As a representative study of more than 10,000 companies in 29 countries, the European Payment Report 2017 (EPR2017) also illustrates Swiss payment practices in the country report: Around three quarters of companies in this country fear higher default risks among their customers. Together with the view of administrative challenges in processes and accounting, these risks can lead to revenue losses and block company growth.

In addition, almost one in ten (9%) of Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could create more jobs if their customers paid bills on time, according to the study. The EPR2017 country report clearly shows possible influences of timely payment on the economic situation in our country: "Better payment morale brings Swiss companies more manpower. There is immense potential in this for the labor market and thus also for the sustainable strengthening of the Swiss economy," Thomas Hutter, Managing Director Intrum Justitia Switzerland Ltd, is convinced.

No money, administration and intent - as reasons for late payment.

Swiss companies surveyed still largely see financial difficulties as the reason for their customers' late payments (85%, +8%), but administrative challenges have increased as a risk factor by 15% to 70% compared with 2016. Companies also continue to see deliberate delay as one of the main reasons for falling payment morale (68%, +4%). When it comes to payments, Mr. and Mrs. Swiss have now caught up with and overtaken the European average. Last year, Switzerland was still lagging behind - with comparatively long average payment periods. Both figures have fallen even more sharply compared with the previous year - in other words, Swiss SMEs grant shorter payment periods and also pay faster themselves.

Loss, downsizing and threat to existence - as risks after late payment

Around one-third of the companies surveyed in Switzerland say they will have to accept a drop in sales. Half even fear liquidity bottlenecks due to late payment of receivables. And while one in seven companies is cutting jobs because of this, as many as one in five SMEs fear for their existence due to such payment defaults.

The outlook for next year is clouded

One in four SMEs (25%) in this country expects their customers to pay even later in the next twelve months than at the time of the survey. A pessimistic view of the development of payment practices shared by only 12% of companies in our neighboring European countries - half as many as in Switzerland.

58% of the Swiss companies surveyed have already accepted payment terms that were longer than they would have liked. Multinational companies in particular are increasingly demanding longer payment terms, an increase of 10% to 42% in the study. "Late and non-payment leads to a negative spiral - loss of sales, liquidity shortages and consequent blockages to growth. Especially for SMEs - the backbone of our economy - which are hit the hardest. Here, the willingness to pay must improve - SMEs must be supported," Hutter demands. Companies mainly try to protect themselves from these increasing risks of late payments and defaults with credit checks and debt collection.

What to do about declining payment morale?

Intrum Justitia recommends various measures at all levels (local, national and international) to mitigate late payments. Here are the most important tips:

1. Establish and implement a balanced and sound credit policy to manage risk and growth and continuously develop it.
2. Evaluate and track capital used in your credit management process to reduce the cost of capital.
3. Make sure you know the customers you do business with, too.
4. Be specific about your terms and conditions in contracts with your customers.
5. Involve sales, marketing and finance to create an efficient invoicing process and avoid non-payment.
6. Conduct monitoring of economic and industry information, including the solvency of your key customers and regularly check your customer addresses.
7. Reduce customer losses and strengthen customer relationships by managing your credit process based on customer payment history and solvency.
8. Implement an expeditious dunning procedure and charge interest on late payments where possible.
9. Weight your customer structure according to risk and growth potential.
10. Act immediately to avoid non-payment. Do not delay the process.

More information: Intrum Justitia AG

Daniel Lipp becomes new CEO of IHAG Privatbank. Daniel Lipp has been a member of the Executive Board of St. Galler Kantonalbank since 2008 and in this function was Head of Private Banking. Previously, Lipp worked for UBS in Geneva and Marbella and for Swiss Bank Corporation in London. Daniel Lipp graduated from the St. Gallen School of Business and Administration and holds an Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen.

Daniel Lipp succeeds Heinz Stadler, who has served on the management board of IHAG Privatbank for almost a quarter of a century, including more than 15 years as its chairman. Heinz Stadler (60) has decided to step down from his position for age reasons. In the future, he will perform individual mandates for the owner families Anda and Bührle. The bank's Executive Committee is composed of Daniel Lipp and the current members Roland Kempf, Thomas Kistler and Peter D. Rüegg.

IHAG Privatbank closed the 2016 financial year with a good result. In the current year, the bank expects moderate economic growth and continued low interest rates.

Company information

Those who lack an orientation guide for advising those interested in continuing education in their search for the right educational path, or those who would like to reach new educational horizons themselves, often can no longer see the forest for the trees given the variety of educational offerings. The Swiss Association for Continuing Education (SVEB) would like to remedy this situation with a new publication: In July, the second, revised edition of the guidebook "Continuing Education in Switzerland - Guide through the thicket of offers" will be published. The book provides information about the wide range of continuing education options and shows ways to find the right continuing education.

The guidebook explains the Swiss education system and provides information about degrees, recognized training and opportunities for catching up and continuing education. It uses questions and checklists to help you determine where you stand and shows strategies for different target groups. The texts are supplemented with case studies; helpful links facilitate the search on the Internet.

Publisher: SVEB and Foundation for Consumer Protection
Author: Regula Schräder-Naef
Distribution: SVEB, 170 pages
Price: CHF 28.-
*Pre-order price until 30.06.2017: CHF 20.- instead of CHF 28.-. To the order

With Andreas Gerber, a personality is to become the new president of the SVC who knows the association from the inside and thus ensures continuity. Gerber has been a member of the board for two years and was already SVC regional manager and jury member of the Prix SVC in Espace Mittelland as well as in the economic region of Zurich. As head of Credit Suisse's Swiss SME business, he is well aware of the challenges and opportunities facing Switzerland as a location for SMEs. "The Swiss Venture Club is a success story and has become indispensable as an entrepreneurial network," says Gerber. "I am proud to take over the presidency of this successful and well-run association from Hans-Ulrich Müller. I will enthusiastically continue and further develop the SVC in its proven form to promote and support entrepreneurship in Switzerland."

Heart and soul and continuity as central pillars

Gerber is to succeed SVC initiator Hans-Ulrich Müller, who has put his heart and soul into building and developing the SVC over the past 16 years and is now not standing for re-election. "It is the combination of continuity and innovative strength that distinguishes the strongest Swiss SMEs. The life cycle of an SME extends far beyond the life horizon of a founder or owner. It's the same with SVC," explains Hans-Ulrich Müller. "When I see where we are and what's still possible; when I see how much energy and experience Andreas Gerber brings to the table, it's clear to me that this is the perfect moment to step down and make way for a new generation with new ideas." In addition to Hans-Ulrich Müller, another founding member, Elisabeth Zölch Bührer, will be stepping down from the board, as will Brigitte Breisacher, Denis Grisel and Silvio Tarchini.

A promising new generation

Thanks to forward planning, the search for successors has already been completed. On the one hand, the two National Councillors Marcel Dobler and Fabio Regazzi, on the other hand, the entrepreneur Corinne Fischer and Thomas Trachsler, member of the management board of Mobiliar, are standing for election. In the selection of the candidates, attention was paid not only to a strong connection with the SME economy, but also to a balanced representation of the regions and industries in the future board. Elisabeth Zölch Bührer is happy and proud that these four personalities could be won over: "They bring with them all the qualities to develop the association substantially and to provide access to new networks," she is convinced. "At the same time, their willingness is proof of the high standing the SVC enjoys in business and political circles." The new president and board members will be elected at the general meeting on September 6, 2017.

Thanks to a visionary and doer

The Swiss Venture Club goes back to the idea and initiative of Hans-Ulrich Müller, who founded the club in 2001 together with Elisabeth Zölch Bührer and Beat Brechbühl. Under his leadership as president, the Swiss Venture Club has developed into one of the most important entrepreneurial networks in Switzerland. The SVC attracts special attention each year by awarding the Prix SVC to exemplary, innovative companies. To date, a total of 51 award ceremonies have been held in seven regions and over 300 companies have received awards.

At the beginning of the FlexHF project was the desire of students to be able to organize their HF studies more flexibly. ABBTS and ZbW are therefore the first higher technical colleges in Switzerland to offer recognized degree programs in a new, flexible format. The curricula and qualification procedures of the training courses remain the same, but part of the face-to-face teaching is replaced by digitalized and individualized forms of learning. "Currently, we are only modestly applying e-learning to the HF degree programs," explains Kurt Rubeli, Rector of ABBTS. "With the FlexHF study program, we are intensifying this. The partnership with the FFHS is crucial for us, as it brings us a big step forward in terms of e-didactics."

Focused practice and digital-based learning formats

HF-Flex degree programs will offer a contemporary form of guided learning through digitalized and individualized forms of learning. The proportion of classroom teaching will be smaller and increasingly devoted to application, practice in the laboratory and personal exchange. At the same time, the greatly expanded e-learning component should offer students greater flexibility in terms of time and space in their HF studies. "With this blended learning methodology, we also want to enable employees to enter higher vocational education whose everyday working life does not allow them to study with a high school presence," says ZbW Director Andreas Schubiger about the planned combination of concentrated practice with digital-based learning.

20 years of experience put to new use

"Services to third parties are part of our performance mandate," explains FFHS Rector Michael Zurwerra. "We are pleased to be able to pass on our expertise from 20 years of blended learning to recognized HFs. At the same time, the FlexHF project allows us to gather further insights and refine our methodology." For example, ZbW and ABBTS instructors will be working together in the CAS eDidactics of the FFHS and pick up important input on the structuring of the program and e-didactics. The FFHS will also support the implementation of the study programs on e-learning platforms and opens up a smooth transition from the higher technical college to the university of applied sciences for FlexHF graduates with its Passerellen offers.

Study start spring 2018

The plan is to start the first two FlexHF programs in spring 2018. ABBTS will offer a FlexHF program in energy technology, and ZbW will offer a FlexHF program in mechanical engineering.

More information: flexhf.ch

Nico Tschanz has over 20 years of experience in digital business and is very familiar with the Crealogix Group, an independent Swiss software company that is a Fintech Top 100 company and one of the market leaders in digital banking. In 1998, he started there as a Senior Consultant and led the Business Solutions division for two years as Deputy CEO. After moving to SQS Software Quality Systems (Switzerland) AG as CEO in 2008, he founded Esmeralda AG, a company specializing in IT consulting, the following year. Most recently, Nico Tschanz was Head of Consulting at ti&m AG for four years. Here, as a member of the management team, he led the development of new business areas and innovative projects in the financial sector until the beginning of 2017. At Crealogix Group, Tschanz manages sales in Switzerland in addition to the Consulting division. In this role, he defines and leads consulting services so that customers can successfully implement their digitization and agilization programs.

"Knowing Nico Tschanz is back on board is a good feeling. With his industry expertise, he can provide our customers with even more targeted advice. This way, financial service providers are optimally equipped for the digital needs of their target groups today and in the future. A win-win for them and for us," says Richard Dratva, CSO at Crealogix, about the return. "Digitalization in the financial industry is really picking up speed right now. I am very excited to support our existing and new customers on this increasingly fast-paced journey," says Nico Tschanz about his new role.

Information: www.crealogix.com

Nearly 300 "HR professionals" learned about new trends in HRM and their impact on the future viability of companies at the 13th East Switzerland HR Day. The conference was opened by the president of the "Freie Erfa-Gruppe Personal Ostschweiz". Abdullah Redzepi from the University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen and member of the program advisory board led into the multifaceted topic. He presented some results of a recent study conducted by the FHS and showed that many HRM tasks are in fact the responsibility of line managers. In many companies, there is a discrepancy in the perception of this.

Manuela Broz, founder of Human Ethik Label, was the first speaker to point out the importance of an optimal corporate culture. It is this culture that promotes the achievement of economic goals. According to Broz, it is also possible to become a market leader through humanity. Unfortunately, ethics in dealing with people is still not a business discipline, the speaker regretted. Moreover, human resources instruments and methods are still used too little according to the principle of meaningfulness.

Flexibility, personality, social competence

Marcel Oertig, partner and founder of Avenir Consulting AG, Zurich, opened the round of HR professionals. He used the term "flexible workforce" to focus on the flexibilization of personnel deployment and employment relationships. In the age of digitalization, he said, HRM is becoming a key competence for the future viability of companies. Meanwhile, Hans C. Werner, Chief Human Resources Officer at Swisscom, was of the opinion that only those who understand their business will be accepted as trustworthy partners. He advocated in-depth training and further education, and was in favor of anything that would train and mature employees' personal and social skills. "HRM must have a place at the management table," was another of the speaker's comments. But on the other hand, HRM has meanwhile "acquired too many management tasks". Swisscom has therefore drawn the consequences. For example, separation discussions are management tasks that must be handled by the line and not primarily by HRM.

Artificial intelligence takes over routine

After the break, the competent and shrewd moderator Matthias Wipf welcomed the top HR manager of the Federal Customs Administration, Martin Weissleder, who used the example of the successful "Bien vue" project to show how innovative HR processes gain better internal acceptance and are successfully implemented. According to Weissleder, it is by creating added value and benefits that HRM becomes a game changer.

The exciting conclusion, before a competent summary by Rector Wörwag of the University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen, was made by futurologist Lars Thomsen. For the topic complex "work," he said, there are currently eight megatrends driving changes, upheavals and paradigm shifts in the next ten years: digitization, the battle for talent, new values and relationships, knowledge sharing, more teams and task forces, the end of the 40-hour week and attendance time, a clearer difference between management and leadership, and the redefinition of work. For Thomsen, we have reached the end of the last phase of the industrial age. Now, he says, we need to redefine work from the ground up at the political, societal and new economy levels. "Work will have to be reassessed," Thomsen said. He spoke of how, in ten years, there would probably no longer be a categorization between employer and employee, but rather one would have to speak of communities of values. In the future, companies will function more like "clubs" that people join because they share their common values. That is why it is an important task of HRM in particular to create values. All the more reason to conclude that - against the backdrop of the future viability of organizations - HRM must become an even more integral part of management.

More information: www.personaltag.ch

Lee Hecht Harrison, an Adecco Group company specializing in outplacement and career reorientation, is adding an additional team member: Ella (pictured) is the AI (artificial intelligence) driven digital career counselor who effectively assists terminated workers with career reorientation and job search.

A mountain of information

Anyone who loses their job is first faced with a mountain of information: A multitude of Internet platforms with job vacancies, job advertisements, guides of all kinds. Despite the flood of information, less than a third of vacancies are advertised publicly. This is where Ella comes in, a text-based dialog system controlled with artificial intelligence. Ella helps those who have been made redundant to cope with the flood of publicly available information on the basis of their individual starting position and can also access a database with many jobs that are not publicly advertised. The dialogue system is available to all job seekers who are involved in an outplacement program run by Lee Hecht Harrison.

Ella conducts an intelligent dialogue

Ella conducts an intelligent dialog with its users, the company says. Specifically, it asks about education and skills, ideas and desires regarding the new job, and how to geographically narrow the job search. Ella then makes suggestions for eligible open positions based on all publicly available information and Lee Hecht Harrison's database. Neither the job seeker nor his or her advisors have to worry about the time-consuming data analysis. This speeds up the job search and makes it more effective, according to the report. In addition, the dialog with Ella can always be continued due to changes in the situation. In addition, thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, Ella is constantly learning and refining its recommendations.

"Ella creates more time for personal elements of job search"

Caroline Pfeiffer Marinho, Country Manager Switzerland at Lee Hecht Harrison, emphasizes: "Process automation using artificial intelligence relieves consultants of the time-consuming targeted data analysis. Thus, thanks to Ella, there is more time for the personal elements of the job search: preparing the resume, training for interviews with potential employers, personal networking."

Source and further information: Lee Hecht Harrison

34 percent of employees plan to leave their current job in the next twelve months, even though they are actually satisfied. The reason for this is a lack of long-term career opportunities within the company (23 percent) or the prospect of better options on the labor market (11 percent). Another 3 percent are very dissatisfied in their current job and would therefore like to quit within the next six months. These are findings from Mercer's 2017 Global Talent Trends Study, which examined more than 7500 records from managers, HR leaders and employees worldwide. The study also shows that the lack of employee confidence in career planning appears to be unrecognized by many HR leaders. For example, 70 percent of the HR managers surveyed are satisfied with their talent management process.

Flexibility - required, but not sufficiently given

The perceptions of employees and managers or HR directors also diverge on other topics. More than half of the employees surveyed say that both their direct manager and their colleagues support flexible working (61 and 64 percent respectively). However, one in three employees report that they have asked for flexible working in the past but were not granted it. One in two employees (50 percent) are also concerned that working part-time or in a home office will negatively impact their career opportunities. And although nearly two-thirds (77 percent) of full-time employees are interested in new types of employment on a contingent or contract basis, neither business nor HR managers have yet shown any openness to this. They believe that the so-called "gig economy" will not have a major impact on their business over the next two years.

According to the study, however, change is generally a big issue for organizations. In fact, 93 percent of companies plan to significantly change their organization in the next two years. At the same time, however, only 4 percent of senior managers say that their organization is driving these change processes systematically and in a modern way. In fact, HR leaders in Germany do not have the topics of organization and adapting role profiles on their 2017 priority list (see chart 2). "At a time when digitization, robotics and artificial intelligence are challenging and in some cases overturning traditional business models, companies in some places are relying too much on new technologies to ensure the company's competitiveness. In the process, the employee factor is quickly overlooked," said Dieter Kern, partner and leader of the People & Organization Excellence Practice at Mercer. "Growth is based on properly motivating and empowering employees. Companies are ultimately driven forward by employees who have the necessary skills and are given sufficient opportunities to develop innovative solutions."

Backlog demand for digitization of HR tasks

HR departments are also lagging behind the expectations of senior management and the workforce when it comes to technology. Sixty-one percent of managers believe new workplace technologies, such as robotics and wearables, will have the greatest impact on their organization within the next two years. But less than half of HR professionals (49 percent) agree. Organizations rate employees' digital skills low. Only about one in three companies surveyed (35 percent) say employees can handle more than standard HR tasks (leave requests, etc.) digitally.

"The world of work and talent pools are changing far too quickly to stick solely and permanently to traditional methods," comments Kate Bravery, Global Leader of Career at Mercer. "Some companies are rightly already beginning to develop new approaches to how employees access knowledge, leverage technology, lead, communicate and shape their personal career biographies."

Health more important than wealth for employees

61 percent of employees say their health is more important to them than their wealth. Leaving salary aside, the biggest plus point for the employees surveyed worldwide when choosing an employer is vacation or time off - in the form of sabbaticals, additional vacation days or fewer working hours for a lower salary. Benefits such as fitness studios or recreation rooms at the workplace, on the other hand, are less important to employees.

In addition to flexibilization, individualization is also necessary to create an overall satisfactory working environment for employees. Less than half (49 percent) of employees say their company is aware of their individual interests and skills. However, 53 percent would like to see exactly that.

Source: Mercer

Burnout is a phenomenon of our modern performance-oriented society. More and more people are suffering from stress-related illnesses. Exhaustion depression, anxiety, sleep disorders or psychosomatic complaints are often the result. With SymBalance, a team of experts at the Kilchberg Sanatorium has developed a special therapy concept for the treatment of stress-related illnesses. The concept has been successfully tested as part of a scientific study.

The inpatient treatment program includes individual medical care, intensive individual psychotherapy and stress management training in groups, physiotherapy and exercise therapy, as well as sports and creative activities. In addition to psychological and physical regeneration, the goal of treatment is improved stress management, increased self-confidence, optimal development of individual resources, and return to work.

The offer has been available to patients with supplementary insurance on the Belvedere private ward since 2013. Now the clinic management has responded to the increasing demand for treatment for patients with general insurance and opened a new ward with a beautiful view of the lake on June 6. The special ward has single and double rooms. Thanks to extensive remodeling measures, the premises optimally meet the patients' need for rest and regeneration.

More information: www.sanatorium-kilchberg.ch

The Board of Directors of the Funk Group has appointed Urs A. Bleisch as its new Chairman. He replaces Christoph Meier, who successfully led this body for around seven years. Urs A. Bleisch has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2008 and will continue to manage the operational business as CEO. In 1990, Christoph Meier laid the foundation for a leading company in the areas of risk management, pension and insurance consulting with the former Meier und Partner. With great passion on the client front, he quickly succeeded in winning well-known national and international clients. Funk can still count numerous clients from the founding years among its business partners. Christoph Meier will remain associated with the company as Honorary President. In the future, however, he will devote himself even more intensively to his charitable projects.

www.funk-gruppe.ch

There are more pleasant things than an accident on vacation, especially if you are still abroad. After the initial shock, questions quickly follow such as: Who pays for the damages? Who will pay for medical and hospital costs? How am I insured for such cases? Suva has summarized the most important points that holidaymakers should bear in mind.

• For what services are you insured? Employees who work at least eight hours per week are compulsorily insured against occupational and non-occupational accidents through their employer. In EU and EFTA countries, the compulsory accident insurance pays the same benefits as if you were insured in the corresponding country - with the exception of emergencies in which the accident victim suffers life-threatening injuries (see "Better off in an emergency" below). In other countries, it pays at most twice the daily rate that would have been paid for treatment in Switzerland. Especially in countries with extraordinarily high medical costs, such as the USA, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Japan, this amount is far from sufficient.
• Why are vacationers stuck with accident costs? If you have not taken out supplementary insurance in the form of vacation and travel insurance, you are insured for the General Section at home and abroad. However, tourists often end up unknowingly at the private doctor or private clinic - and pay dearly for this.

The following tips from Suva will help you to be well advised in the event of an accident abroad:

• Take out vacation and travel insurance: You can take out these with private accident and health insurers for little money. Then you are on the safe side and can go to the nearest doctor in an emergency without being stuck with high costs. In rare cases, supplementary insurance policies also exclude certain benefits. Ask when you take out the insurance.
• Eyes open when choosing a doctor: If you do not wish to take out vacation and travel insurance and are still able to choose the hospital or doctor yourself after the accident, you must go to a public hospital or to a doctor who charges at the basic rate of the relevant country. Only then will the compulsory accident insurance cover the costs in full. This applies to EU and EFTA countries. In other countries, the accident insurance will reimburse at most twice the amount of the most expensive public Swiss hospital.
• Save phone number of the 24-hour helpline: Save the emergency number of your vacation and travel insurance in your electronic contacts on your cell phone. The approximately 50 percent of employees insured with Suva also receive help from Europ Assistance abroad if they are unsure where to seek treatment after an accident. This includes a 24-hour helpline with the telephone number +41 848 724 144, a worldwide medical care network, assistance and advance payments such as doctor, medicine and hospital costs on site, as well as transport to a trustworthy clinic or return transport home.
• Do not sign anything: Accident victims often have to agree to full coverage before undergoing surgery in foreign hospitals. Do not sign anything if you are unsure whether you are sufficiently insured. Always check with the helpline of your insurance company first. Because: Foreign private hospitals often recommend immediate operations, although a transport home to Switzerland would be possible. Here, the same operation in a public hospital costs a fraction.
• Require receipts for cash payments: In some countries, you must make cash payments in order to receive medical care. You must always ask for a receipt for such payments.
• Collect supporting documents and reports: If you have been to a doctor abroad as an outpatient or even had a hospital stay, you should ask for receipts for all services paid for. These do not necessarily have to be receipts, invoices are also sufficient as proof. Also, doctor's reports, X-rays and any other medical documents should always be brought back to Switzerland. These can be important for further visits to the doctor or in case of a relapse/complications.
• Better off in an emergency: Anyone who is admitted to a private hospital with life-threatening injuries is not left to pay the entire costs, even if insurance coverage is insufficient. In this case, accident insurance in all countries will reimburse at most twice the amount of the most expensive public Swiss hospital, instead of only the social tariff of the corresponding country.

It is important that the insured person can credibly demonstrate that he or she has paid hospital and medical expenses abroad. Only then will insurance companies cover the costs. For good reason: "We consistently fight insurance abuse," says Roger Stalder, insurance expert at Suva. Since Suva is repeatedly confronted with insured persons who try to obtain insurance money at the expense of honest premium payers, sometimes even with falsified doctor's reports from abroad, it checks carefully whether a benefit has really been received.

Suva provides further information in its Brochure "Insured worldwide.