Hiring and retaining employees amid the big wave of layoffs has been a hot topic in many companies lately. The sectors currently seeing the most layoffs are the technology and healthcare industries, where workers between the ages of 30-45 are leading the trend. To attract new employees, companies need to be more flexible than ever and demonstrate that they are willing to evolve in a changing work environment, but also value their current workforce. Just as important as hiring new employees is taking care of the needs of the existing workforce, because a company with a good reputation and satisfied employees is more attractive to job seekers.

Retain employees despite wave of layoffs

According to experts at Hogan Assessments, a provider of consulting and assessment solutions, the wave of resignations has reached a peak. Employers therefore need to take a data-driven approach to find out why employees are choosing to quit and which ones in their organization are at the highest risk of turnover. In addition, he said, there are the following five tips for recruiting and retaining employees. These allow companies to present themselves in the best possible light when filling positions and building the best possible team.

Tip 1: Determine the goals of the applicants

During the hiring process, it is important to focus on each potential applicant's goals and how they fit with a company.
62 % of HR managers believe that employees need to improve their existing skills or acquire new ones at least once a year to maintain a competitive edge in the global labor market. Offering employees the opportunity to develop their skills means investing in their future. Companies must be willing to make this investment and provide new employees with the support and training opportunities they need to advance their careers.

Tip 2: Perceive flexibility in the workforce

The pandemic has shown that people can be just as productive working from home as they are in an office environment. Two out of three employees are now looking for flexible working conditions because they believe it will make them more productive. 30 % of employees worldwide said they would quit their job if they were not offered a long-term flexible hybrid work model. To be competitive in the hiring market, it is important to be responsive to employee preferences and adapt company models to this new world of work. Introducing more flexible working hours will not only make a company more attractive to new applicants, but will also help to meet the needs of your current workforce.

Tip 3: Ask employees for contacts

A pool of well-trained employees who are already working successfully in the company can be an advantage, as they have a network of contacts. Try asking your current employees if they have connections and involve them in the hiring process by asking what they would look for in new candidates. This approach will have a positive impact on employee retention and help engage the workforce in the hiring process.

Tip 4: Show advantages for employees

Many employees feel that management is out of touch with the concerns of the average employee, with 54 % of the general workforce feeling overworked and undervalued. Potential applicants are more inclined to accept a job if they feel the company cares about them and their families. It is important for any company to highlight employee benefits and additional support. Benefits such as mental health care, childcare support and paid time off are just a few examples of how a company can improve employee satisfaction and distinguish itself as a company that values its employees, making it more attractive in the highly competitive HR market.

Tip 5: Emphasize and highlight the purpose of your business

Although benefits and salary are important to potential hires, many employees want to work for a company whose goals and values align with their own. It's important to impress potential hires with what a company does and how it wants to operate. Sustainability strategies, a diverse workforce and programs that support women in the workforce can help set a company apart from others that focus only on the bottom line. It's important for employees to believe in what a company stands for or is trying to achieve, especially in hectic or difficult times. Aligning your hiring strategy with these values will help you find loyal employees who are willing to work hard for the company's vision.

Integrate personality tests

The drive to build a more diverse workforce and attract new talent can be supported by the proper integration of personality testing into the hiring process. According to Hogan Assessments, both sides benefit: Applicants learn more about themselves and experience firsthand how serious a company is about learning about an applicant's individuality. And the companies reduce unconscious prejudices and also offer a contract to those who may not have the "right resume" but still bring with them the best prospects for success.

Source and further information: Hogan Assessments

In the modern working world, it has long since ceased to be just about pay, location, personal career opportunities and similar traditional benchmarks. Factors such as a good work-life balance, good interpersonal relationships and a positive corporate culture are increasingly becoming hard currency in the labor market. In short, today's employees want a job that makes them happy and a company with a suitable corporate culture to go with it. To help users of the Xing business network find out which corporate culture they feel particularly comfortable in, a culture check was developed to make the often diffuse topic of corporate culture tangible and break it down to concrete factors. With the help of a sophisticated questionnaire, which is now available to all members on Xing, users will ultimately find out which type of company suits them best in terms of culture.

Scientifically based culture check

The culture check is based on a data and culture model developed under the leadership of business psychologist Prof. Dr. Meynhardt from the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management for the New Work SE subsidiary kununu. It helps users to reflect comprehensively on what is particularly important to them at work. After answering the questionnaire, Xing members learn what they should pay particular attention to when choosing an employer in the future. Secondly, users are shown potential employers who meet these criteria. The recommendation function is currently in beta and will be gradually expanded in the coming weeks.

Individual cultural compass for more orientation in working life

The questions from the Culture Check questionnaire are quick and easy to answer. Users select 20 aspects and values in each of the four categories "Leadership," "Interaction," "Strategic approach," and "Work-life balance" that they would particularly like to see in an employer or completely reject. Finally, they indicate the top five preferences that are particularly important to them personally in their job. The result is an individual cultural compass that shows what people should pay particular attention to when choosing an employer in the future. To this end, the preferences are visualized across the board and in the four categories, so that users can see at a glance whether traditional or modern values predominate for them in these categories. Based on the information from the culture check, Xing members also receive individual suggestions for employers that fit well with their personal preferences. The Culture Check compares all entries with the corporate culture data of thousands of employers and shows which employers offer what is particularly important to you. The data analyzed for this purpose are authentic ratings from employees of the companies that were submitted on the employer rating platform kununu.

Corporate culture as a factor in job search

Further orientation is also provided by the culture compass in the Xing job market, which is already integrated in more than 300,000 job ads on the platform and provides information about the corporate culture of the respective employers. Job seekers thus receive information that is not available in any other job ad and is also not listed on the companies' job portals. The greater the match between the individual's cultural wishes and the company's culture according to the culture compass, the greater the likelihood that the job seeker and the company will be a lasting fit.

The new culture check is available free of charge at https://www.xing.com/via/career-guidance/company-culture-preferences/assessment available.

This year, Europages, which claims to be Europe's largest B2B procurement platform, and wlw (formerly "Wer liefert was"), a B2B platform that is well established in the DACH region, are celebrating their 40th and 90th anniversaries respectively. The two platforms are now owned by the umbrella company Visable, a publisher that has morphed into an agile international Internet company. The driving force behind this change is CEO Peter F. Schmid. But before there were any Internet platforms for purchasing and procurement, it all started with a clay tablet:

Once upon a time in Mesopotamia...

If we travel back to their beginnings in the time of purchasing and procurement, their history begins right here: In one of the most important cultural development centers of the Ancient Near East. Archaeological findings provide clear evidence that an urban society already lived in the region between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers between 4,000 and 3,000 BC. On the one hand, monumental buildings bear witness to this; on the other hand, finds such as scroll seals, clay tablets and the like indicate an established bureaucracy. A clay tablet from the period between 3,200 and 3,000 BC exhibited in the "British Museum" in London, for example, documents beer deliveries.

Such evidence of an early organization of procurement is also available from Egypt: Records show that procurement tasks were already systematically carried out in the country on the Nile around 3,000 BC. For example, during the construction of the pyramids of Giza (ca. 2,650 to 2,500 BC), individual occupational groups were already specifically tasked with recording the amount of work and materials on papyrus. In Europe, organized procurement took shape only later. To be precise, around 215 BC, in ancient Rome. For the first time, contracts were formally negotiated between the Roman government and suppliers to ensure the supply of materials to the widely scattered troops of the Roman Empire.

In Great Britain, the history of procurement goes back to William the Conqueror (1,028 to 1,087 AD), who sought a clear method of recording his tax revenues. With the rise of the British Empire and its colonial aspirations, procurement also evolved to include goods and services.

Purchasing and procurement in the 18th century

In 1832, the English mathematician and philosopher Charles Babbage discussed in his work "On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures" the need to employ a so-called "Materials Man" in mining. This "materials man" was to be responsible for selecting, purchasing and tracking all the goods needed for a project. Today we would say: Babbage proposed to hire a Chief Procurement Officer.

In 1886, the Pennsylvania Railroad established the world's first procurement department because the complex, widely ramified railroad system in the USA demanded new ways of procurement. Between 1914 and 1918, it was then the First World War that demanded a lot from purchasing and procurement: goods had to be transported around the entire globe. Many purchases were made ad hoc - orders were placed by radio or telegraph.

In 1932, the supplier directory appeared for the first time as a book edition

In 1932, the book fair took place in Leipzig, where the supplier directory "Wer liefert was" was published as a book edition for the first time. And for good reason: Purchasing and procurement had gained enormous momentum as a result of the First World War and the subsequent reconstruction. After the end of the First World War, the Deutsche Reichsbahn alone ordered around 7,000 new locomotives by 1925 in order to bring its fleet back up to pre-war levels. Many companies were looking for suppliers at this time, and many suppliers were looking for companies. With the supplier directory "Wer liefert was," companies finally had a printed work at their fingertips that they could use to search specifically for the partner companies they needed. From then on, the blue volumes could be found in many offices as important reference works. In the 1970s, the directory was recorded on microfiche, which was a pioneering achievement at the time.

Supply chains and tendering are gaining in importance

Then, in the 1950s, governments around the world drove procurement. Many companies became aware of the importance of reliable "supply chains" because they enabled them to grow with consistent quality. In the 1960s, purchasing and procurement became a matter for management: the tendering system was introduced. In the 1970s, the starting signal for "just in time" production was given when the car manufacturer Toyota introduced its new production system. At the same time, more and more companies were managing their procurement centrally. Then things started to happen in quick succession: the Internet and digitization gave purchasing and procurement an unprecedented boost: in 1982, Europages was founded in France (original name: Eurédit) and published the first printed business directory with suppliers from all over Europe. In 1986, the supplier directory "Wer liefert was" appeared on CD-ROM for the first time.

In the 1990s, more and more companies recognized the strategic importance of procurement - especially for public contracts and in heavy industry. Meanwhile, the world was becoming more and more networked. Wer liefert was" also adapted to this change and went online for the first time at www.wlw.de in 1995, two years before Google. By the 2000s, orders were already being triggered by computers and the first ERP systems were gaining ground. Europages was available in 26 languages by then - and its website of cracked the 2 million monthly visitors mark from 218 countries in 2006. The 2010s marked the dawn of the era of Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs): "materials men," as Charles Babbage once suggested for the mining industry, were appointed in many companies. Today, these CPOs still have just one job: they are responsible for purchasing and procuring goods and materials.

The future is digital

From the clay tablet to the digital app: purchasing and procurement have never been more networked than they are today. But the journey of purchasing is far from over. In many cases, procurement portfolios and operational purchasing processes have already been digitized to the greatest possible extent. Procurement professionals are already using innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence or Big Data to respond in real time. Augmented and virtual reality could also play an even more important role in the future in order to inspect products regardless of location and thus make the best purchasing decision. But there's one thing these technologies can't do: they can't replace personal relationships between buyers and sellers. Today, on both platforms - since 2019 under the joint umbrella brand Visable - around 4 million professional buyers from over 200 countries meet around 3 million suppliers of products and services every month.

To ensure that the platforms can continue to offer a high level of benefit in the future, they are constantly being supplemented with additional features. For example, the wlw app for professional buyers offers better mobile user-friendliness and greater efficiency in initiating business. Thanks to Europages' "Visitor Profiler" and wlw's profile visitor statistics, it is possible to find out at any time who has visited one's own company profile, including contact details. This provides sales (and marketing) with valuable information for lead generation. Communication between buyers and suppliers runs directly via a message center, and thanks to AI support, "matchmaking" between inquirers and suppliers is improved and accelerated. For example, it will be easier to quickly find regional providers as well - in the age of Disrupted global supply chains and economic crises this can be decisive under certain circumstances.

More information: www.wlw.ch / www.europages.com

For the first time, HSLU's Master of Science in Banking and Finance program has been included in the Financial Times ranking. According to the Financial Times, this places it among the top 55 finance degree programs in the world.

In prominent company

The ranking assesses various factors in the areas of students' labor market skills and career opportunities as well as diversity and internationality of the program. The HSLU Master's program is ranked 51st, which puts the HSLU in an exclusive circle in Switzerland: With the University of St. Gallen, the University of Lausanne and the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), only three other Swiss universities are represented in the ranking. "Our inclusion in the ranking underscores the high quality of our program and the successful combination of academic and practical orientation," says Simon Amrein, who heads the Master's in Banking and Finance together with Florian Schreiber. "In particular, the personal and professional development of the students as well as the quality of the teaching will remain central in the future," says the head of the program.

HSLU Masters with AACSB Seal of Approval

Since 2020, the program is also part of the University Affiliation Program of the CFA Institute. The training to become a Chartered Financial Analyst® is one of the best-known training programs in the investment sector on an international level. The Lucerne School of Business has also been AACSB accredited since 2021. Only about six percent of the world's business schools carry this seal of approval.

Source: Lucerne University

There is a lack of movement in the home office: The evaluation of a Reader survey "Movement in office work 2021" last May showed that almost two-thirds of home workers move even less at home than on a regular workday in the company office. In the first year of Corona, too much sitting was done at the office, too little standing and too little walking. But the results at home were even worse than in the corporate office. But has the situation improved in the meantime? Are people moving more and has more been invested in solutions that promote movement in the office and home office?

Movement in the home office and in general remains insufficient

The current results of the representative reader survey of the blog "Office Roxx" are sobering: The more than 2,300 office workers from Germany surveyed were only moderately satisfied with the proportion of physical activity in their own lives. The average grade achieved was 3.4. This is roughly the same as the previous year's score of 3.5, so it remains a poor report card for exercise. (Editor's note: In Germany, unlike Switzerland, the school grade 1 is the best and 6 the worst).

Two-thirds move less in the home office

Whereas in the first year of the pandemic, based on the previous year's results, the home office share of own office work among office workers in Germany was 62 percent, a large proportion of home workers apparently returned to the office in the second corona year. The share of home work was only 44 percent on average.

But do people move more or less during a workday in the home office than during a day in the company office? Less! The proportion has even increased compared to the previous year: 61 percent (2021: 57 percent) move less at home than in the office. In contrast, 39 percent (2021: 43 percent) feel they move more at home than in the office.

Even more sitting in the home office than in the office

The posture mix recommended by experts for office work is: 60 percent sitting, 30 percent standing and ten percent walking. According to their own statements, the survey participants currently spend an average of 75 percent of their home office day sitting, ten percent standing and five percent walking - little change compared to the previous year: 73 percent sitting, eleven percent standing and seven percent walking. In the office, the average mix is: 64 percent sitting, 18 percent standing, 18 percent walking. In the survey results from 2021, it was 65 percent sitting, 18 percent standing, nine percent walking.

Home office equipment leaves much to be desired

The answers to the question "How ergonomic or conducive to movement is your workstation in the home office?" resulted in an average school grade of 3.9 (2021: 3.7). With regard to the workstation in the office, an average grade of 2.9 was achieved here (previous year: 3.3). Ergonomics and movement promotion continue to leave a lot to be desired, as expected especially in the home office. It is astonishing that the assessment here has even deteriorated compared with the previous year. Perhaps, however, awareness of the need for ergonomics and movement promotion has increased at home.

For more movement in the home office and office

The fact that, according to the survey results, almost one in three (29 percent) intend to invest in ergonomic or exercise-promoting equipment for their home office workplaces is seen by the study authors as a good sign. The four percent increase over the previous year's survey shows that employees also want to work healthily and productively at home. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in all areas. In particular, it is important to note that solutions that promote exercise must also be used for their intended purpose.

"It's not all sunshine in the home office. The pandemic has clearly shown that the four walls at home are not the better place to work for every office worker. Above all, each individual should work where this is best possible in terms of his or her health, well-being and productivity, and in harmony with the culture and goals of the employer," sums up Dr. Robert Nehring, who is also editor-in-chief of the blog "Office Roxx„.

In uncertain and unstable times, leaders are needed who can provide orientation and stability. The current challenges facing politics, business and society require trustworthy leaders and a modern corporate culture. The Entrepreneurs' Day on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in the Spoerry Halle Vaduz is therefore entitled "Leading in times of instability" and will examine this highly topical subject from different angles. The event is already being held for the 17th time. Guests can expect exciting presentations, informative panel discussions and attractive networking opportunities.

Massive changes require leadership

After the welcome address by Liechtenstein's Deputy Head of Government and Minister of Economic Affairs Sabine Monauni, top manager Joe Kaeser explains why leadership is particularly important in times of crisis. He is convinced that society is facing massive disruptive changes and that leaders must respond to them with a clear stance and honest communication. Kaeser is one of the highest-profile representatives of German business and the best-known manager in Europe. He is Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of Siemens Energy and Daimler Truck and has more than 40 years of professional experience in the Siemens Group.

Local entrepreneurial personalities

Afterwards, local heroes Markus Kaiser and Katharina Lehmann will show how they manage their companies in difficult times and explain why family-run companies plan more long-term than, for example, listed companies. Kaiser is CEO and majority owner of Kaiser AG in Schaanwald with 600 employees. The company's main products are vehicles for sewer cleaning and industrial waste disposal as well as mobile walking excavators. Lehmann is CEO and owner of the Lehmann Group in Gossau SG, a general contractor as well as market leader in Switzerland for timber construction, with around 400 employees. Kaiser and Lehmann are also members of the jury for the "Entrepreneur Of The Year" award in Liechtenstein, which will be presented to an entrepreneur for the sixth time in the fall of 2022.

Economic turning point

After the refreshment break, economist Peter Bofinger will take the stage. The German economist will explain to the audience why the Corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine also represent an economic turning point. According to Bofinger, companies must prepare for the fact that economic fundamentals will fundamentally change and have direct consequences on elements such as inflation, monetary policy or supply chains.

Formula 1 simulators experience

At the end of the conference, entrepreneur Monisha Kaltenborn looks back on her career in motor racing in a conversation with presenter Mona Vetsch and reports on her latest company. Racing Unleashed develops Formula 1 racing simulators and aims to open up automobile racing to the general public. The Entrepreneur Day will be rounded off with a networking aperitif. Participants can enjoy a touch of Formula 1 flair in the networking zone by testing racing simulators.

Broad sponsorship

The Entrepreneur Day offers entrepreneurs and people interested in business a special knowledge and networking platform. The organizers again expect several hundred guests from the four-country corner at the Entrepreneur Day. The conference is sponsored by the government of Liechtenstein. On board are numerous partners from the private sector and business associations. The organizer is the Unternehmertag association in cooperation with the event agency Skunk AG.

Information and registration at www.unternehmertag.li

A representative survey conducted by the HWZ with DemoScope on the topic of "Preferences in education and training" in German-speaking Switzerland shows that distance learning is not replacing face-to-face teaching as a form of instruction. The desire for maximum flexibility on the part of prospective students is also less prominent than one might assume, according to another finding of the study. Rather, the teaching methods chosen by the educational institution must fit the respective context and provide students with practical added value. In addition to individualized learning settings, which must be closely related to students' own learning needs, self-directed learning based on active personal responsibility is becoming more important. The task of lecturers is shifting from knowledge transfer to learning coaching, which relies on personal responsibility and intrinsic motivation - without losing efficiency.

Continuing education not an end in itself

The survey of 15-55 year-olds shows that a large majority can only be won over to in-service continuing education at a university of applied sciences (CAS, MAS) if the thematic orientation of the continuing education program and the prospects for networking relate to one's own and concrete field of activity and promise a nameable added value for one's own professional biography. "The desire for continuing education is based exclusively on utilitarian needs that arise from one's own professional context and are intended to fuel one's own career opportunities. In terms of delivery formats, the focus is on a stimulating teaching and learning environment that should include interactive settings as well as high-quality asynchronous online units with a clear focus on the added value specific to each format. These aspects are clearly more important than the free choice of the type of event, especially since planning security is of central importance," emphasizes Dr. Stefan Joller, Head of University Development HWZ.

Efficient flexibility is required

Flexibility in learning is highly valued by the 765 respondents. Flexibility is understood to mean being able to work on the content of one's own courses when one has time. This also refers to the option of taking part in lessons regardless of location (live streams, recordings), where this is permitted by the teaching and learning objectives specified in the content. With regard to time management for continuing education, a majority of respondents state that a clear content-related and time-related specification by the university is appreciated in order to thereby have to spend less time on the independent planning of learning phases. This also applies to the selection of learning content and the appropriate format in terms of subject didactics. These results essentially correspond to a conservative learning attitude, which remains dominant and focuses on cost-sensitive efficiency in education and training.

On the basis of this survey, the steadily growing technological opportunities for shaping individual learning and life paths (lifelong learning), which have risen sharply in the educational landscape due to Corona, do not indicate a clear trend toward complete flexibilization. Rather, the multi-option society demands a significantly increased degree of signposting. Educational institutions must master this balancing act between individualization and efficient goal orientation.

Source: HWZ

On November 10, 1896, Heinrich Bachmann founded what is now 4B. Over the past 125 years, the world has changed rapidly - and so has 4B. "However, we have not only reacted to the changes and challenges in the world, but have also consciously anticipated them," says Mark Bachmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors at 4B and great-grandson of the company founder, during the anniversary celebration in Hochdorf. For 125 years, it has been in the company's DNA to question traditions and to dare and promote new things. "We have been living the motto: Innovation is our most important tradition consistently for four generations," says the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

A central motivation for the company's innovative strength is the topic of sustainability. "As a family business with responsibility and a 125-year history, it is important for us to keep an eye on the future," says Otto Bachmann, co-owner of 4B. With the development of sustainable window and façade systems made of wood-aluminum, Otto Bachmann, a trained wood engineer, has been a Swiss pioneer in helping sustainability achieve a breakthrough in the window industry over the past thirty years. This with the aim of leaving a functioning company and a healthy planet for future generations.

Sustainability and shortage of skilled workers

To achieve this goal, Jean-Marc Devaud is operationally involved as CEO of 4B. "We produce almost exclusively wood-aluminum windows and focus with the wood on a 100 percent climate-neutral raw material," says Jean-Marc Devaud on the 125th anniversary. 4B windows primarily play out their positive impact on the environment when in use. "Around 45 percent of Switzerland's energy demand is generated in buildings. By renovating roofs and replacing old windows with 4B windows alone, this demand can be reduced by around 30 percent," says the CEO.

In addition to the issue of sustainability, 4B is currently very concerned about the shortage of skilled workers. "Our 700 employees are our most important asset," says the CEO. That's why 4B consciously invests in its employees - especially in the next generation. And this investment is necessary: Vocational training is in a tough spot - even though Switzerland's dual education system is a success story and serves as a model for many countries around the world. "All together, we are committed to ensuring that 4B continues to set trends in sustainability and training over the next 125 years," says Jean-Marc Devaud.

4B celebrates with 180 guests from business and politics

The 125th anniversary of 4B took place on June 10 from 16.00 to 21.00 at the company headquarters in Hochdorf (LU). The approximately 180 invited guests from business and politics met at 16.00 for a joint production tour. Before the main program, the guests had the opportunity to fortify themselves with an aperitif. For the main program, the guests were then welcomed again in the plenum by Mark and Otto Bachmann, owners of 4B, as well as by 4B CEO, Jean-Marc Devaud. While Mark and Otto Bachmann addressed the eventful past of the company in their greetings, Jean-Marc Devaud spoke about the present.

Afterwards, the moderator Florian Inhauser literally opened the door to the future for the keynote speaker, Dr. David Bosshart. Dr. David Bosshart is a futurist, philosopher and was CEO of the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) for 22 years. In his gripping speech, he explored the interesting question: How much does a company depend on its history and the decisions of previous generations?

After the main program, the invited guests ended the evening with a dinner.

More information

Automotive workshop coordinators and automotive diagnosticians face the daily challenges in the workshops and provide the basis for success and customer satisfaction with their expertise and people skills. 163 graduates of the vocational training recently received their professional certificates. Charles-Albert Hediger, member of the AGVS Central Board, thanked the young professionals and their families at the Event Center of Emil Frey Classics AG in Safenwil for taking on this training despite the period of uncertainty caused by the pandemic and war: "The Swiss automotive industry needs you and will continue to need you!" With the knowledge that the two female graduates and 161 male graduates acquired during their two-year training, they laid the foundation for professional success and also demonstrated a passion for the automotive industry.

Young professionals who give their best every day

The top graders, who were awarded a special prize, had particular cause for celebration among the successful specialists. Among the automotive workshop coordinators, this was Raphael Senn from Kaltenbach TG, who completed the advanced training with the top grade of 4.8. Among the automotive diagnosticians in the passenger vehicle sector, Ramon Keel from Balgach SG stood out with a grade of 5.3, Etienne Panchaud from Murist FR with a grade of 5.0, and Yann Lerch from Reconvilier BE with a grade of 4.9. In the commercial vehicle category, the winners included Daniel Hug from Untervaz GR with a grade of 5.5, Roman Schellenberg from Pfäffikon ZH with a grade of 5.4 and Michael Franz Müller from Niederurnen GL with a grade of 5.6. "I want to give my best every day and pass on the human and technical knowledge we acquired during the training," Müller revealed. "We had fun together, which made learning easier." The fact that the demanding training was not a foregone conclusion was also underlined by the two graduates Evelyn Kunz from Adetswil ZH (grade 5.0) and Desirée Schweizer from Glattfelden ZH (grade 4.8). "I had a lot of help from my boyfriend. He completed the training five years ago," explained Desirée Schweizer. "We don't work together in a garage yet, but we have lots of material at home that we tinker around with."

Vehicles arouse emotions

Matthias Krummen, Head of Management Services and Communication at ESA, also pointed out the emotions that vehicles arouse: "It takes personalities like you to deal with new trends, concepts and customer segments. Trends are to be used as opportunities. You have the privilege of working with products that stir emotions." As a purchasing organization for the automotive and motor vehicle trades for more than 90 years, ESA has also been committed to education and training in the industry. Krummen therefore presented AGVS Executive Board member Olivier Maeder with a check for 20,000 Swiss francs to continue promoting the training of young specialists in the future.

Source: Auto Gewerbe Verband Schweiz

Although numerous experiences with robotics have been handed down before, the patent for a programmable manipulator registered by George Devol in 1954 is generally regarded as the birth of the development of industrial robots. Then, as now, robotics dealt with the attempt to implement interactions of the physical world through the use of mechanical solutions in conjunction with information processing. This automates and optimizes processes such as the manufacture of products. Increasing global networking also plays a role: "Modern robots are equipped with sensors and actuators, and the information obtained from them can be processed immediately," explains Wilhelm Heckmann, Managing Director at CNT Management Consulting in Zurich, an international consulting firm focusing on digitalization. By applying artificial intelligence, industrial robots can build up an understanding of the environment, enabling them to identify future problems and associated failures at an early stage. Insights from this, moreover, are not just reserved for robots in one plant, but are distributed globally - contributing to the development of the customer experience.

Robotics promotes flexibility and customer experience

While robotics used to be used primarily to increase efficiency, robots now also support companies in the area of flexibility. "Robotics has been increasingly equipped with artificial intelligence in recent years. This also has an impact on the customer experience, as production runs more uninterrupted and, in the course of this, not only production itself but also delivery reliability is improved," Heckmann emphasizes. In addition, robotics allows real-time monitoring through connected IoT devices that link physical objects to the virtual world. As a result, information about the machine's condition is available at all times to the manufacturer, the service provider and the customer operating the machine. The resulting transparency also has an immediate positive impact on the customer experience.

Customized mass production

Especially with regard to personalized customer requests, robotics offers significant advantages, for example in the areas of (on-time) delivery or costs. The use of robots even makes adjustments in assembly line production possible, opening up completely new opportunities for companies in terms of their customer experience. "With the use of robotics, companies can flexibly adapt their products to individual customer requirements at any time, which can become a differentiating factor, especially in the face of competing companies," says Heckmann. So-called production cells, which consist of several similar machining centers combined into a single unit, make mass production particularly flexible. "If people and robots work together effectively, companies can deliver exactly what their customers want," says Heckmann, explaining the concept of customized mass production. Ultimately, this allows companies to increase not only their sales but also their profitability - while at the same time the customer benefits from short delivery times and good prices. The use of robotics also offers advantages in terms of sustainability, which is becoming increasingly important in production and purchasing: "For example, it can reduce energy costs and keep production waste and material costs low," Heckmann knows.

CNT & SAP Event in Zurich

Those who are interested in sustainability in the purchasing process will soon have the opportunity to deal with the topic in person. On June 29, 2022, CNT Management Consulting, together with Q_PERIOR and SAP, invites to the event "CNT Procurement Afterwork" at "The Circle" in Zurich. "Guests can look forward to, among other things, an exciting customer presentation by a well-known company and further valuable expertise from the procurement sector," Heckmann reveals in the run-up to the event. So anyone who wants to learn more about how the SAP Business Network can provide insight into the supply chain and thus make a positive contribution to the future themselves should find interesting information at this event.

Source and further information

For Swiss pension funds, 2021 was a successful year. This is shown by the 22nd edition of the Swisscanto Pension Fund Study, published by Zürcher Kantonalbank. The pension funds generated an average net return of 8.4%. According to Swisscanto, this is the second-best result of the last decade and is significantly above the ten-year average of 5.4%. The high returns generated over the past few years are being used by the funds in a targeted manner to increase their financial fitness. This starting position now gives them more room for maneuver - especially when it comes to interest on retirement assets. Active insured benefited from a higher interest rate - across all funds, this averaged 4.25% in 2021, the highest since 2001, as the Pension Fund Study 2022 shows.

Redistribution from active insured to pensioners stopped

The pension funds have used the profitable years to prepare for the future. They have adjusted the technical interest rate, built up the fluctuation reserves, switched to generation tables, lowered the conversion rate and increased the retirement age. All this has resulted in a halt to the systemic redistribution of benefits from active insured to pensioners.

However, a two-tier society has emerged among pension funds: Funds that have already accumulated fluctuation reserves in excess of 75% have been able to pay twice as much interest on their insured's retirement assets as funds with lower reserves. For the model students among the pension funds, the way is clear for a trend reversal: In the future, they will be able to pay higher interest on the retirement assets of their active insured. Insured persons of funds that are behind schedule with the implementation of their homework will lose out. If the reserves are insufficiently accumulated, their pension fund assets will only earn below-average interest. For insured persons, it plays a decisive role with which fund they are insured via their employer.

Top cash registers make over ten times as much return as others

A sustainably high investment return will remain indispensable in the future to ensure a good return on retirement assets. In terms of performance, the range between the lowest and highest returns is very wide - a trend that has been apparent in the study for years. In 2021, the lowest value was 1.34%; the best fund achieved a return of 15.97%, which is over ten times higher. This is also reflected in the medium term over five years: The tenth of the funds with the lowest performance generated a return of 3.88% per year; the most successful tenth achieved a return of 7.21% per year. The reasons for these differences are structural, such as fund size, industry characteristics and asset allocation.

Bonds offer no security in current market turbulence

In terms of investment mix, pension funds relied on a record high equity allocation of 33.7% on average in 2021. Asset allocation is crucial, and its relevance has become even more important since the beginning of 2022 with the war in Ukraine, the global supply chain problems and the rise in interest rates: Bonds, as a supposedly safe form of investment, have not been able to play out their defensive qualities at the beginning of the year. This caused losses for all Swiss pension funds (on average -7.9% for bonds in CHF and -7.2% in foreign currencies). As a result, defensive pension funds with a high bond allocation suffered almost the same losses as equity-heavy funds from January to April: the decile with the lowest performance over the past five years suffered losses of 5.2%, while the decile with the highest performance lost about the same amount last year, at 5.1%. There is no way around equities in the investment mix.

"The past year has impressively shown how much insured persons benefit when their pension fund does its homework and the investment performance is right. Those who have good reserves should now pass on these surpluses to the insured," says Iwan Deplazes, Head of Asset Management at Zürcher Kantonalbank. "Investments remain the lifeblood for pension funds. The right investment strategy is more important than ever given the current market situation."

Health insurance funds fulfill their performance promises

Coverage ratios have never been as high as at the end of 2021: these averaged over 122.1% for private-law funds - 6 percentage points more than in the previous year. The positive development on the stock market was particularly responsible for this. While the coverage ratios had long oscillated around 110%, the curve has risen steeply since 2018, increasing by more than 13 percentage points. With the value of 122.1% at the end of 2021, the funds have exceeded the self-imposed target values for the fluctuation reserves of 18.5% for the first time. This is despite the fact that the boards of trustees have increased the targets for the average value for private-law pension funds from 15.9% to 18.5% since 2012. As a result, the funds have unrestricted funds for benefit improvements. However, the current market situation has resulted in the funding ratios falling slightly below the target again to 117.3% by the end of March 2022.

Interest Rate Turnaround Stops Decline in Technical Interest Rate

The solid reserves enable a trend reversal in the technical interest rate. This is based on the recommended upper limit of the Swiss Chamber of Pension Fund Experts and shows the long-term financial obligations with which the institutions are calculating. In 2021, the experts recommended on the basis of their calculations that the rate be increased in view of rising interest rates; in 2022, another such recommendation could follow. This means that the current average technical interest rates are now below the recommended upper limit - the pension funds are therefore making realistic estimates of their pension promises. The conversion rate, on the other hand, will continue to fall, according to the pension fund study figures: for men with retirement age 65, from an average of 5.43% in 2022 to 5.25% in 2026. "The funds are fit and can fulfill their benefit promises. We are seeing a turnaround: The redistribution from active insured to pensioners could finally be stopped. Higher pensions are coming into sight," says Heini Dändliker, Head of Key Account Management Corporate Clients Switzerland at Zürcher Kantonalbank.

Many health insurance funds anticipate BVG reform

The National Council and the Council of States Commission would like to lower the entry threshold in their proposals for the reform projects currently under discussion, whereas the Federal Council has not touched this issue in the BVG reform. Part-time workers and multi-jobbers are currently disadvantaged if they earn less than CHF 21,510 per year. In a quarter of the funds surveyed, this threshold has already been lowered or made variable. There are also discussions about reducing the coordination deduction, which disadvantages part-time workers in particular. However, flexible coordination deduction models are already offered by 86% the pension funds. The deduction is linked either to the degree of employment or to the insured salary. Some pension funds do not make any deductions at all. Only a minority of 14% still rely on fixed coordination deductions without weighting of the degree of employment. In some cases, the pension funds are one step ahead of the politicians on these issues.

Little progress on CO₂-measures

By contrast, the picture is different for another relevant topic: the integration of sustainability criteria. In 2021, 33% of the funds had already incorporated environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria into their investment regulations, compared with just 25% in 2020. However, it is primarily the large funds that attach the necessary relevance to this topic. Smaller insurers are six years behind. There is hardly any movement in the measurement of CO₂-intensities of the portfolios or in setting actual reduction targets: Only 6% have a concrete reduction target, while as many as 10% are giving this some initial thought.

Women strongly underrepresented on foundation boards

For the first time, pension funds were asked about the composition and work of their boards of trustees as part of the study. On average, the board of trustees consists of eight people, who usually belong to the company. With regard to investment decisions, around 80% of all pension funds rely on an investment committee, with almost all of the larger funds doing so. Although women represent 43% of the insured, only 22% of them are represented in the top management body of the funds.

Source: ZKB. More information to the study you can find here. The ORGANIZER has in a current articles (subject to a fee) also took a close look at a number of pension plans.

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