Iarno Mapelli, Managing Director of Tecnomec SA, accepted the coveted trophy at the Prix SVC Svizzera italiana 2022 on May 18, 2022. Founded in 1981, the company operates in the precision mechanics sector and has state-of-the-art machinery. The Stabio-based company employs 70 people. Second place went to Jetpharma SA and its board member Stefano Martinoli, while R. Audemars SA and its CEO Mirko Audemars secured third place. Diploma ranks were awarded to Agriloro SA and its CEO Jacques Perler, to Campofelice SA and its CEO Simone Patelli, and to Fontana Print SA and its CEO Ruben Fontana.

Tecnomec SA: Rooted in the region

Marzio Grassi, president of the jury of the Prix SVC Italian Switzerland, justified the choice of the winner in the laudation as follows: "Each of the six finalists deserved to win. In the end, the jury chose Tecnomec, an excellent example of a family business characterized by a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on innovation and excellence. It is rooted in the region and constantly invests in the growth of the company and its employees. Director Iarno Mapelli, in addition to the winner's trophy, was able to take home as a prize a Credit Suisse entrepreneur trip and an exclusive SUPSI voucher worth 12,500 Swiss francs to attend one or more SUPSI continuing education courses.

Second place for Jetpharma SA and third place for R. Audemars SA

Jetpharma SA, founded in 1986 and based in Balerna, won the 2nd place. The company offers the following services micronization services for third parties. Today, the company is one of the few global players and has a unique technology. The prize, which was awarded to Stefano Martinoli, member of the Board of Directors, is sponsored by Ernst & Young and consists of participation in a study trip and in the "Entrepreneur of the Year" congress.

The third prize went to R. Audemars SA from Lamone-Cadempino. Thanks to the know-how acquired over more than 120 years in the Swiss watchmaking industry, the family-owned company, founded in 1898, has also developed in other markets and works with global manufacturers of medical equipment, which is now its main market. Mirko Audemars, CEO, accepted the prize offered by Swisscom in the form of a voucher to attend one of the exclusive events promoted and supported by Swisscom.

More information: Swiss Venture Club

Metawaste is a network of providers and partners throughout Switzerland, using what it describes as a unique collaborative approach. The network aims to bring together waste management players in Switzerland to offer their customers optimal collection and processing solutions. Vincent Chapel, president and founder of the company, states its goals: "By involving national waste management companies and recyclers, Metawaste contributes to the circular economy in two ways: First, we encourage our partners to join the platform to offer an efficient network of waste collections across the country; second, we enable our customers to reduce their carbon footprint thanks to digital tools."

Digital tools for a sustainable economy

The CO₂-The carbon footprint has become an important indicator for companies: It allows them to determine which measures they need to prioritize in order to reduce their environmental footprint. Genius, the new digital platform for waste management, contributes to this dynamic, according to Metawaste, by offering several functions that would allow analysis of the data associated with waste streams, in particular:

• Centralized waste management and real-time tracking of the collection route and the number of actions taken
• Real-time balance of sorting, recycling and recovery operations
• Real-time budget monitoring with details of average spend per collection and costs by waste type
• Live monitoring of the CO₂-performance (ejected vs. avoided)
• And, if applicable, the real-time management of nonconformities

Thanks to a clear and easy-to-use interface, users can quickly access various information and manage all processes online.

Partner in waste management

The digital platform was developed using the expertise of the teams at SRS Global Services, a company with unique experience in waste management for large Swiss companies. SRS Global Services processes waste from 800 customer sites in Switzerland and manages 65,000 tons of waste per year. This experience was crucial to implement a market-driven solution that meets the customer's needs. Metawaste currently manages industrial and retail waste; an offering for construction waste will be developed by the end of 2022.

Source and further information: www.metawaste.com

Even though wage transparency is increasingly promoted in Switzerland and desired by job seekers, the JobCloud study in collaboration with the LINK Institute revealed that 61% of the companies surveyed are currently not prepared to publicly disclose the wages of their employees. Overall, only one-third of companies would be willing to take this step. Large companies and microbusinesses show more willingness in this direction. "It is probably easier for large companies because they have structured salary processes, for example in the form of defined salary bands," explains Davide Villa, CEO of JobCloud.

Differentiate yourself through wage transparency

If companies speak out against transparent salaries, then according to the survey a good 60% do so because salary transparency is not yet guaranteed within the company either. Just under 30% are against it because employees' salaries vary widely. "Companies that communicate their wages transparently can stand out from other employers in the recruiting process and thus receive more suitable applications. One benefit of wage transparency in job advertisements is that only candidates who agree with the stated wage will apply," Villa adds.

You culture in more and more companies

One area of the study deals with the corporate culture and how employees interact with each other. Here, an informal "Du" culture seems to be becoming increasingly prevalent. Overall, three quarters stated that a Du culture is cultivated in the company, whereby a clear cultural difference between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland is evident: While 81% in German-speaking Switzerland use the "Du" form of communication, "only" 62% on the other side of the Röstigraben do so. In French-speaking Switzerland, a distinction is made much more according to hierarchy level - 27% say that it depends on the hierarchy level, while this only plays a role for 11% in German-speaking Switzerland. The "you" culture is least widespread in large companies (70%), while it is most widespread in small companies (81% in micro and 84% in small companies).

Employer branding also an issue for small companies

The study also shows that although employer branding is used heavily by companies, its full potential has not yet been tapped. Just under half of the HR managers surveyed said that employer branding is important or very important for recruitment. This value increases as the size of the company increases. In contrast, 19% of the respondents attach no or hardly any importance to their own employer brand. While employer branding is primarily handled by the HR department at large and medium-sized companies, it is a management issue at small companies. "Especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers, small companies should also try to position themselves as attractive employers through an employer branding strategy," concludes Villa's recommendation.

Source: www.jobcloud.ch

In 2021, the crowdfunding market in Switzerland grew significantly from CHF 606.6 million in the previous year to a new figure of CHF 791.8 million. This corresponds to growth of 31 percent and represents another record figure, as shown by the Crowdfunding Monitor of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Since the first crowdfunding platform was founded 14 years ago, around three billion francs have been raised digitally in Switzerland.

Significant growth of crowdlending and crowdinvesting

Online intermediation of funds for loans to SMEs and private individuals as well as intermediation of investments in companies and real estate grew significantly. The crowdlending market now totals CHF 607 million (+35 percent), while the crowdinvesting market grew to CHF 147 million. In particular, investments in loans to real estate companies and direct investments in real estate drove this growth. Crowdsupporting/crowddonating volumes declined slightly compared with 2020 to CHF 38 million (-16 percent), after record figures were recorded in this area in the previous year due to the Corona crisis and several crowdfunding platforms that were only temporarily active.

Support for political campaigns gains in importance

There is significant growth in the financing of political campaigns via crowdsupporting. In 2021, for example, more than 800,000 francs were invested in political crowdfunding campaigns. A year earlier, the figure was still around 90,000 francs. Crowdfunding as "financing from below", with which many small donations can be generated, is in vogue. Thanks to this form of financing, on the one hand, financing processes can also be digitized in the area of political financing. On the other hand, it can increase the legitimacy of a political cause if many people participate in a campaign.

Crowdfunding likely to crack the billion mark in 2022

The HSLU study authors expect the total volume of crowdfunding in Switzerland to grow to more than one billion francs this year. "Even with this volume, crowdfunding will remain a niche financing in Switzerland," says Andreas Dietrich, co-author of the Crowdfunding Monitor and banking professor at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. However, the increasing relevance could lead to accelerated growth in the long term, he added. On the one hand, Covid-19 has accelerated the use of digital financial processes by both businesses and individuals. On the other hand, larger donors such as foundations or institutional investors will probably also increasingly allocate funds via this alternative form of financing.

Forms of crowdfunding

• Crowdsupporting: Mostly creative and cultural projects and campaigns from the sports sector. The investor receives a product, an artistic work or a service in return for the invested contribution. For example, someone who finances a book receives a copy free of charge.
• Crowddonating: Majority donations to social, charitable and cultural projects that are not tied to anything in return.
• Crowdinvesting: Investment of equity or debt capital in companies (start-ups) or real estate. In return, investors receive a share of the profits.
• Crowdlending: Mediation of loans to companies or private individuals. In return, the donors receive interest payments, the amount of which depends on the risk of the capital borrower.

Source and further information: Lucerne University

Shouldn't we be tolerant of others? Sure. But in leadership and personal relationships, there's another side to the coin: "You get in life what you tolerate."

This is an old and true wisdom. If you tolerate certain negative behaviors in others, you will get more of them in your life. Example: If you tolerate someone being consistently unpunctual, that person will continue to be unpunctual. And you will increasingly be surrounded by people who behave similarly. This is not about how you "educate" others, but about what you should allow into your life as a leader. Because if you tolerate too much negativity, you won't have room for the important things that move you forward.

"Where does the different tolerance thresholds of different people come from?" you may now ask. Well, like many things, this also comes to a large extent from the imprinting of our childhood. And like all these imprints, you can also specifically change this one in yourself. Here are three questions that you can use to influence your tolerance threshold:

1. "Where do I keep being too tolerant?"
   There are very different patterns of where you are too tolerant. It may be in certain behaviors with yourself. Or you may show too much tolerance in very specific situations with others. Or you are very tolerant of certain people, no matter what they do.
   The important first step is to identify where your different tolerance points occur.
2. "What are the negative consequences of this tolerance?"
   The point here is to realize what your high tolerance leads to in certain situations (see point 1). A good helpful question is: "What would happen if I were no longer so tolerant at this point?"
   Maybe you would have more time, be more productive, have fewer distractions, accomplish more, have more time for other people you care about, and so on.
   We often dramatically underestimate the negative consequences of too much tolerance.
3. "Where are my red lines?"
   In the third step, it is crucial that you make the decision in which places and with which people you no longer show tolerance.
   The important thing to remember is that being too tolerant not only harms you, but also those you are too tolerant of.
   For example, if you keep answering all the questions, you educate people not to think for themselves at all. That doesn't help anyone.

So, here you have three helpful questions that will help you achieve more and at the same time help others develop. And please remember: The line between too much and too little tolerance is relatively narrow.

Author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer, book author, consultant, coach, speaker.www.volkmarvoelzke.ch

Around one-tenth of the working population in Germany, mainly managers, show signs of workaholism, according to a study conducted by the Hans Böckler Foundation funded study based on representative data from 8,000 employed people in 2017 and 2018 shows. People affected by addictive working would not only work very long, fast and in parallel on different tasks, they would also only be able to take a day off with a guilty conscience. They would also often feel unable to switch off and relax at the end of work.

33 percent work excessively

According to the study, 9.8 percent of employees show signs of workaholism. Another 33 percent work excessively - but not compulsively. In contrast, 54.9 percent of employees work "calmly. And a small group does not work much, but compulsively.

With around ten percent workaholics, Germany achieves a value that is close to the results of similar studies from other countries. In the USA, the figure is also ten percent and in Norway a good eight percent. South Korea is out of the ordinary, with a study showing a figure of almost 40 percent, albeit with a somewhat broader definition of work addiction.

School-leaving qualification irrelevant

According to the researchers, school-leaving qualifications and family status show no correlation with the tendency to work addiction. There is a significant, albeit quantitatively small, difference between women and men, who are affected by 10.8 and nine percent, respectively. There are more significant differences between age groups: Among 15- to 24-year-olds, the rate is 12.6 percent, and among 55- to 64-year-olds, 7.9 percent.

Those who have a long contractual working week have a slightly above-average tendency toward workaholism. There are strong differences with regard to self-employment and management responsibility. Among the self-employed, the workaholic rate is 13.9 percent. This could also be one of the reasons for the high proportion in agricultural professions, as many employees in this sector are self-employed.

Who is most likely to be a workaholic?

Executives are 12.4 percent workaholics, other employed persons only 8.7 percent. The upper level comes to a share of 16.6 percent. In many workplace cultures, managers are likely to have requirements that "incentivize workaholic behavior," the researchers suspect. For example, when they are expected to be the first to arrive and the last to leave.

There is also a strong correlation between the size of the company and co-determination. Addiction to work is less prevalent in large companies than in small ones, the study found. With fewer than ten employees, "12.3 percent fall into the category of addicted workers," and with more than 250 employees, 8.3 percent. This could be due to greater regulation. After all, employees in large companies may get into trouble with the HR department more quickly if their working time account is overflowing.

How to tell if you're a workaholic or at risk of becoming one reveals one articlewhich we published here just over a year ago.

Medgate was founded in 1999 and today employs around 300 people in Switzerland, including more than 100 physicians, and more than 500 employees worldwide. Since 2000, Medgate has been operating what it claims is the largest medical telemedicine center in Europe. The Medgate Mini Clinics and the doctors and clinics of the Medgate Partner Network are available to patients for on-site consultations.

Now there will be a change in leadership: Claudine Blaser will become the new Managing Director of Medgate Switzerland. Andy Fischer, MD, who has led Medgate's Swiss business since its founding, has already focused on managing the international Medgate Group as Group CEO since 2021. Andy Fischer: "I am grateful that with Claudine Blaser we have been able to win an experienced leader with a large network in the Swiss healthcare sector for Medgate Switzerland."

Claudine Blaser: "Always rethinking medicine".

Claudine Blaser has more than 20 years of experience in challenging management positions and various industries related to health and medicine. The 51-year-old studied natural sciences at ETH Zurich, obtained her doctorate in immunology and completed an ETH master's degree in business administration. After holding various positions at the start-up Cytos Biotechnology AG, she was Managing Director of the ETH Phenomics Center before joining Argomed Ärzte AG, a service company for integrated care, as Managing Director. In 2020, Claudine Blaser took over as Head of the Health Division at Helsana.

On July 1, 2022, Claudine Blaser will begin her role as Managing Director at Medgate Switzerland. "I am looking forward to this new challenge and the opportunity to work with Medgate's dedicated team and its business partners to develop medical solutions for our customers.
We have to constantly rethink and redesign our products and services to meet the needs of our customers," she says.

Further international growth

The internationally active Medgate Group is pursuing the goal of being a leading global digital health provider and is striving for geographic growth in this context. With the majority shareholding announced in March of this year by the international
trading and services group Otto Group, headquartered in Hamburg, and the acquisition of BetterDoc GmbH, the European market leader for the search and placement of highly specialized physicians, Medgate created the conditions for implementing the corresponding growth strategy.

Source: Medgate

Automation solutions for energy service providers

Digital document management

The Allianz Trade Export Forecast stands at 0.33 points in May 2022. In February, it was still at 0.69 points. The indicator is thus slowly approaching the long-term trend growth. The signals still point to above-average export growth, as the analysis shows. However, if it takes longer for the trouble spots to ease, there is a risk of a sharper countermovement in the export outlook in the course of the year. The growth forecasts for world trade have already been adjusted downward.

Export prospects: Optimism gives way to realism

After the "reopening" of the global economy last year caused much optimism among exporters, the development of global trade in 2022 is now likely to be much more subdued than expected. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken business and consumer confidence, driven up commodity prices and further exacerbated corona-induced supply chain stress - most recently fueled primarily by China's zero-covid strategy. "We have accordingly revised our forecast for global trade in 2022 downward from 6 % to 4 %," explains Allianz Trade European economist Katharina Utermöhl. For Switzerland, Allianz Trade expects GDP growth of 2.2 % in 2022 (2023: +1.3 %) and export growth of 4 % (2023: +3 %).

Swiss foreign trade: growth in the first quarter

Swiss foreign trade continued to grow in the first quarter of 2022, reaching a new high. While imports continued to gain momentum, exports lost momentum slightly. The trade surplus decreased significantly, by CHF 2.8 billion. Compared with Q4 2021, exports increased by 1.2 % in nominal terms. In real terms - i.e. adjusted for inflation - there was an increase of 2.4 %. The largest contribution to the quarterly increase came from watch exports, which rose by 5.3 %. This was followed by metals with 6.3 % and machinery and electronics with 2.4 %. Exports of precision instruments rose by 4.2 %. Meanwhile, exports of chemical-pharmaceutical products decreased slightly (-0.7 %). Despite the increase in immunological products (+7.1 %), the decline in exports of active pharmaceutical ingredients (-10 %) pushed the group result into negative territory. The high starting levels or base effects must be taken into account here.

Sharp rise in costs for energy sources

In the first quarter, 6.7 % more goods were imported compared with the previous quarter (in real terms, the increase was 2.7 %). Apart from jewelry (-15.1 %), textiles, clothing and footwear (-3.7 %) and precision instruments (-0.5 %), the other product groups recorded an increase in imports. The largest contribution came from energy sources (+1.8 billion Swiss francs, +46 %). However, this increase was not due to higher volumes but exclusively to rising prices (+0.8 % in real terms). Imports of chemical and pharmaceutical products also increased sharply by 11.8 %. Imports of metals were also higher (+4.2 %), continuing their growth trend of seven quarters.

Swiss exporters hold their own better than their EU counterparts

Swiss exporters will also feel the impact of subdued global demand. In particular, the significant economic slowdown in key trading partner countries such as Germany, the UK and France, which together absorb 30 % of Swiss exports. However, Swiss exporters are likely to fare better than their EU counterparts. For one thing, the Swiss economy is less dependent on inputs from overseas, so the industry should not be as badly affected by supply bottlenecks. For another, the less cyclically sensitive exports of the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors - which together account for around 40 % of total Swiss exports - should again provide reliable support. However, analysts are eagerly watching the impact of the coincidence of rising prices and falling economic activity. This constellation harbors the risk of a "perfect storm", which would disrupt a normalization in the long term.

Source: Alliance Trade

TCA Thermoclima AG is a leading Swiss distributor of Japanese and European air conditioning systems and heat pumps such as Daikin, Panasonic, Aermec and Heliotherm. For more than 40 years, about 70 employees have been working on the success of the company. With a lot of commitment and broad expertise, the company works with its customers to find optimal solutions.

Now Heinrich Esseiva is succeeding CEO Rolf Fankhauser as managing director of the company. Esseiva grew up bilingually in the city of Fribourg and knows the diverse aspects of the markets throughout Switzerland. Together with Jürgen Sturn, co-owner and Head of Direct Evaporation & Administration, and Swen Schönenberger, Head of Technology and Commercial Refrigeration, TCA will continue to be managed by a strong quartet anchored in the market.

Together with the employees, the management team is constantly working on the further development of TCA in order to adapt the company to the new market conditions. This includes topics such as digitalization, but above all training and continuing education. In the fast-growing markets, new employees are constantly being recruited and the market presence strengthened.

More information

"The integration of the IT companies under the UMB brand is going according to plan. In addition, we are constantly looking for more specialists," was the interim assessment of UMB CEO Martin Gartmann at a media conference on May 23, 2022. For the current year, Gartmann expects sales of around CHF 250 million. By 2025, sales are expected to grow purely organically to around 325 million Swiss francs.

Expansion of portfolio and presence throughout Switzerland

Accordingly, the company is already benefiting from synergy effects just a few months after the takeover. The Network, Communication & Collaboration areas have been strengthened and strategic services have been established. The company is also benefiting from a stronger market presence in French-speaking Switzerland. Gartmann expects further positive effects from the affiliation with the BKW Group: "UMB's expertise in innovative solutions for digitalization and protection against cyber attacks is valuable for BKW's building and infrastructure business and other Group companies. This offers UMB a lot of growth potential." Services for smart building but also smart energy in the energy group's core business are areas in which UMB can manage the markets together with BKW, he said.

UMB even more attractive for existing customers

The dynamically developing cybersecurity and data protection needs of companies and authorities can be optimally met by UMB constantly keeping pace with the regulatory requirements regarding digital sovereignty and data security, the statement continues. By strengthening its existing teams and expanding its competencies, UMB will become an even stronger partner for its existing customers on the path to digital transformation. "UMB will remain an independent company in the new constellation thanks to a more comprehensive ecosystem and an expansion of the partner network, while at the same time being an even stronger trusted partner in all matters relating to IT and digital transformation," Gartmann is convinced.

Promoting young talent and work culture

The highest asset of IT companies like UMB are the colleagues. In order to better support part of the growth with internal forces, UMB is massively expanding its training capacity. Even before the takeover by BKW, the decision was made to increase the number of positions for apprentices and interns to 40, thus doubling the number. In the new constellation, the number of positions will increase accordingly. In principle, UMB is very committed to maintaining its attractiveness as an employer and to counteracting the shortage of skilled workers. For its efforts, the company was recently for the fifth time in a row by the Great Place to Work Institute as the best employer. in the category of companies with more than 500 employees.

Great social commitment

"Creating Time" is the brand promise of UMB. Based on this, the company is committed to social issues. Among other things, UMB supports autistic IT learners at Rafisa, the IT service provider of the Foundation Informatics for Autistic People. In addition, UMB uses its services to help doctors at the Children's Hospital in Zurich spend more time with young patients. In turn, UMB enables the Joy of Life Foundation to spend more time with patients in a more meaningful way. In addition, the IT service provider accompanies through the platform there-for-you.com. projects for the Ukraine. Sustainability is also a major issue for UMB, as the company relies on sustainable electricity for its data centers, for example. The power generated from scientific point of view targets for reducing greenhouse gases by 2030 were already achieved by their data center providers several years ago. They procure 100 percent sustainable electricity.

Source and further information: UMB

The Swiss Association of Master Builders (SBC) has published the 2022 wage survey. This shows that construction workers in the main construction trade will receive an average of CHF 6,204 per month or CHF 80,652 per year in 2022. Accordingly, the wages of construction site personnel have increased by 1.5% compared to 2021. According to the SBC, this is the result of the individual, good performance of individual employees and not collective wage agreements. In 2021, inflation was 0.6%. Thus, the wage increase exceeded inflation, and purchasing power increased. Real wages had already grown in previous years.

The 2022 wage survey was conducted as of the end of February, while the previous year's survey was conducted as of the end of July. The main construction industry is seasonal, meaning that fewer people work in winter than in summer. From a statistical point of view, these different survey dates slightly increase wage growth, namely by 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points. However, this does not affect qualified personnel because there is a severe shortage of skilled workers in these occupations.

Different job profiles in construction

In the main construction trade, there are several professions that vary in terms of responsibility, but also performance and salary, the SBC further explains. Labourers in wage class C receive 4,959 francs a month, bricklayers with EFZ apprenticeship qualifications in wage class Q 6,148 francs and foremen 7,908 francs. Across Switzerland, the average wage for construction site personnel is 6,204 francs. As the cost of living varies from place to place, average wages also vary between cantons from 5,677 francs to 6,434 francs.

Continuing education as a central wage factor

The SBC goes on to say that, in addition to one's own performance, further training is the central factor for a wage increase. Further training remains the most important means of developing one's own salary, but also one's own skills and responsibilities. Through further training, one moves up to a higher wage class; such a leap pays off with an average of around 600 francs per month.

Master builders appeal to unions

Wage increases on an individual basis meet the needs of employees and employers. Wages should reward individual performance and motivate employees to undertake further training. In the eyes of master builders, this is the right way to recruit young talent and retain skilled workers. SBC therefore calls on the unions to take note of this wage increase in 2022 and to communicate it to employees in a transparent and fact-based manner. Businesses should continue to decide for themselves how they reward work performance and to what extent they compensate for inflation.

Source and further information: Swiss Association of Master Builders SBV