe you know when parents encourage their children to go outside and play instead of always sitting in the living room. Why do they do that? Because they want their offspring to gain experience outside and experience something. Because we know that life experience never comes from studying in a room, but from getting your hands dirty.

Get out the door

I also sometimes feel like dad when I'm strategizing with my clients, saying, "You need to get out and experience and test your ideas!"

What do I mean by that? For most leadership teams, there is a big dip in the strategy process when it comes to transitioning from strategy to execution. Often, they have developed great new value propositions and new business models, or have come up with new structures and requirements for the team, or other innovations.

Turned in the wrong direction

And what happens next? Many are now trying to perfect these results with additional people. More stakeholders are involved in the discussion of business models, or HR managers in considerations of cultural change. The discussions are becoming more difficult because more and more details are being added.

It drags on and often comes to a complete standstill at some point. That is a pity! Because the results were excellent in the first step. Then you just took a turn in the wrong direction: Because instead of finally "going out to play", one has continued to occupy oneself "in the room".

Testing ideas in real life

But as I said at the beginning: You can only gain experience outside. That's why you need to get your new strategy hypothesis out into the market and into the reality of your culture as quickly as possible. This is the only way to avoid getting lost in the madness of discussion.

Here are three ideas on how to do that concretely:

1. Once you've decided on new value propositions and associated offerings (almost always an important part of the strategy), try to sell them to existing trusted customers - doing the following before you develop them or even produce them! You can offer favorable entry conditions for this or whatever else fits your market. Only when the first customers express serious interest, you know that you are on the right track.
2. For culture change issues, start the changes with a few teams or areas. See how it goes. You almost always need to make adjustments to communication and the exact design. But you won't know until you test your ideas in real life.
3. Shrink the time for everything, that is, give challenging timelines. For example, you might expect your people to have tested a new value proposition on 10-20 customers within 2-4 weeks and come back with suggestions for adjustments. Many people wait far too long and then wonder why nothing is progressing.

With these ideas, I hope to be able to encourage one or the other to bravely try them out. So then: What are you waiting for?

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

The pandemic continues to set the pace. Whether in terms of the economic outlook or corporate risks, Swiss CFOs still seem to see the short- and longer-term development of the pandemic as the main factor in their planning. In terms of the economy, they do expect a rapid recovery compared with the spring. Nevertheless, a relative majority of 42% assess the economic outlook for Switzerland over the next twelve months negatively. Only 28% have positive expectations and 30% are neutral. The survey was conducted in September, i.e. before the current case numbers had shot up again.

Payment and credit defaults as a risk

However, economic expectations have clearly improved. In the spring, a full 96% of the CFOs surveyed after the introduction of the Corona measures still expected a negative development of the economy for the coming twelve months. "Our survey shows that the precarious situation of spring has eased for many companies," explains Michael Grampp, Chief Economist at Deloitte Switzerland. "However, the situation remains unstable, as can be seen in the latest pandemic developments. The steeply rising infection figures in Europe are unsettling many people. Much now depends on further political reactions - this applies to Switzerland as well as to our major sales markets."

The federal government's aid measures were able to stabilize the economic situation in Switzerland. In particular, short-time work and the rapidly disbursed Corona loans enabled companies to navigate through the crisis to some extent. "It is clear: The government aid measures were absolutely necessary at the beginning of the crisis," says Michael Grampp. "However, the longer such measures remain in place, the greater the risk of negative side effects. Companies that do not generate profit or create value should not be kept alive artificially on a permanent basis, otherwise there is a risk of zombification of the economy," Michael Grampp continues.

Return to pre-crisis levels still a long way off

More than half (54%) of the CFOs surveyed say that the financial situation of their companies has clearly improved compared to three months ago. In June of this year, just over two-thirds (67%) believed the outlook was poor and only 9% believed their situation would improve. "This significant turnaround is very encouraging," explains Alessandro Miolo, Managing Partner for Audit & Assurance at Deloitte Switzerland. "The Swiss economy seems to be stabilizing a lot faster than after the euro crisis or the franc shock."

As far as the growth outlook for the next twelve months is concerned, the CFOs surveyed are more cautious: only 36% are planning for growth and 29% are expecting a decline. Major differences can be seen in the details. While sales recover the most with an increase of 51%, there is only a slight increase in margins (increase of 21%) and employee numbers (increase of 1%) and the figures remain clearly in negative territory.

CFOs are less optimistic than they were three months ago about their revenues: "In the summer, CFOs were even more optimistic and assumed that the majority of their companies would already be generating revenues at pre-crisis levels again in the first quarter of 2021," says Alessandro Miolo. "Now, most CFOs don't expect revenues to fully recover until the third quarter of 2021, a full six months later."

Digitalization push catapults cyber security to the top

For the first time since the CFO survey began over ten years ago, Swiss CFOs cite payment and credit defaults as a significant risk for their companies and rank it as one of the top three risks. "The fact that payment and credit defaults are seen as one of the biggest risks clearly shows: CFOs take this risk very seriously. There is a risk that credit defaults could also affect banks," says Alessandro Miolo. "For the moment, payment difficulties can still go unnoticed, as government aid measures help bridge the gap," Miolo continues.

The pandemic is still the number one risk, followed by weak demand, which is also related to the pandemic. The biggest jump on the list is visible in the topic of cyber security. The risk identified in the Spring CFO survey predicted Digitization push during the pandemic has led to more people working from home, but this is increased the risk of cyberattacks. "CFOs have recognized that the flow of data into the home office needs to be better secured," explains Alessandro Miolo. "Companies are now required to take targeted measures to ensure that the home office does not become a gateway for cybercriminals. This includes, among other things, better training of employees and targeted investments in more secure IT solutions," says Miolo.

Reduction of employees and office space

As expected, many companies have imposed new cost-cutting measures on themselves. These are already very advanced at most companies. Most of the companies (85%) have mainly reduced spending on business travel or marketing, followed by a reduction in overtime and vacation balances (70%). As is very often the case during a crisis, many of the companies surveyed are planning to reduce headcount - 33% of respondents have already implemented this.

The situation with office space was also evaluated. 31% of the respondents are looking into what office space they will need in the future and 17% have already made changes. "More employees are working in home offices and this will continue in the future," says Alessandro Miolo. "On the one hand, companies can realize savings on office space as a result. On the other hand, more space will be needed to ensure spacing and to use the existing space differently. For example, there will be more space for sharing and meeting and less space for classic desks."

Source: Deloitte

Citrix, a company specializing in solutions for the digital workspace, conducted a comprehensive survey on the future of work. Studies which lasted over a period of one year. For this, the company worked with the consulting firm Oxford Analytica and the business researchers at Coleman Parkes. More than 500 managers and 1,000 employees in large and medium-sized companies in the USA, the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands were asked about their current and future HR strategies and working models. From this, the study authors derived the following four trends for the year 2035:

Support from robots and AI - the Digital Workspace

Robots have long played an important role in the economy. For example, they assemble parts in the automotive industry - faster and more efficiently than any human could ever do. However, they follow a precisely defined sequence. A human has decided in advance what this sequence should look like, and the robot has been programmed accordingly. This could change in the future: Artificial intelligence will enable robots or digital assistants to support humans in decision-making as well. 77 percent of those surveyed by Citrix believe that AI will support decision-making processes in 15 years, leading to increased productivity. Eighty-three percent also believe that simple but time-consuming jobs can be fully automated by 2035. In turn, 79 percent of survey participants see this as an important prerequisite for giving employees more room for further development.

Emergence of new occupational profiles

In the course of the digital transformation and especially with regard to AI, there is widespread fear that there could be large-scale job losses. It is often forgotten that every technical development also creates new jobs. In the course of the digital transformation, the following new occupational fields will emerge according to the estimates of those surveyed in the study:

• Robotics/ AI trainers (82 percent of executives/ 44 percent of employees).
• Virtual reality managers (79 percent of managers/ 36 percent of employees)
• Advanced Data Scientist (76 percent of managers/ 35 percent of employees).
• Privacy and trust managers (68 percent of executives/ 30 percent of employees).
• Design thinkers (56 percent of managers/ 27 percent of employees)

Flexibilization of work

The ever-increasing automation of production processes means that less and less manual work needs to be done by people. Employees who only need a laptop to do their job can, in principle, do it anywhere they have an Internet connection. Companies that recognize this and organize their work culture accordingly can access a much larger talent pool. This will enable new, more flexible working models: 67 percent of respondents believe that a so-called "platform" model will prevail, in which employees and companies work together flexibly on a project-by-project basis. Artificial intelligence could also play an important role in distributed work. Intelligent assistants could, for example, ensure that meetings with participants from different time zones are better coordinated and even adjusted to their respective biorhythms.

Productivity and growth increases through AI

51 percent of the executives surveyed think new technology will make employees at least twice as productive as they are now. AI will play a crucial role in this, according to the respondents. Personal assistants could support employees in their day-to-day work by first learning habits and processes and then taking over repetitive tasks themselves. AI could also take a "critical" look at employee workloads and provide early warnings - for example, at the first signs of burnout. But AI can contribute to a company's success not only indirectly, by increasing employee productivity, but also directly, through its own value creation. 90 percent of the executives surveyed even believe that investments in AI technologies will be primarily responsible for the growth of companies in the future.

Source: Citrix

Due to the Corona crisis, companies are increasingly concerned about losing employees with valuable key skills. 86 % of executives worldwide are concerned about not being able to retain skilled and valuable employees for the long term. For more than a third of concerned employers (36 %), recent pay cuts or at least the lack of prospect of a pay rise in the near future are the cause. This is shown by the current labor market study of the personnel service provider Robert Half.

Salaries largely stable, but additional bonuses declining

"There is a lot of uncertainty in the labor market. Nevertheless, there is also good news," says Zerrin Azeri, associate director at Robert Half. "Salaries remain largely stable despite Corona. Many companies have also introduced new benefits, mainly to help their employees with remote work."

According to the new Salary overview 2021 of the personnel service provider for Switzerland, no changes will be made to salaries this year. Despite the economic crisis, bonuses will also be paid this year. For every second person (52 %), there will be no change in additional payments, according to the study. However, 38 % of respondents announce that bonus payments will be lower in 2020 than in the previous year.

Valuable employees are to be retained through additional benefits

These pandemic-induced cost-cutting measures are unsettling employers and employees alike. Almost half (41 %) of the companies surveyed fear that employees in key positions could be poached by other companies. "Employees are the most valuable asset of Swiss companies, both to cope with the crisis in the short term and to ensure long-term company growth," Azeri stresses. "Many employees have been pushed to their limits during the pandemic due to overtime and taking on more responsibility. They have become aware of this in recent months, so they are starting to rethink their personal career priorities."

Many companies are already responding to this development by offering additional benefits since the start of the corona crisis. These include allowances for office equipment, support in the area of mental health, additional leave or support in the area of external childcare.

Remote work has an impact on salary levels

Telecommuting and home office also affect salary levels. As more and more employees work from home, their location is increasingly influencing salary levels. According to Robert Half's labor market survey, starting salary is primarily based on the new employee's location (32 %) and 28 % on the company's. For 37 % of respondents, it is a mix of both locations. This is also visible in Switzerland.

"Despite the current job losses, Swiss companies will continue to hire new employees in 2021, as the impact is not felt equally across all industries. There is a great demand for new talent, especially in the finance, IT and office sectors," said Azeri. "It continues to be difficult for many companies to find the right people they need to support their business professionals. This includes accounting staff, IT analysts or customer service representatives. Professionals with in-demand skills know that you still have a good chance in the job market. That's why employers must continue to offer competitive salaries and benefits. It's the only way they can retain top candidates and continue to find them in the future."

"In addition, there is a significant shift in soft skills. Agility, creativity and communication have become more important as they demonstrate resilience and flexibility in employees. These skills are particularly valuable in these challenging times," Azeri adds.

Source and further information: Robert Half

The Swiss SME Day in St.Gallen planned for October 23, 2020 will be postponed to next year. It will now take place on October 22, 2021. The reason for the postponement is the covid protection measures tightened at short notice by the Federal Council in the new ordinance. They have now proved to be too great an obstacle to keep the mixture of technical input in presentations and discussions and the cultivation and expansion of the personal network still reasonably feasible. It seems that the conference motto "SMEs and surprises - bang on!" is once again proving to be truer than one could wish.

Swiss SME Day focuses on health protection

"We were prepared to hold this important SME networking event with a comprehensive protection concept," explains Tobias Wolf, member of the organizing committee: "Although some guests rebooked for the streaming option, there would still have been over 800 participants on site." For Swiss SME Day, however, the focus is on protecting health - just as it is in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) themselves - and thus helping to contain the pandemic. And this includes a complete implementation of the measures prescribed by the authorities: Admittedly, RFID tracing on SME Day would have gone much further than prescribed. However, the 100-second sectors ordered at short notice in the lecture room and correspondingly also in the catering cannot be implemented at the Swiss SME Day with justifiable effort.

Hope for understanding

Although the organizers regret the postponement, they are certain that the Swiss SME scene will understand and remain loyal to the event next year. In any case, the tickets sold will retain their validity. New details about the program will be announced later.

www.kmu-tag.ch

In times of crisis or uncertainty like the current ones, the psychological stress and illnesses of employees increase. And their managers? They often look the other way when they notice a change in an employee's behavior - partly because they are unsure: Am I offending the employee too much when I talk to him about it? Or does he even perceive it as an intrusion into his private sphere? And: Is the situation possibly even getting worse as a result?

Managers bear joint responsibility

Answering the above questions is not easy for managers! After all, their perception is always subjective. Nevertheless, it is their task not only to recognize changes in employee behavior, but also to respond to them adequately. This presupposes that the manager is in regular contact with the employees.

How do you recognize employees who are under psychological strain? Indications for a strong psychological stress or even illness can be:

• Absenteeism is on the rise.
• The employee quickly reacts irritably and appears exhausted.
• It takes longer to complete everyday tasks.
• The employee makes more mistakes.
• He withdraws socially.

How to respond to the "alarm signals"? If you as a manager register such changes in an employee, it is not your job as a layperson to make a medical or psychological diagnosis. However, you should not ignore the situation, but address it. The concern that this will make the situation worse is usually unfounded - as long as there is a genuine personal interest in the person's well-being behind your approach. Then the person concerned will experience your becoming active as an expression of personal appreciation and an offer of support - if needed.

The earlier mental overload and developing illnesses are recognized and counteracted, the better it is for your team. After all, your team also suffers when a colleague suffers.

How you should proceed? 4 steps!

 Step 1: Perceiving the change

• Regular contact with employees is needed to identify changes.
• Don't talk about an employee's ongoing (behavioral) changes with colleagues behind their backs.

Step 2: Addressing the observations

• Seek one-on-one discussion with the employee.
• Address your observations in specific situations.
• Avoid your own interpretations and judgments of the situation.
• If the employee does not share your observations, do not coerce him or her to do so.
• Offer him support.

Step 3: Take the initiative for change

• Ask the employee whether and, if so, what support they would like from you, their colleagues, the company.
• Assure him of your support. Agree on concrete measures with him, if necessary.
• If your observations do not change after the interview, have another conversation with the employee to address his or her behavior.
• Illuminate with him or her operational and, if possible, private resources for positive change.

Step 4: Performing a leadership function

• If several discussions with the employee do not lead to an improvement, you should move on to formulating your expectations (for example, taking advantage of supportive measures).
• Involve (extra-)operational helpers.

Recognizing employees under psychological stress at an early stage: Communication helps

Open and early communication about how to restore an employee's well-being and ability to work increases the likelihood that a good solution will be found for everyone involved. So as a manager, you should take action. Because at the end of the day, what matters is that a proven employee remains with your company.

About the author:
Sabine Machwürth is a member of the management board of the internationally operating management consultancy Machwürth Team International (MTI Consultancy) in Visselhövede (Germany). www.mticonsultancy.com

"I didn't do it!", "That's what the other department said!" or: "That's what the customer wanted." Shifting responsibility is a common mechanism. This reflex is particularly effective in the case of failed attempts or dissatisfaction. In the short term, it makes (work) life easier, but in the long term, this behavior harms companies and dampens motivation and the enjoyment of the job. "For employees to be able to work independently, the appropriate conditions must be created. A new, modern understanding of leadership is needed for this. The boss does not automatically wear the hat in all matters," explains Claudia Frahm, systemic coach and trainer at flowedoo GmbH (www.flowedoo.de). This Cologne-based company specializes in agile management consulting - especially for medium-sized businesses. The question is often at the center: how can responsibility be distributed sensibly and what do employees need to be able to work truly independently?

From command recipient to co-thinker

What does the working world of the future need? In the future, it will no longer be enough to fulfill the proverbial 40-hour attendance requirement. "It's less about how much and where and when, and more about results-oriented work. In return, the role of employees is shifting from being purely recipients of orders to being part of a company that thinks for itself and shapes the company," explains Frahm. "But this also means that managers can no longer rely on the usual mechanisms of command and control." A classic, controlling leadership style deprives employees of the opportunity to grow and nips innovative ideas in the bud. The leadership of the future is characterized by mentorship as well as coaching and empowers employees to work independently. Frahm goes even further: "To be allowed to make one's own decisions and, in doing so, to have the trust of the team members and the
Enjoying the company's employees' feedback from their superiors makes them enjoy their work more and gives them the feeling that they are really making a difference. And that's also an enormous incentive for employees to develop their own ideas, which ideally help the entire company move forward.

Responsibility as a happiness factor

Working on one's own responsibility even leads to the fact that employees basically are happier and can train new skills. They not only do a better job, but also get more involved - they question the status quo and thus provide impetus for the entire company. In addition, changes or unplanned events do not throw them off track so quickly. Against this backdrop, it seems even more astonishing, That less than half of employees feel they can influence important decisions. "We see a lot of catching up to do in this area. In many places, employees are given responsibility, but mutual trust is very weak," Frahm analyzes. This situation leads to a pseudo-transfer of responsibility that ultimately leaves everyone involved unhappy. Typical of this development in companies: Managers or colleagues subliminally let the supposed 'decision-maker' know beforehand what decision they expect him or her to make. "It's a vicious circle that some teams or companies can only break out of with external help," says Frahm.

Several hats in circulation

How can personal responsibility be strengthened in the company in the long term? "Simply proclaiming personal responsibility does not work. Such steps require good preparation and the will to change," Frahm knows. In any case, a few basic points make the distribution of responsibility easier: Employees need a framework in which they can live out their creativity, and concrete targets. "Sounds simple at first, but different members of a team often perform the same task very differently," adds the trainer. In addition, there is a positive culture of mistakes, feedback and trust, which forms the basis for independent work. But the best conditions don't have much effect if employees aren't willing to take responsibility, Frahm also believes: "Agile leadership on the one hand and the active assumption of responsibility by employees on the other - these are two sides of the same coin." Managers and employees must therefore absolutely pull together, because both handing over and taking responsibility can be learned. "That's why it can make sense to get support from coaches or trainers. In the future, it will no longer be a question of who wears the hat - and that's a good thing," Frahm is convinced. "Successful companies have several symbolic hats in circulation at once."

We have long been professionals at keeping our distance, washing our hands and wearing masks. Ventilation, on the other hand, is something many of us don't think about. Not yet. But numerous studies show that the coronavirus can also be transmitted via aerosols. Germany was the first country to declare ventilation as one of the five main measures to contain the coronavirus. After the lockdown in the spring, it is clear to many that we want to be able to continue visiting our parents and grandparents in nursing homes, send our children to school, and share the office with our colleagues as a change from the home office.

With fresh air against Corona

Particularly in rooms with many people, such as classrooms, meeting rooms, open-plan offices, co-working spaces, restaurants, hospitals and retirement and care centers, a lack of fresh air can quickly lead to an increased risk of infection with the coronavirus. Even when distance is maintained and hands are diligently washed. This is because we spread aerosols through the air we breathe out. Coronaviruses also enter the air through these. By ventilating, we can reduce the amount of aerosols in the air. And thus also the risk of infection with the coronavirus. Proper ventilation in offices is therefore the motto for the coming fall and winter months. As simple as it may seem, proper and effective ventilation is not that easy.

Know when it's time to ventilate offices

The CO2 concentration is a reliable indicator of when and how much fresh air supply is needed. And this is exactly where CARU air comes in. "With CARU air, we don't just want to measure the CO2 concentration in the air," says Susanne Dröscher, co-CEO of CARU AG. "We want to incorporate ventilation into everyday life in a playful way and make it a team sport - for young and old." The CARU air CO2 measuring device works like a traffic light: it's time to ventilate at yellow (1000 - 1399 ppm CO2) at the earliest and red (> 1400 ppm CO2) at the latest. CARU air is more or less a "side kick" to CARU AG's core product, a voice-controlled emergency call for seniors with chat function. "The step from a voice-controlled emergency call to a CO2 measuring device may seem big from the outside. In fact, by turning our vision into the core product, everything needed for a cool CO2 meter was already there: an award-winning design and a high-quality CO2 sensor from Sensirion," says Thomas Helbling, co-CEO of CARU AG. The high-quality sensor from the world's leading manufacturer of digital microsensors, headquartered in Switzerland, ensures that CARU air determines the CO2 concentration accurately and reliably.

First units already successfully in operation

For a few weeks now, the first CARU airs have been installed in selected schools, retirement homes, offices and doctors' surgeries. The feedback: positive across the board. Jan Hollenstein, Managing Director of
Tertianum Residenz Segeten says: "Since the spring, the demands relating to the pandemic have steadily increased for the employees. They have to pay attention to many things at the same time. CARU air makes it easy for us in terms of ventilation and therefore ideally complements our protection concept." The first pre-orders from large companies such as units at ETH Zurich have already arrived. CARU air can be conveniently ordered online: www.caruair.com.

Barco, a leading provider of visualization and collaboration solutions, has published a new large-scale study. It reveals some surprising results about what employees around the world expect from the workplace in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic. The study - which surveyed 1,750 employees worldwide (250 each from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, India and the United Arab Emirates) through global research panel provider Dynata - found that only 15% of employees plan to continue working full-time from home after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Nearly half of respondents said they are less likely to want to work from home today than they were when the pandemic began. They cited challenges collaborating with colleagues, difficulty collaborating in meetings, and a lack of the social component of office life as the main reasons for their desire to return to the office. Instead, employees want hybrid work models. In these models, most time is spent in the office, but employees also have the flexibility and freedom to work from home when it works best for them. The survey found that the ideal balance is a global average of 3 days in the office, with a maximum of 2 days per week working remotely.

The home office has lost its luster

The survey results suggest that many employees have been negatively impacted by being away from their colleagues - both emotionally and in their work. Globally, 49% said they have found working from home less enjoyable over time. 37% said they found it harder to collaborate when working remotely. 29% said it is difficult for them to contribute at meetings when they are virtually connected. 28% said they are more easily distracted at home.

Not surprisingly, collaboration and social contact were the main reasons people wanted to return to the office: 45 % said they found it easier to work with colleagues in the office. The same proportion said they liked the social aspect of office life. Thus, 44% emphasized the importance of spontaneous encounters.

Hybrid work models will entail office transformation

According to the study, most employees believe that the world of work will return to some sort of normalcy after COVID-19. However, hybrid meetings, where one part of the workforce is connected virtually and the other part participates from the office, will become the norm. After a huge trend in recent years toward environments for impromptu meetings, known as huddle spaces, the results suggest that these areas may be on the way out. 50% of respondents said they preferred formal meeting spaces. 75% prefer scheduled meetings to impromptu meetings.

Surprisingly, employees seemed very strongly opposed to the idea of spending more time in satellite offices or collaboration spaces - a trend many had predicted as a result of the pandemic. Most employees still prefer to spend most of their time in a large corporate headquarters. However, with more flexibility than before to work from home some of the time.

Video conferencing is the heartbeat of business collaboration

The respondents to the study would most like to see new investments in video conferencing equipment for meeting rooms. The results may seem surprising at first glance, but the use of video conferencing technology is now widespread. The technology plays a fundamental role in the collaboration, communication and productivity of a digital and modern workforce.

After traditional meeting rooms, video conferencing rooms are the most frequently used rooms in the office. 77% of respondents said they use video conferencing rooms at least once a week, with an average of 28% using them daily.

The laptop becomes more important for employee communication and participation

The "Bring Your Own Meeting" trend that was growing prior to COVID-19 - where employees use not only their own devices, but also their own preferred conferencing solutions - has continued to grow during the pandemic. Indeed, the results of the study show that the laptop is now the most important device for most employees at work: 77% said they could not work without a laptop while at work.

Despite the increase in the use of room cameras (traditional in-room conferencing systems and USB-based SWAPs) from 30% to 40% in one year, laptop cameras are still the most commonly used for virtual meetings. 54% use their laptop camera, compared to 40% who use room cameras and 24% who use their smartphone camera. At the same time, more than 60% of respondents complain about interference with their cameras during meetings.

Technological change will lead to further improvements in meetings

Nearly half of the employees surveyed felt that the frequency of meetings had increased over the past year. Although much frustration was expressed around virtual meetings during the lockdown, overall, respondents felt that the quality of meetings has improved over the past 12 months. Nearly twice as many people expect meetings to have improved, rather than worsened.

Employees have high expectations for technology improvements in future meetings. The biggest priorities are given to technologies that increase efficiency and ease of use and simplify workflows. 56% said apps for participating in a one-click video conference should be available within the next year if they are not already. In addition, most people expect voice recognition technology, collaboration software and Instagram-like filters for video conferencing within two years.

Hybrid work models require more technology

This underscores the need for meeting technologies to enable more connectivity between physical and virtual participants in the future. For example, six in ten cite a lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues as one of the top reasons for being less connected to their co-workers. 49% said that remote collaboration with colleagues, customers and others is not a given. If technology can help foster better connectedness through hybrid and virtual meetings, for example, we will continue to see an increase in the quality of meetings.

Source: Barco