The implementation of the job notification requirement - a measure in connection with the implementation of the mass immigration initiative, which aims to give priority to Swiss nationals for vacant positions - is causing criticism, particularly in the hospitality industry, as a recent survey by the industry association GastroSuisse shows. The respondents criticize the high costs for companies as well as the quality of the dossiers sent by the RAV. In addition, the survey revealed that the RAVs do not adhere to the legally prescribed deadlines. The hospitality industry, as a personnel-intensive sector with more than 200,000 employees, is particularly dependent on a practicable implementation of the job notification requirement. According to the survey, 26.4 % of the companies surveyed have already reported at least one job to the RAV in just two and a half months.

Deficiencies are obvious

The experiences of GastroSuisse members are mixed: 57.8 % are moderately to not at all satisfied with the services of the RAV. They criticize the great effort and the low success rate. The dossiers they receive often do not match the job profile. Well over half of the dossiers sent by the REOs (54.8 %) were not suitable. The REOs were able to fill just one in 7 to 8 reported vacancies (13.7 %). The quality of the dossiers could be improved by refining the occupational nomenclature. The occupation type "kitchen staff", for example, incorrectly includes skilled and unskilled personnel. "There is a serious shortage of skilled cooks. Yet vacancies must be reported. Where are all the unemployed cooks if the RAV can't deliver suitable dossiers either?" wonders Casimir Platzer, president of GastroSuisse and hotelier in Kandersteg.

Waiting times far too long

Also unsatisfactory are the sometimes very long waiting times in the recruitment process. Only one company received immediate confirmation of receipt from the RAV (0.6 %). But this is exactly what GastroSuisse demands in order to shorten waiting times. Because only at this point does the five-day blocking period begin to run, during which employers are not allowed to advertise the position publicly. The duration between confirmation of receipt and delivery of the dossiers is also clearly too long: 43.4 % of the companies had to wait 4 days or longer, thus exceeding the legal time limit of 3 days. Overall, one third of the surveyed establishments (33.3 %) that finally received a dossier had to wait 8 days or longer from the time of job notification. For 8.3 %, it took even longer than 14 days. The hospitality industry has comparatively high fluctuations in staffing levels that need to be compensated for quickly. The long waiting times lead to an overload of the employed staff and massively complicate business management.

Source: GastroSuisse
Read more about the job notification requirement and initial experiences with it in this ORGANISATOR article.

At a media briefing during the 38th swissICT Symposium, which was held in Basel for the first time in 2018 with over 100 experts, swissICT President Thomas Flatt expressed his conviction that the ICT industry itself is well equipped. However, he said, the business community needs to become even more aware that digitization now has a massive impact on a company's core strategy.

Focus on education

Politicians and companies would not sleep through digitalization, said Thomas Flatt in response to the observation that many companies were still paying too little attention to the development. In the discussion with Andri Silberschmidt, president of the Jungfreisinnigen Schweiz and board member of the FDP Switzerland, the IT and marketing specialist Thomas Hutter and the top specialist for artificial intelligence (AI), Pascal Kaufmann, there was agreement that the focus must be on education for a successful future.

Silberschmidt also identified a need for action on taxes, labor law and spatial planning. According to Thomas Flatt, however, there is no need for a new tax model for startups but simply a "debate on how digital value creation should be taxed via the existing tax system.

Leadership in artificial intelligence

AI pioneer Pascal Kaufmann emphasized that Switzerland is number one in Europe in the field of artificial intelligence research and is ideally placed to take a leading role in the "AI race". Only with considerable investments - Pascal Kaufmann speaks of billions - could this role be secured in the longer term. He reckoned that the next five to ten years would see a major breakthrough in artificial intelligence. "The cards will be reshuffled worldwide," Kaufmann says.

Skills shortage the bigger problem than robots

That's why Kaufmann also advocated a reorientation in training. The four experts did not see jobs in which people play an important role in danger. Rather, it boils down to the fact that many positions will not be filled in the next few years, partly because the baby boomer generation is retiring.

IT specialist Thomas Hutter was also convinced that new jobs would be created. In his experience, however, many Swiss companies still need a lot of convincing and investment. There is still a great deal of reticence when it comes to digital topics, said Hutter.

www.swissict-symposium.ch

The survey found that 85 % of working parents would willingly trade other benefits for flexible working. 81 % of respondents considered a better work-life balance to be the most important benefit. Flexible workspaces, also known as coworking spaces, offer individuals and employers spaces with an important advantage: there's no need to commute to the office or work at home, where people are easily distracted. The growing market for flexible workspaces shows that more and more such spaces are available in every conceivable location. This high availability is also a key benefit of flexible workspaces, as users no longer need to commute and can work closer to home. According to Regus' survey, working parents would prefer to spend the time they lose commuting with family (71 %). In second place is time for themselves such as a long bath or activities with friends (38 %).

Employers beware: Working parents are happy to compromise for flexible options

Employers should note that flexible working is a top priority for working parents. 96 % of working parents say they would like to work for an employer who offers flexible working as part of the compensation package, and 74 % say they would also change jobs if such an offer was made.

Maximum benefit from flexible options

For many parents, switching to flexible working equates to a significant increase in quality of life. For those currently on the lookout for such opportunities, Regus has put together some useful tips here:

1. Negotiate with your employer: Convincing your employer to offer flexible working may be easier than you think, even if it's not offered yet. Perhaps you can trade a less valuable benefit for flexible working or negotiate new work hours. For example, working parents say they would be willing to give up benefits such as a company-sponsored gym membership for flexible working (85 %).
2. Engage creatively with your location: Commuting doesn't necessarily involve walking from your front door to the office. If you'd rather work near a school or daycare center, or closer to a client than your main office, you can do so with the coworking spaces and flexible office spaces that are now available in countless locations.
3. Put an end to presenteeism: Flexible workspaces are part of a new age in the world of work. Thanks to new technologies, employees are more flexible than ever before. For many parents, working hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. are incompatible with their children's daily schedules. To get the most benefit from flexible working, consider adjusting your hours so that you either start late and finish late or start early and finish early. Or, completely detach yourself from your work schedule and focus on delivering results.
4. Use flexible working as a stopgap: You can't work flexibly full-time? Perhaps you can keep this option open at least for emergencies, such as when the kindergarten is closed or you have a lot of appointments. You don't have to switch completely to flexible working unless it's absolutely necessary. Still, it's reassuring to know that this option is open to you if you need it.

Working parents should express their wishes to their employers

Garry Gürtler, Country Manager of Regus Switzerland, emphasizes that "the pace of the modern working world makes it difficult for everyone to strike a balance between work and private life. Working parents are particularly affected by this and find it difficult to reconcile family and career. With flexible work schedules, parents can reduce their commute time and adapt their daily routine more flexibly to their private commitments. More and more working parents are showing an interest in the benefits of flexible working. For this reason, employers should be prepared for more and more parents expressing this desire during job interviews."

Source and further information: Regus

Digitalization is constantly bringing new technologies to the market that influence business processes, customers, employees and services. "Managers are required to respond to the challenges and set the course," knows Martin Beims, managing partner of Aretas GmbH, a service-oriented management consultancy based in Aschaffenburg. "Elementary here is the design of appropriate conditions and processes for people, instead of forcing them into existing systems and solutions from the literature. To do this, those responsible must take one thing into account above all else: Emotions."

Emotionalize processes

Almost every company now has more or less consistently digitized processes, including in service management. Customers usually feel this only subliminally, but in the absence of digitization, poor data integration, communication problems and a lack of synchronization make themselves felt. To avoid this, the focus is on the client and fostering the feeling of being understood and being in safe hands. "We're talking about what we call the emotionalization of services," says Beims. "Every service and process subconsciously triggers positive or negative emotions that the brain stores and draws on when making future decisions." In other words, if the service experience was good, a customer feels more likely to order something or claim a service from the same company again than after a negative experience. Emotionalizing services and their sales channels therefore gives companies a competitive edge.

Focus on customer requirements

Emotions unconsciously influence people's actions. If companies meet the individual needs of customers, this increases their sense of well-being and satisfaction. This in turn then has an effect on decision-making. When designing processes, it is important to ensure that the customer is the focus: How does the customer want the process to work? "Especially with regard to complaints and disruptions, the importance of emotionalized processes is enormous and the impact of a lack of digitalization is noticeable. Here, it is important to really understand the needs of the customers and to consistently align the processes with them," explains the aretas managing director. Employees must deal with customers with understanding and work out solutions together with them. Only through this emotional bond can a basis of trust be built up, which is consolidated in the customer's brain so that he then seeks out the company's expertise again.

Involve employees

In all change processes, management must always involve employees right from the start. After all, feelings only come into play when everyone involved knows what modern requirements are and how they can respond to them. "In this context, it is essential for long-term motivation and thus the success of the service offering to find the right balance between individual wishes as well as ideas about the service process and, at the same time, corporate necessities. When dealing with customers, on the other hand, it is always best to act in the way you would like to be treated," explains Beims. A middle course is called for, always taking into account the goal of making the product or service a perfect fit for the customer. It is up to the employees to recognize the situation and act accordingly so that a customer relationship can develop. This bond that has been created must be strengthened as quickly as possible with the help of renewed positive experiences. "One thing is certain: For managers, there is no way around making processes as simple and understandable as possible for customers, because people won't buy products they don't understand," Beims sums up. This means that service has to inspire customers so that they will also use the products or services offered there the next time. This often makes other decision-making criteria, such as price, secondary.

Further information about aretas GmbH at www.aretas.de

Usually, the reason for a strategy workshop is that decision-makers in the top management of a company have the vague feeling: "We have to do something or change something so that we can achieve the desired success in the medium and long term." But it is still unclear what needs to be done. So a strategy workshop is scheduled.

Why should the workshop take place?

Whoever is entrusted with the preparation of a strategy workshop must know its occasion. For example, if the company does not yet have a strategy, one must be developed. If, on the other hand, the existing strategy is to be reviewed, the priority is to monitor its success. And does the company want to develop its strategy further? Then the focus is on assessments of market developments or technical developments.

Sometimes the strategy discussion is not about strategy at all. This is often the case, in particular, when operating results are declining or the decision-makers have the feeling: Something is fundamentally going wrong. People often talk about the need for a new strategy. But in fact, the players are looking for a quick solution to a problem that is only partially understood.

What do you need to consider?

Once the occasion for the strategy workshop is known, its planning can begin - by asking yourself the following questions, among others:

Aim of the workshop

• What is the result or goal to be achieved and is it achievable?
• Which target/interest groups need to be considered?
• What signal should be sent to them?

Workshop framework

• Which people should be invited?
• When should the strategy workshop take place?
• What data base should be available at the meeting?
• What data and information still needs to be obtained?
• How does it come to budgeting, release of activities and costs incurred due to the potential decisions?

Necessary reconciliations

• Who needs to be involved in the planning in advance?
• What are the expectations of the notified participants for the workshop?
• How is communication going to stakeholders who are not participating in the workshop? 

Open up the strategy process?

The viability of strategic decisions depends heavily on the quality of the underlying information and thought models. Therefore, workshop planners should - if possible - open the strategy development process to outside influences.

This starts in your own organization by not only involving people who need to be involved because of their function. Ask yourself: Which people should participate in the workshop so that the intended goals are achieved?

It is usually advisable to involve the following groups of people in the opinion-forming and decision-making process associated with strategy development:

• Decision maker - in other words, the people who ultimately call the shots in the organization qua function,
• Knowledge carrier - i.e., the people in the organization who have a sound technical and experiential knowledge of the issues involved in strategy development (e.g., related to the needs of the target customers, existing IT structure),
• Experts - i.e. external consultants who, for example, have in-depth know-how about (anticipated) future technological development and/or market development,
• Multipliers - in other words, the people in one's own organization who, once the strategic decisions have been made, have to communicate them to the employees in everyday operations, for example, and win them over as comrades-in-arms.

Companies often proceed according to the maxim of secrecy - especially when strategic decisions have to be made due to past failures. Consultants are then often commissioned to bring in missing know-how while maintaining confidentiality in order to remedy deficiencies. This makes sense! Under no circumstances, however, should decision-makers forget to involve representatives of their own organization in the strategy work, since they - unlike external experts or consultants - know the strengths and weaknesses of the company, for example in the areas of innovation, customer orientation and product development. In addition, knowledge carriers, for example, are more supportive of strategic decisions if representatives of them have been involved in the process.

Hire neutral workshop facilitators?

The participants in strategy workshops usually have a different view of the problem due to their professional biography and function in the organization. This means that they have different assessments of what is necessary, sensible and expedient, and thus reach different conclusions. Accordingly, it is important to have a neutral person who moderates the opinion-forming and decision-making process so that it ends with strategic decisions that are supported by all participants. 

To the author: Kevin Pfander works as a strategy and change consultant for the management consultancy Dr. Kraus & Partner, Bruchsal near Karlsruhe, which supports companies worldwide in developing and implementing their strategy (www.kraus-und-partner.de).

In April and May, the leading online B2B marketplace in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, "Wer liefert was", together with the Kloepfel Group, a service provider for purchasing for SMEs, surveyed 1,413 purchasing managers from the DACH region. Half of those surveyed believe that digitization is leading to a variety of roles, tasks and responsibilities in purchasing at companies. Just under a quarter (24%) still see people as the central factor in purchasing in the future. However, as many as 10 percent believe that the advancing development of technologies will ensure that procurement processes are fully automated and that purchasing in its current form will no longer occur. A full 87 percent believe that advances in digitization will improve purchasing.

Digitization influences all areas of the company

"Digitalization is becoming more and more prevalent in all areas of the company, or is already firmly anchored in some areas. It is also advancing in purchasing, which means that this area is taking on a key role," explains Doreen Schlicht, CMO & Human Resources at Wer liefert was. "However, the human factor remains the driver of development. Therefore, further training in purchasing remains enormously important for purchasing success, both in terms of digitalization know-how and negotiation skills," warns Heidrun Meder, Head of Group Recruiting & Employer Branding Kloepfel Group.

New technologies change the job profile of the buyer

More than half of the purchasing managers surveyed (53%) think that supply chain automation will have the greatest impact on changing the job description of buyers. Coming in second at 14 percent is the use of artificial intelligence. Augmented and virtual reality are perceived by only two percent as noteworthy technologies for purchasing. In contrast, almost no one believes that chatbots will play an important role in purchasing in the future (0.78%). "In times of digital networking, increasing pressure to innovate and an extremely high development speed, buyers have to open up and adapt to new technologies in order to keep up," says Doreen Schlicht. "It is therefore quite positive that the survey participants are increasingly understanding the increasing requirements and growing complexity," says Schlicht.

Source and further information: "Who supplies what"

First, there was a bit of a wait at the Paul Klee Center in Bern, where this year's Swiss Employer Awards ceremony was to take place. After a delay of about 45 minutes - some of the speakers at the HR congress that had taken place earlier must have overrun their speaking time - the award ceremony was able to begin. And in "unbernian" speed this was then also pulled through.

Smaller companies have more satisfied employees

Beforehand, Sven Bühler explained some of the findings of this year's employee surveys. He is the managing director of the survey and consulting institute icommit GmbH, which is responsible for conducting and designing the survey. "The digitalization and globalization tsunami has arrived in more and more companies," is Sven Bühler's first comprehensive conclusion. And one consequence of this, he says, is that more and more is being fundamentally questioned in companies. However: The Swiss Employer Award study clearly shows that employees still want clear leadership. However, this leadership must be able to communicate credibly, appreciatively and transparently to the workforce, as the survey results also show. "Strategy is the most important topic in connection with commitment," explained Sven Bühler. Looking at the individual questions, the answer "The management exemplifies the company values" makes the biggest difference in the rating between the best and the most critically rated employers. "Management has sufficient contact with employees" and "There is a good spirit in this company" follow directly behind. Only one economic aspect, namely "The company can look to the future with confidence," is equally important to the respondents. Another conclusion of the survey: Employees in smaller companies tend to be more satisfied than in large ones.

Increase resilience

On the other hand, the employees surveyed were less optimistic about future prospects, job security and the responsiveness of their employers to external changes. Accordingly, the promotion of resilience in companies is becoming more important. VUCA, an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity, also means there is no longer 100 percent certainty, he said. "Management can only prepare for as many eventualities as possible. Correspondingly, companies and also employees must be resilient today. This is why resilience and its promotion are playing an increasingly important role," says Bühler. Resilience in the company can be strengthened in a targeted manner. This is shown by the change in the behavior of the management of many companies. Management communicates much more openly, promotes a culture of trust, active ideas, and personal responsibility. In addition, there are fewer and fewer ready-made recipes and solutions. "Today, leadership means setting guidelines or setting an example of clear values, thus creating a framework within which employees can move more freely. This also goes hand in hand with a change in incentives that promotes the "we" instead of the "I. All of this strengthens the company's resilience," Bühler believes.

Recognize own construction sites

Award winners and all the other companies that took part agree: A neutral employee survey can tell a lot about the state of the corporate culture. "We can now see better how we compare with other companies," says a representative of a medium-sized service company that took part for the first time this year. They can also see where they still need to catch up and where there are "construction sites". Thomas Ulrich from CASCADA Hotel & BOLERO Restaurante, the winner among the small companies, says: "The main ingredient in our recipe for success is our in-house Kaskade values. We cherish these among ourselves, which leads to a great atmosphere across departments." Petra Tscharner from the Baumann Koelliker Group, the winner among the large companies with over 1,000 employees, adds: "We live a family-like, helpful as well as positive corporate culture - a traditional down-to-earth company with pizzazz and heart."

The winners of the Swiss Employer Awards 2018

Category 1000+ employees:

1. Baumann Koelliker Group
2. Luzerner Kantonalbank AG
3. SFS Group AG

Category 250-999 employees:

1. Ergon Informatik AG
2. Liechtenstein Old Age and Sickness Assistance (LAK)
3. Bossard AG

Category 100-249 employees:

1. Hotel Hof Weissbad AG
2. Vocational School Chur
3. Enz Group AG

Category 50-99 employees:

1. CASCADA Hotel & BOLERO Restaurante
2. Chestonag Automation AG
3. Casino Bad Ragaz AG

More information: www.swissarbeitgeberaward.ch

Since last April, Valiant has been working with the Lucerne-based company KLARA (klara.ch), offering its SME clients a link between their accounts in eBanking and this solution developed specifically for SMEs. Now it is taking another step in simplifying financial life for SMEs. Companies can now also link their eBanking accounts with Bexio. More than 15,000 customers make Bexio one of the market leaders in cloud-based business software for Swiss SMEs.

More than the standard

Valiant offers its customers more than a standard connection to Bexio. Thanks to an innovative "Open Authorization" process, SMEs only need to link their eBanking accounts to Bexio once. Subsequently, bank account transactions are automatically loaded into Bexio on a daily basis, where they are synchronized with the accounting items. Payments are transferred to eBanking with just a few clicks and finally only need to be approved. With this user-friendly connection, the normally large reconciliation effort is reduced to a minimum and the entrepreneur has an up-to-date overview of his company's finances at all times.

First steps in Open Banking

At the same time as Bexio, the connection to KLARA is also being improved with the above-mentioned benefits. The bank is thus delivering further digitized processes that create added value for the SME and support it in its digitization. With the improved link with Bexio and KLARA, the financial services provider is taking further steps in the direction of open banking - always with the aim of simplifying the financial lives of its customers.

More information: valiant.ch/businessnet

On September 19, the winner of the Family Business Award 2018 was selected at the festive awards ceremony in the Kursaal in Bern. The award was established by AMAG in honor of its founder and patron Walter Haefner. Haefner had always been committed to a genuine, lived and sustainable corporate culture. The purpose of the Family Business Award is to draw attention to the great economic importance of family businesses in Switzerland. This year, the following three family businesses were in the running as finalists: 1a hunkeler fenster AG & 1a hunkeler holzbau AG from Ebikon, Balance Familie AG from Meisterschwanden, and Bühler Electricté SA from Monthey. The winning company was selected by a ten-member jury made up of renowned personalities. This year, the jury was chaired by Dr. Karin Lenzlinger Diedenhofen, delegate to the Board of Directors and owner of Lenzlinger Söhne AG.

Over 200 years of company history

In the presence of more than 260 guests from politics and business, the Hunkeler family was finally able to enjoy the award. The traditional Lucerne company - its history began in 1774 with a small carpentry shop - is now run by the eighth generation; the ninth is already in the starting blocks. With currently more than 60 employees and apprentices, 1a hunkeler achieves top performance in wood and window construction, according to the company. In addition to prestigious projects such as the total renovation of the Chapel Bridge, which burned down in 1993, the company is also involved in product developments. One of these is the TOP-WIN window, which, thanks to sophisticated bonding technology and filigree profiles, allows a significantly higher incidence of light. Also clear for the Hunkeler family is the topic of energy saving. The operation of the wood heating system with chips, LED lighting throughout the company and the photovoltaic system on the company roof enable sustainable production. The Lucerne-based family business also conscientiously fulfills its social responsibility in society and towards employees, apprentices and disadvantaged people.

Tradition of the Family Business Award

For the Hunkeler family, the focus is not on short-term results, but on long-term success. For them, the spirit of innovation and a sense of tradition are not contradictory - they are symbols of the company's development. As an exemplary company, 1a hunkeler fenster AG & 1a hunkeler holzbau AG joins the ranks of previous award winners: Jucker Farm AG (2017), Fraisa SA (2016), Wyon AG (2015), Entreprises et Domaines Rouvinez (2014), SIGA Holding (2013) and Trisa AG (2012). All three of this year's finalists received a Family Business Award certificate attesting to their particularly sustainable entrepreneurial activities. In addition, the companies received a new VW Arteon R-Line, which will accompany the finalists for one year. As this year's winning company, 1a hunkeler fenster AG & 1a hunkeler holzbau AG also get to keep the vehicle.

Despite the challenges of digital transformation, companies are focusing on expanding their core business. It is disproportionately more important to them to develop this core business further (52 %) than to tackle new business areas (26 %). Instead of promoting the self-organization of teams (17 %), companies therefore tend to optimize their existing processes (64 %). Increasing efficiency is also higher on the agenda as a result (62 %) than expanding agility (48 %).

Tensions despite integration

Nevertheless, more and more employees are involved in digital projects in addition to their operational tasks. This creates tensions: 86 percent of those surveyed noted conflicts in prioritization between project and line tasks, and 80 percent complained about unclear responsibilities in management. This is revealed by the current empirical study by Hays and PAC on the areas of tension in the digital transformation. In the view of the respondents, three points in particular are hindering digital transformation. First, managers find it difficult to change their leadership style (61 %). Second, core business still takes up too much time (60 %) and third, departments are still characterized by insular thinking (59 %).

Inflexible organizational structures

"Many companies have tackled digitization and established projects to this end. But the existing organizational structures are proving too inflexible to drive the new topics forward. This balancing act of dealing with innovative topics in conventional structures is a burden on companies. What is needed here is more courage to take new paths," says Klaus Breitschopf, CEO of Hays AG, commenting on the results of the study.

For the study "Between efficiency and agility. Under Tension: Business Units in Digitalization" by Hays and PAC, 226 executives from IT, Finance and Research & Development departments from companies of various sizes and from different industries were interviewed by telephone.

Source: www.hays.de

If you want to succeed as an influencer in social media, "you have to be able to identify trends quickly and implement them at lightning speed," keynote speaker Julia Graf told the illustrious audience at the Tonhalle St.Gallen. Julia Graf should know: After all, she is Switzerland's most successful influencer. Her YouTube videos with beauty and lifestyle tips have been clicked 184 million times so far.

Quickly recognizing what is at stake and applying the right tools in practice from the pool of learned theory at lightning speed: This is what the 52 teams who qualified for the WTT Young Leader Award 2018 with practical projects in market research and management conception had to do. As a rule, they put in at least 800 working hours in one semester to do so. Six student teams were ennobled with the nomination for the award, and two have now been crowned.

Concrete recommendations for action

The victory in the market research category went to the team that conducted a multi-stage survey for its client Rhomberg Schmuck from Marbach to find out how the customers of one of the largest Swiss jewelry manufacturers shop today. The result: highly diverse. While the Rhomberg catalog is still important for older customers, younger customers inform themselves via social media channels. But one thing is the same for all age groups, as FHS student Bernhard Oberholzer noted: "Trying on jewelry and getting individual advice is high on everyone's list." The recommended action of combining the advantages of online presence with the strengths of the branch network with "click and collect" is therefore already being implemented.

Second place went to a team that clarified the market potential of a new drug for Bioforce, a Roggwil-based manufacturer of herbal medicines. Third place went to a market research project for Thyssenkrupp Materials Switzerland, which wants to supply metals to medical technology companies.

International exchange

Many of the practical projects vying for the WTT Young Leader Award are international collaborations, and the project teams are made up of students from different countries. This is also the case with the winning project in the management concept category. Together with colleagues from Shanghai University, FHS students investigated the flow of medicines in Chinese hospitals for Swisslog Shanghai, a company that specializes in automating the supply of medicines. FHS student Ferdinand Gross, as project leader, spoke of "countless hurdles" that had to be overcome in this intercultural project. The team invested a good 2,000 working hours in their project, the fillet piece of which was probably the difficult field study in a hospital in Shanghai. "The problem was that the interviewees didn't want to give any information at all," said project coach Andreas Löhrer, adding that the students therefore had to work their way to the desired information using indirect questions.

In the second-place project, a measuring instrument was created that the Romanshorn-based integration company Brüggli can use to document its impact. Third place went to the team that developed a bonus system for managers at M&M Militzer & Münch International Holding in St.Gallen that integrates different incentives in different cultures.

Get-together of current and future leaders

The head of the FHS Knowledge Transfer Office and host of the event, Prof. Peter Müller, welcomed around 650 participants, including many invited guests from business, science and politics. After the ceremony, these cultivated an intensive exchange at the aperitif. The special thing about one of the most important networking events in eastern Switzerland: The focus is not on the present leaders of today, but on the students of the FHS who are preparing to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Information about the winners and their projects is available at here.

Under the motto "Running instead of golfing", the Swiss Management Run offers an exclusive annual platform for sports and for exchanging ideas with executives and business contacts. The Arosa area offers participants the opportunity for individual business meetings and incentives.

Making decisions as a team

This year's edition took place on September 14. "Successful leadership is a group marathon and we must not forget that in management," said Bernhard Heusler, Honorary President of FC Basel and Partner at HWH. He made clear how important it is to make joint decisions as a team and to bear the consequences. A joint decision on a strict reform course was also made by SRG SSR. Bakel Walden, Director of Development and Offerings, describes the "No-Billag" vote as a "near-death experience" despite the positive outcome. In the marathon of change, he sees SRG currently still at the start of the race: "We have just reached kilometer 4.5." Both Heusler and Walden independently emphasized the importance of keeping a healthy distance from negative external criticism. One should not try to please all "complainers," they said. "If we at SRG could walk on water, our critics would say: They can't even swim," said Walden.

Dealing openly with critical issues

Wolfgang Walter Wulle, Akilas Werte AG and SKO career consultant, believes that successful relationships with oneself, in one's private and professional environment, are the key to a successful life. Exerting pressure is the worst way for managers to bring employees to high performance. The core of all motivation is to receive or give recognition, appreciation and attention. In many companies, people work alongside each other instead of with each other and for each other, according to Wulle. An open approach to critical issues, appreciative communication and a feedback culture are essential for a healthy and productive way of working.

More information: Swiss Management Run