The tension among the approximately 1,000 guests in the Olma Hall was palpable as the representatives of the last two finalists stood on stage waiting for Andreas Gerber, President of the Swiss Venture Club (SVC), to open the envelope containing the name of the winner. Asked by moderator Marco Fritsche how he felt, Reto Zürcher, board member and CEO of HB-Therm, said: "It's wonderful that the first prize will certainly go to a company from the plastics industry." He had to admit defeat in the end to his fellow finalist Romeo Corvaglia, owner and CEO of the Corvaglia Group, which he stated with the words: "It does make you feel a little funny that it just wasn't enough for us, but congratulations to the winner."

Caps for global corporations

And this winner is Corvaglia Holding AG. The company, based in Eschlikon (Thurgau), supplies well-known multinationals with closure solutions for PET bottles. "From nothing, Romeo Corvaglia has built a company that has left our jury in awe. He and his team have succeeded in building a global company, with today 275 employees, 18 apprentices, with highly innovative products as well as production centers in Switzerland, the USA and Mexico," said jury president Professor Thomas Zellweger, Director of the Center for Family Business at the University of St.Gallen, in his laudation for the winner. The company covers the entire, fully integrated process chain, from closure design and development, mold making, closure production to application and technical support.

"Made in Eastern Switzerland"

The second-placed HB-Therm AG produces temperature control units for the injection molding process. The jury also considers this company to be a "hidden champion". The expert panel was particularly impressed by the "extremely committed team" and the "uncompromising focus on innovation and quality". It is particularly worth mentioning that the company produces exclusively at its site in St.Gallen and sees insourcing as a strategic cornerstone.

The third-place winner is Namics AG, also based in St.Gallen. Namics is one of the leading full-service digital agencies for e-commerce, websites & portals and digital communication. As a strategic partner in the digital transformation, the e-business specialist with around 500 employees offers strategic consulting, creative conception and technical implementation from a single source (see also our interview with CEO Bernd Schopp).

Evidence of the innovative strength of the Swiss economy

The other finalists and award winners of the evening are Büchi Labortechnik AG (Flawil), MS Direct Group AG (St.Gallen) and the timber construction company Uffer AG (Savognin). In a multi-stage process, the 13-member jury of experts nominated the six finalists from a list of around 150 companies. Companies from both Appenzell, Glarus, Graubünden, St.Gallen and Thurgau were available for selection.

All in all, the 2018 Prix SVC Ostschweiz awards once again showed that Swiss companies repeatedly manage to be among the world leaders in niches. All the companies honored in the various SVC regions are proof that Switzerland repeatedly occupies the top places in various innovation and competitiveness rankings, and not without good reason.

www.swiss-venture-club.ch

Despite the international orientation of many companies, Swiss firms prefer to look for employees domestically or in German-speaking countries: Only 16 percent of companies recruit in other European countries, and just 15 percent recruit globally. This is shown by the results of the HR Report 2018, for which the HR service provider Hays and the Institute for Employment and Employability (IBE) jointly surveyed over 1,000 organizations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This year's focus topic is "Agile Organization".

Swiss companies looking for employees outside their own national borders continue to do so primarily in German-speaking countries (46 percent) and in Western Europe (27 percent). In the German-speaking region as a whole, demand for specialists from northern and southern Europe has increased only marginally compared with the previous year. However, the importance of supraregional and international recruitment is increasing as the size of companies grows.

A high hurdle on the way to a agile organization are the management of new employees and the adaptation of the management culture. In this context, one in two respondents in this country complain about too little communication as the biggest stumbling block for managers - followed by difficulties in choosing the right leadership style and a lack of time for leadership tasks (both 42 percent), as well as a lack of reduction in employee control (40 percent).

Source: www.hays.ch

In the minds of many companies, the agile organization is already very important. At least, that's according to 51 percent of respondents to the HR Report 2018, which regularly examines key HR issues in organizations. Interestingly, the younger the respondents are and the higher their hierarchical position, the higher its importance is considered to be. Over the next three years, their importance will increase significantly to 69 percent.

However, the existing agile methods are currently used only sporadically: Just 19 percent of respondents use Design Thinking and only 11 percent use Scrum. This is shown by the results of this year's report, which Hays and the Institute for Employment and Employability (IBE) jointly prepared. Over 1000 organizations were surveyed. This year's focus topic is "agile organization".

Above all, their greater flexibility (55 percent) and speed (51 percent) speak in favor of the agile organization as opposed to the classic line organization. However, there are still major hurdles on the way there. The respondents primarily cite the clarification of responsibilities (31 percent), the realignment of existing processes and structures (28 percent) and the lack of trust (26 percent) within the organization as the greatest areas of tension between the two organizational forms.

Therefore, a lot needs to change, especially in the corporate culture. The top cultural issues that organizations need to work on are: Employees must take on more responsibility in the future (33 percent), develop a greater ability to organize themselves in teams, and deal with critical issues more openly (32 percent each).

Source: www.hays.ch

On the topic of "Agile Methods", you can also read our Report in ORGANISATOR 12/2017.

The latest schillingreport figures make it clear that the private sector must continue to pay close attention to the gender diversity pipeline. "In everyday life, I increasingly experience that women and men want to share family work. Men's demands for modern working time models are also becoming increasingly noticeable. It is becoming natural for both women and men to pursue careers. This will have an impact on the gender diversity pipeline and thus on the development of the proportion of women at all levels," says Guido Schilling. However, it is not only the proportion of women on the executive boards that is declining, but also that of foreign managers. Their share is falling from 45 % to 44 %. The proportion of foreigners among the newcomers is 38 %, down from 64 % last year. "If the baby boomers leave the labor market in ten years and neither enough women nor foreign managers are available as talent, we face an acute shortage of managers at the top of companies," says Schilling.

Gender diversity in management remains a generational project

Among the new Executive Board members, only 8 % are women, a major setback after last year's record 21 %. 11 women have left the executive boards, only 9 have moved up. This results in a decrease in the proportion of women in the overall sample from 8 % to 7 %. A closer look reveals that 59 % of the companies surveyed do not currently employ any women on their management boards. While 67 % of the new men have advanced to management within the company, only 22 % of the women have done so. "I remain convinced that better gender mix is a generational project. Companies are investing in sustainable programs that enable both genders to balance family and career. This is an increasingly important element of employer attractiveness and will lead to a broader gender diversity pipeline. I am sure that we will see the first measurable effects as early as 5 years from now," says Schilling.

Proportion of women on boards of directors on a promising path - but greater efforts still needed

There are 25 % women among the new board members, an increase from 17 % to 19 %. "This is positive, but the efforts are not enough. In the coming years, the business community must increase the percentage of women on the board of directors by at least 3 percentage points annually to meet the policy demands of 30 % by 2022," says Schilling. He continues, "It is necessary for companies to set clear targets, define measures and monitor the impact. Business and politics must realize that on average, a board of directors is in office for more than 10 years before it steps down. Any renewal must therefore aim to invite women, in particular, into the nomination process alongside men. If the business community pursues this consistently, I believe the goal of 30 % female board members is achievable within the required timeframe."

Comparison of SMI and DAX - women's quota in Germany shows effect

Since 2016, listed companies in Germany have been obliged to have a quota of women on their supervisory boards. Accordingly, the proportion of women on DAX supervisory boards is also significantly higher at 32 % (30 % in the previous year) than on SMI boards at 23 % (21 % in the previous year). The proportion of women among the newcomers is 48 % in the DAX and 30 % in the SMI. The proportion of women on the DAX Executive Board climbed from 10 % to 13 %, while the proportion of women among the newcomers was 30 %. In the SMI, the proportion of women is still significantly lower. There are 10 % female managers among the newcomers, which is why the proportion of women on SMI executive boards only rises from 8 % to 9 %.

Public sector demonstrates what politics demands of business

The public sector is developing encouragingly with 16 % (14 % in the previous year) female top cadres. This results thanks to 27 % women among the newcomers. What does the public sector do better than the private sector? "The public sector offers the right framework conditions such as sensible working time models and more regulated working hours, which promotes the compatibility of family and career. At the same time, it benefits from a broader gender diversity pipeline than the private sector," says Schilling. Permeability between the private and public sectors continues to increase: 49 % (47 % in the previous year) of top executives have professional experience from the private sector.

Gender Diversity Pipeline

For the gender diversity pipeline of the schillingreport 2017, 113 of the 250 most important Swiss companies provided their data. These figures will be collected every two years, the next time in 2019. In this sample, there are 10 % women in the private sector on executive boards, 14 % in top management and 21 % in middle management. These women form the pipeline for future top positions. The Public Sector has a broader gender diversity pipeline with 22 % women in top mana- gement and 24 % in middle management. The 2018 schillingreport covers Switzerland's 118 largest employers, as well as the federal government and all 26 cantons. Accordingly, 882 executive directors, 816 board members, and 1034 public sector executives (heads of offices, secretaries general, secretaries general, and secretaries of state) were included in the survey.

www.schillingreport.ch

According to research by the Business Engineering Institute St. Gallen, over 90% of respondents consider blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) to be highly relevant and sustainable. However, relatively few companies have yet begun concrete implementations and well under 10% have ready-made solutions. Mostly, activities take place at the level of individual, siloed prototypes or concepts. The reasons for this are: Uncertainty in assessing the potential of individual use cases, the lack of internal know-how, the high complexity of the technology, and the lack of corresponding collaborations in ecosystems. It is precisely these challenges that the competence center addresses.

Blockchain implementation is more than building prototypes

The aim of the Blockchain Ecosystems Competence Center is to shape the systematic and successful long-term use of blockchain and DLT in companies. The focus is on the development of new business models, the development of use cases, strategies and roadmaps for dealing with Blockchain in companies and the introduction of participants to the technologies required for implementation. Concrete implementations enable the "tangible" transfer to the participating companies.

CC Blockchain Ecosystems - Community for successful implementation

The Blockchain Ecosystems Competence Center brings together practice-oriented scientists and selected companies in a cross-industry and long-term community. In the first cycle (2018-2020), a comprehensive set of methods for establishing blockchain-based business models and innovations will be developed. For the purpose of know-how transfer and impulse generation, joint as well as dedicated PoC's (Proof-of-Concepts) accompany the activities.

The overarching objective of the competence center is to equip community participants with all the tools they need for the sustainable and successful implementation of blockchain/DLT in their own companies. In addition to well-founded expertise and consistent overall models and POCs, this also includes a constantly updated overview of new trends and developments and an intensive exchange within the community.

More information about the competence center: www.cc-blockchain.com

30 percent of business successions in Switzerland fail. This means that a good 5,000 companies are liquidated every year instead of being continued. That's 14 SMEs a day that close due to a lack of a succession solution. In terms of jobs, there are more than 400,000 companies affected by a more or less acute succession situation. This is roughly equivalent to the population of the canton of Lucerne (cf. Succession Study SME Switzerland 2017, https://www.bisnode.ch/ueber-bisnode/ueber-uns/presse-und-pr/nachfolge-studie-kmu-schweiz-2017/).

Free talks around the business succession

Carla Kaufmann (pictured), an experienced expert in the field of business succession, has been observing this negative development for eight years. Because watching is known to change nothing, she initiated the project "NachfolgeBus". With 12 experienced experts, the owner of Companymarket AG is touring across German-speaking Switzerland for the first time this year, offering SME entrepreneurs free qualified talks on all aspects of the succession process. "If the Swiss economy continues to focus as pronouncedly as it has for some time on the entrepreneurial startup phase instead of investing to at least the same extent in growth and, above all, succession for existing companies, our economy will suffer a fundamental loss of substance. In other words, Switzerland is driving its substance to the wall. When we took over the Companymarket platform eight years ago, we had 30 percent of companies from the industrial sector on the platform every year. Today, we are well below 10 percent. We have deindustrialized. However, I think this fact is being criminally ignored," states Carla Kaufmann.

Sharpen urgency

This is precisely where their "NachfolgeBus" project comes in. On the one hand, the intention is to raise general awareness of the urgency of company succession. On the other hand, it is about motivating SME owners and potential buyers and sellers to actively address the issue of succession. After all, Swiss SMEs should be preserved. "At some point, people will understand that we should not only invest in the software of robots, but also in the housing," Kaufmann continues. Six stops are on the tour schedule from May 24 to June 28. The route of the "NachfolgeBus" runs from Chur via Zurich to Aarau, Basel and Bern, and finally to the heart of Switzerland, to Schwyz. Short presentations and panel discussions with representatives from regional politics and companies will provide topical supplementary impulses. The concluding aperitif and barbecue will provide an opportunity to continue the exchange with the experts present.

Positive response and support from the regions

Cantonal organizations such as location and business development agencies, chambers of commerce and trade associations welcome the "NachfolgeBus" project and act as additional multipliers in their regions. The large-scale initiative receives both financial and non-material support from various financial institutions as well as renowned SMEs - one of which has a 324-year company history. As part of the tour program, representatives from politics and business will enliven the discussion about the succession market with current aspects and best practice examples. It will be exciting.

Important in a nutshell

Short program - the follow-up bus is on site from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day:

• From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Free one-on-one meetings with the experts
• From approx. 4 p.m.: Short presentations and panel discussions with regional representatives from politics and business
• From 18.30 to 20 h: aperitif and barbecue

All tour stops 2018 at a glance:

• May 24: Chur
• May 31: Zurich
• June 5: Aarau
• June 14: Basel
• June 21: Bern
• June 28: Schwyz

The Expert Circle:

• Franziska Müller-Tiberini, Family business.ch AG
• Petra Ducksch, DTK Attorneys at Law
• Carla Kaufmann, Companymarket AG
• Giacomo Garaventa, Successor.ch
• Hans-Peter Ruepp, Ruepp & Partner AG
• Fabian Rudin, Business Transaction AG
• David Dahinden, BDO AG
• Christoph Brunner, OBT AG
• Dr. Jean-Luc Cornaz, Partnerinvest/Citecs AG
• Richard Jauch, SME Diamant Consulting AG
• Daniel Burkhalter, Succession Pool Switzerland GmbH
• Stephan Illi, Consulta AG
• Hans-Jürg Domenig, Approach Company Succession GmbH
• Marco Tunesi, VZ VermögensZentrum AG

More information: www.nachfolgebus.ch

"The recruitment processes of Swiss companies take too long, which means they lose out on the best applicants. This is because top candidates opt for other jobs if the application process drags on too long. As a result, fewer suitable employees are hired, jeopardizing companies' competitiveness in the long run." This is according to Sven Hennige, Senior Managing Director at Robert Half.

Candidates want clarity quickly

Companies with long and complicated application processes have bad cards in the fierce competition for specialists and executives. Candidates want fast and simple recruitment processes and quickly sort out potential employers who are too slow. This is shown by the labor market study of the personnel service provider Robert Half. The best candidates are scared away with these cardinal mistakes: late feedback on the current status in the recruitment process, poor communication and decisions that are delayed too long (see table below). More than half (58 %) of the respondents even lose interest in the job altogether as soon as the application process takes too long.

Source: Robert Half, Labor Market Study 2017, Respondents: 500 employees in Switzerland; multiple answers possible

Long recruitment processes reduce productivity

If candidates decide against the vacant position due to frustration in the application process, this in turn leads to severe stress among the remaining employees. This is followed by higher sickness rates, increasing incapacity to work rates and a loss of turnover. Nevertheless, the labor market study by Robert Half, for which HR managers from 100 companies were surveyed, shows that the time span between advertising a vacant position and hiring the new employee is not decreasing, but rather increasing. For 54 % of the companies, this process has lengthened between 2013 and 2016. 80 % of businesses spend up to three months looking for people to join their teams. For positions with leadership responsibilities, it takes even longer. "In contrast, companies that have optimized their recruiting processes successfully fill positions within six weeks," says Hennige.

"Swiss companies need to rethink their recruiting strategies and processes and make them more efficient. Very often, the application process is too complicated, too many people are involved, decisions and budget approvals take too long," says Hennige. "Lean processes ensure faster recruiting and are also more cost-effective. In the battle for the best talent, companies should make sure to meet applicants' desire for speed and simplicity."

www.roberthalf.ch

A new survey by Roland Berger shows where retail companies are still lacking the most: 80 percent of companies still do not have a clear channel and omnichannel strategy. Seven out of ten respondents rate their competence in this field as insufficient. And a whopping 78 percent of retailers are unable to offer a seamless shopping experience (customer journey) between online and offline channels. Around 100 retail companies from Germany, Switzerland and Austria were surveyed for the study entitled "The Omnichannel Lie".

Omnichannel in Switzerland "a big construction site".

"Omnichannel is a major construction site for many Swiss retail companies, which is often only in an early concept phase," says Matthias Hanke, Roland Berger Partner in Zurich. In addition to the issues mentioned above, Hanke sees the biggest challenge in terms of efficiency, reliability and effectiveness of fulfillment. "Often, there are only limited scalable concepts regarding the strategic design of the last mile and the partnerships required for this," adds Hanke.

Different levels of maturity in channel strategy

For the current study, Roland Berger experts surveyed companies from the food retail, textile retail, consumer electronics retail, mail order and online retail sectors. Based on the responses, four different maturity levels can be categorized with regard to channel integration:

• Champions: Only 4 percent of the participants are among the champions. They are characterized by a large number of possible customer touchpoints, a high share of online business in sales, and a strongly integrated customer journey.
• The pioneers: This group includes 16 percent of the companies surveyed. Although they are advanced in their multichannel approach, they do not yet feel the pressure to activate all sales channels. This is because the online share in their product category is still low.
• The followers: With 48 percent of respondents, this is the largest group. These retail companies still have deficits; they are not yet really fit for a successful omnichannel strategy.
• The laggards: One third of retail companies still completely lack the prerequisites for a sales strategy across all channels; and this despite the fact that competition is increasing strongly - especially in the online sector. Here, the need for action is particularly high.

Important factors for a successful sales strategy

For companies to achieve omnichannel maturity, important prerequisites are indispensable. These include, for example, an appropriate corporate culture: "Companies should break down internal silos, keeping departments and sales channels separate from each other. Only in this way can cross-channel thinking become established and contribute to the company's success," recommends Roland Berger Partner Tobias Göbbel.

In addition, the roles and strategies of the various channels should be clearly defined to avoid overlaps. It is also very important that companies build strong competencies in the areas of data, programming and marketing and ensure an end-to-end digitized value chain. "In this way, retail companies can better understand their customers' wishes and fulfill them with appropriate products, information and sales models," Tobias Göbbel summarizes.

www.rolandberger.ch

This is the everyday work of many managers and project staff. No sooner has a meeting ended than the next "meeting" is on the calendar. And as soon as it's over, another meeting is scheduled. Many managers spend more than half of their working time in meetings. The situation is similar for project managers.

This "meeting-itis" has causes. The more closely a company's employees work together, the greater the need for coordination. And the faster the corporate environment changes, the more frequently the management team has to agree on new solutions to problems. But many meetings could be eliminated without replacement if the remaining ones were made more effective. In addition, their duration could be shortened if they were not sometimes as unstructured as coffee meetings. Therefore, as a reminder: Meetings are work sessions in which specific goals are to be achieved - in as short a time as possible. They should be structured accordingly. Here are a few tips.

Tip 1: Create an agenda and define goals

That seems self-evident. But it is not. Often at meetings, as soon as the invited people are in the room, one participant says, "Let's get started. I still have to ..." And because this is similar with the others, everyone jumps to the first topic that comes up. They wildly debate it without clarifying it in advance:

• What do we need to discuss?
• What are the most important/urgent issues?
• What goals do we want to/can we achieve?
• Which approach makes sense?

The conversation is correspondingly unstructured. Therefore, create an agenda at the beginning of each meeting. And discuss the procedure and draw up a schedule for orientation.

Tip 2: briefly review the "tops" in advance

This is often forgotten - especially when others have already taken place before the meeting. Then the leader of the meeting usually assumes: Everyone is clear about what we are talking about. And he is completely surprised when a participant suddenly says, for example, "I thought we were talking about the topic today ...". Therefore, at the beginning of a meeting, go through the tops, i.e. agenda items, with the participants. Make sure that there is agreement on the content and objectives, and change the agenda if necessary.

Tip 3: clarify the order of topics

This is necessary because the topics are often interrelated. For example, it is unnecessary to debate investments if the financial report shows: Our cash register is empty. But even if the topics are not related, you should clarify with the participants: In what order do we discuss them? Because, based on their position in the company, those present attach different importance to them. That's why, if you don't agree on what should be discussed first and what later, there's a risk that some participants will be angry because "their" topics are discussed at the end. And they are completely annoyed if "their" topics are only dealt with in a fast-forward or even postponed at the end because time is running out. Their motivation to implement decisions after the meeting is correspondingly low.

Tip 4: Use media and fix intermediate results

In many meetings, such presentation media as flipcharts, (moderation) boards and projectors are only used, for example, to inform participants about the results of interim work meetings. However, when it comes to working out proposals and discussing their advantages and disadvantages, the media sit unused in the corner. The result: endless debates in which the same arguments are presented over and over again. Be it because the interim results were not recorded or the participants do not have the connections "in front of their eyes".

Tip 5: Record who does what and by when

Time often runs out at some point in meetings, and participants increasingly look at their watches. As a result, action planning is done in a hurry, because everyone thinks: The others will already know what needs to be done. As a result, much of what everyone thinks will be done at the next meeting is not. This is also because, without an action plan, it was not possible to check in the meantime whether the necessary initiatives had been taken. As a result, the mood at the next meeting is lousy right from the start. Because everyone thinks: Now we have to debate this again.

Tip 6: Give and get feedback

Because time gets out of hand at many meetings, participants scatter at the end like a startled herd of cattle. Neither are they praised for their work, nor are things pointed out to them that did not go optimally. In short, there is neither a summary of what has been achieved nor a "maneuver critique. As a result, everyone returns to work and quickly forgets what was discussed in the hectic pace of everyday life. And at the next meeting, it's "the same procedure as...".

To the author: Dr. Albrecht Müllerschön is the owner of Müllerschön Managementberatung, Starzeln in Baden-Württemberg (Internet: www.muellerschoen-beratung.de).

At some companies, staff do fitness first thing in the morning; at others, apprentices implement projects from A to Z, staff work flexibly part-time or receive special support in the event of difficulties. Other companies have realigned their processes with the help of digitization and are moving faster and more smoothly. Some companies use solar technology in the workshop and mobility, are energy-autonomous or are pursuing an energy project with hydrogen. All of the companies demonstrate exemplary building sense by not only focusing their strengths on technical expertise, but also by continuously developing the company's "all-round package" - and this in a fiercely competitive market in which it is not uncommon for clients to demand ever more services at falling prices. Nevertheless, the award-winning companies with exemplary construction sense succeed in giving equal weight to economic and social aspects.

Building block for the economy and dual vocational training

Christine Davatz, Vice Director of the Swiss Confederation of Skilled Crafts (sgv) responsible for education policy and head of delegation at WorldSkills for the past 20 years, praised the event: "This is a tribute to companies that are usually not in the spotlight, but are committed year in, year out, generating added value, creating and preserving jobs, and working on behalf of their employees and young people in training. As one of the largest industries, construction is not only a very important building block for the economic development of our country, but also for dual vocational training. In Switzerland's "prosperity building", the economy and vocational training occupy entire "floors", which are also connected by many "staircases". As a representative of the umbrella organization of the SME economy, I can only thank everyone warmly and call out: Please keep up the good work, even if it is not always easy - both in the political and in the economic environment."

The people behind the bridges, tunnels, railroad tracks, museums...

Christoph Andenmatten, president of bausinn.ch and director of AM Suisse, emphasized during the welcome: "Companies in construction very often realize themselves through their finished products - the buildings, the apartments, the museum, the multipurpose hall, the hotel... And really, the buildings, the tunnels, the railroad tracks, the bridges, the sports stadiums and the winter gardens tell exciting stories. But the people who built them often disappear from view. We at bausinn.ch would like to change that. That's why bausinn.ch has announced its second competition for companies with an exemplary sense of construction. The search was not for the spectacular event of the century, but for the special commitment, the special project, the innovative company idea."

Roofers, scaffolders, plasterers, painters, bricklayers, metal workers and welding technicians

The 30 companies with exemplary construction sense come from six construction sectors. They train roofers, facade builders, scaffolders, plasterers, painters, bricklayers and metal workers or metal construction engineers. They often use welding technology, without which many things would no longer be possible in today's construction industry. What they have in common is that behind their success and their actions are enthusiastic and passionate people who want to do their job well and do not give up until the time comes. The president of bausinn.ch: "Companies with exemplary building sense take risks, start projects and launch products. They encounter resistance and sometimes they fail. But time and again they learn. They simply don't stop there. They keep going until they succeed. Because that is characteristic of construction. Whether the house is wobbly, the plaster is crumbling, there's a draft in the attic, it's raining in the conservatory, the tower is crooked, the weld seam is cracked, the bridge is too short - there's no hiding it. In construction, facts can be clearly distinguished from fakes! That is why exemplary building sense means constructing a building in such a way that the users and the builders will enjoy it for decades. But exemplary building sense also means showing appreciation for the people who build, and ensuring their safety, health and satisfaction. Exemplary building sense requires looking to the future, being open to new materials, methods and tools, and new opportunities beyond borders - geographical, technical, temporal."

The award-winning companies in German-speaking Switzerland

Bern

• Jakob AG, 3414 Oberburg, plasterandpaint.ch, painter / plasterer
• Pagram Oey AG, 3573 Oey, pagram.ch, painter / plasterer
• Peter Spring AG, 3645 Gwatt, peterspring.ch, painter / plasterer

Wallis

• AS Gerüste AG, 3920 Zermatt, schallergroup.ch, Scaffolding

Solothurn

• Metallbau Werren + Lehmann GmbH, 4552 Derendingen, metal-construction.ch, Metal construction
• Kamber Gerüste GmbH, 4617 Gunzgen, kamber-gerueste.ch, Scaffolding

Aargau

• Vanoli AG Zofingen, 4800 Zofingen, vanoli.ch, Master builder
• Bau Ing AG, 5312 Döttingen, bauing.ch, Welding technology
• Maler Pratter AG, 5634 Merenschwand, painterpratter.ch, painter / plasterer

Zurich

• Meier + Ritter AG, 8105 Regensdorf, meierritter.ch, Scaffolding
• Giovanni Russo AG, 8450 Andelfingen, plaster-russo.ch, painter / plasterer
• Landolt + Co. AG, 8451 Kleinandelfingen landolt-bau.ch, Master builder
• Frei Metallbau AG, 8704 Herrliberg, free-metalconstruction.ch, Metal construction
• R. Bischofberger AG, 8932 Mettmenstetten, yourplaster.ch, painter / plasterer
• Bertani Baugerüste AG, 8953 Dietikon, bertani.ch, Scaffolding

Central Switzerland

• Krieger Produktions AG, 6017 Ruswil, krieger-produktionsag.ch, Welding technology
• Walker Stahlbau, 6474 Amsteg, walkergroup.swiss, Welding technology

Eastern Switzerland

• Müller Gleisbau AG, 8500 Frauenfeld, mueller-track-laying.ch, Welding technology
• Tuchschmid AG, 8502 Frauenfeld, tuchschmid.ch, Metal construction
• Schneider Stahlbau AG, 8645 Jona, steel construction.ch, Welding technology
• Eigenmann AG, 9300 Wittenbach, eigenmann-ag.ch, building envelope

More information

More than 40 years ago, the concept of the paperless office emerged. Vincent Giuliano of the consulting firm Arthur D. Little propagated in a "Businessweek" article that the use of paper for documents or correspondence would decrease massively in the 1980s and that by the 1990s most documents would be digital. Contrary to his expectations, however, annual paper consumption per capita has increased every year since.

Digitization is now giving new impetus to the paperless office. In a introductory article clavis IT points out that the first step towards a paperless office is the efficient management of documents. Digital transformation is not so much about new ERP systems, new store solutions or the restructuring of business models, but about optimizing internal processes.

In a 7-part blog series clavis IT from Herisau will accompany the readers on the way to a paperless office and give them important hints from their own experience. The first part is dedicated to the legal retention periods of documents. It deals with questions such as: Who is required to retain documents? What must be retained? When does the retention obligation begin? Other topics in the series will be:

• What does "audit-proof" mean?
• Which documents arise and where is great potential
• Start with labor-intensive processes
• Risks of electronic storage
• Our success stories
• Let the last point surprise you!

Also www.organisator.ch will continue to accompany this blog series.

www.clavisit.com

The "IFZ FinTech Study 2018" of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, published on February 28, 2018, provides a comprehensive overview of the Swiss FinTech sector. The first part of the study describes the FinTech ecosystem: on the one hand, the political and legal, economic, social as well as technological environment is discussed, on the other hand, evaluations of the business models of the 220 Swiss FinTech companies are listed. In the second part of the study, 108 Swiss companies that participated in the study are presented in more detail.

Good framework conditions for the FinTech sector

The current study shows that, as in the previous year, the general conditions for the FinTech industry in Switzerland are very good: In a global comparison of 30 cities surveyed, Zurich and Geneva are again in second and third place, with only Singapore achieving even higher scores. "Switzerland has not yet fully exploited its potential," says study director Thomas Ankenbrand. He sees room for improvement above all in the technological sector. The ranking is based on 72 indicators that reflect the framework conditions of the political, legal, economic, social and technological environment.

"Crypto Valley" in Zug is no coincidence

The excellent framework conditions, together with the accumulation of innovative entrepreneurs, the proactive authorities and leading research institutes, have led to the flourishing of the so-called Crypto Valley. This center allows Switzerland to benefit from the global ICO boom: 271 million Swiss francs were received by local FinTech companies via this alternative form of financing in 2017 (see chart 1). However, investments via the traditional financing form of venture capital also increased significantly in 2017, to a total of around 130 million Swiss francs.

FinTech companies: Growth and maturity

"The FinTech sector has grown steadily over the last three years," says Thomas Ankenbrand. At the end of 2017, 220 companies were operating in this country, representing 16 percent growth compared to the previous year. The average size of the companies, measured by the number of full-time employees, as well as capitalization, has increased compared to the previous year. "The industry has not only matured, it is perceived to have matured: The hype has become reality," Ankenbrand said. Swiss banks no longer perceive FinTech companies as competitors, but seek collaboration.

Customer acquisition as the greatest challenge

Despite the growth, Swiss FinTech companies face challenges according to the survey conducted. The difficulty of finding new customers appears to be the greatest obstacle to further growth in the sector. On the other hand, access to external financing causes few problems (see chart 2). This is also confirmed by the significant increase in venture capital investment volume.

Further growth expected

"2017 was another successful year for the Swiss FinTech market," says Thomas Ankenbrand. "We expect this trend to continue in 2018." This included even higher company values, more jobs in the industry, and the strengthening of certain FinTech products. In addition, the entire financial sector appears to be benefiting from this growth and the associated technological innovations.

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