"If a messy desk represents a messy mind, what does an empty desk say about the person using it?" No less an authority than Albert Einstein is responsible for this quote, and it hits the nail on the head. Where people work hard, there is inevitably the greatest potential for clutter - this was as true in the brilliant scientist's time as it is today. However, as the workplace often shifted, so did the chaos from the desk to the digital world. A desktop crammed with icons replaced the classic paper chaos, the sloppily managed address book application replaced the unsorted Rolodex, and the pile of half-opened letters had to give way to an overflowing Outlook mailbox. But if cleaning up the desktop was still a tedious and annoying undertaking, the digital path offers some shortcuts: CRM software helps bring order back to the following three aspects of personal workspace and keep it that way.

1. customers from A to Z

What the name Customer Relationship Management promises is unsurprisingly also contained in it. CRM tools are primarily used to manage customer data and are intended to simplify and ultimately improve customer loyalty. Of course, a large part of this management process consists of the correct filing and sorting of the often countless contacts. Putting an end to tedious search or sorting processes, CRM systems perform these tasks automatically and at the same time make the information easy to retrieve and find. Contact entries can also be used to ensure that colleagues are always aware of the latest status of the relationship with the respective customer. Information as well as correspondence, whether by phone or e-mail, is never lost in this way and can be assigned with just a few clicks."

2. search documents, find documents

In the past times of ring binders, a large part of office work consisted of the correct filing of important documents. The only thing more time-consuming was the search, if the sorting was not done conscientiously enough beforehand. Initially, the same problem shifted to the digital world: countless folders, with vast numbers of files in an often confusing structure. These can often be important documents such as contracts or declarations of consent, which thus get lost in the digitized chaos. In CRM software, documents can be easily assigned to the corresponding customer. This means that users can access both contact data and all relevant information from external files at a glance and save themselves lengthy search processes in the event of queries or ambiguities.

3. CRM systems: Making one out of many

What used to be scissors, scotch tape or a collection of pens on the desk shares a name in English with tools in the digital space: tools make office work immensely easier. But their number, like that of desk utensils, can also get out of control. CRM systems can unite a multitude of these software additions through interfaces and bundle their effectiveness. Access is then provided solely on the CRM interface, but functions and databases of the connected tools can be used to their full extent. In this way, every industry can specifically put together the right customer relationship management for its own needs, while at the same time avoiding a confusing mass of applications and bringing order back into the digital workplace.

Source and further information: www.cobra.de

After it had to be cancelled last year, the Swiss SME Day 2021 was almost back to normal. 1000 visitors came to St.Gallen to make up for what the pandemic measures made impossible for months: To meet in person, to exchange ideas and to listen to exciting presentations.

Swiss SME Day 2021 and the new normality

The conference theme "SMEs and surprises - bang for the buck" has lost none of its topicality this year. In his opening speech, host Tobi Wolf noted that uncertainty remains high across all industries. This means that companies must be prepared for surprises more than ever. According to a survey conducted among SME Day participants, the shortage of skilled workers, cyber incidents and material procurement are currently cited as particularly big challenges. Tobi Wolf showed how the virus has completely changed the way we live: Our consumer behavior, the working world - but also solidarity and behavior towards our environment. Contactless payments are being made, virtual weddings are being celebrated, and mobile work is being done from everywhere. All of this does not stop at SMEs. According to the survey, 60 percent of the survey participants want to actively face the new normal. "We need more curiosity and a desire for new things in companies," concludes Tobi Wolf.

Lifeboats for SMEs

A somewhat more pessimistic view was then expressed by Konrad Hummler, former owner of the private bank Wegelin and today operator of a think tank for strategic contemporary issues. He still senses a certain fearfulness and a division in society. The economy was saved by an "overall bailout," but by accumulating a gigantic mountain of debt. Hummler described as surprising not necessarily the occurrence of a pandemic itself, but the failure of authorities to manage it. He compared the handling of the pandemic to the sinking of the Titanic: carelessness, arrogance coupled with the ignoring of information, which ultimately culminated in ineffective containment and a lack of lifeboats. And it is precisely such lifeboats that companies need. Konrad Hummler recommends a return to old virtues: Reserve building, redundancies, collective backup systems and - especially central: friends you can rely on. "An entrepreneur, even if he is up to his neck in water, should not be on his last legs," says Hummler.

About cultural creativity and bureaucracy of authorities

Christian Jott Jenny, mayor of St. Moritz and cultural organizer, then delivered a cheerful roundabout, peppered with many anecdotes. He compared municipalities with SMEs: municipalities also compete with each other in the same way as companies, but the decisive difference is that - thanks to taxes - they have quasi-guaranteed income and can therefore not be "run into the ground". Jenny also noted that until a few years ago, municipalities copied a lot from the business world (New Public Management), but today it is rather the other way around: under the aspect of corporate governance, companies are beginning to orient themselves more than ever to co-determination processes, such as those that take place in municipalities.

Christian Jott Jenny - a trained classical tenor - took aim at bureaucracy in a musical performance. In a chanson, he described the laborious search for an application form through many offices. The fact that every form of satire and joke ultimately also has a kernel of truth was also shown in real terms by the following anecdote: the OC of the SME Day only received official confirmation at 2:24 p.m. that the event had been approved ...

Startups as the SMEs of tomorrow

Another program item at the Swiss SME Day 2021 was the "Inspiration Session": Three startups pitched their business ideas. Andreas Brenner from Avrios presented a SaaS platform for fleet management for SMEs, Jan-Philip Schade presented his FinTech startup Kaspar& and Sandra Tobler represented Futurae Technologies AG, an ETH spinoff that has developed a cybersecurity solution. In the end, Kaspar& and its investment app came out on top in the audience's favor. Marc Schlegel, founder of Lizza, a company that developed a low-carb pizza dough and caused a sensation within a short time, also joined the Inspiration Session via video stream. In the meantime, Marc Schlegel has made a successful exit and reported back from his vacations in a correspondingly relaxed mood.

Our "unreasonable" brain and a trip across the Atlantic Ocean

The last block of presentations was given first by the neuroscientist Lutz Jäncke and then by Gabi Schenkel. Lutz Jäncke asked the rhetorical question: Is our brain rational? He explained that the answer to this question can only be "no", because our brain is not made for rational decisions. Many decisions are made unconsciously because our brain is constantly busy "interpreting away everything that gets in our way. Reason is only a philosophical explanation shaped by the Enlightenment. But the unconscious processes in our brain are dominant.

Endurance athlete Gabi Schenkel was the first Swiss woman to cross the Atlantic alone in a rowing boat. Needless to say, she had to deal with many unforeseen circumstances on this adventure - broken oars, partial failure of the navigation system. She used impressive pictures and short films to describe how she had to deal with her 75-day loneliness. She vividly showed how one experiences beautiful moments differently when one also knows the opposite side of them - a point also emphasized by Lutz Jäncke in the subsequent discussion with moderator Steffi Buchli.

Next Swiss SME Day: October 28, 2022

And there was also something to celebrate on Swiss SME Day 2021: namely the 75th anniversary of the Institute KMU-HSG. The history of the institute was humorously told musically by the voice artist Martin O.. One of the many milestones was, of course, the founding of the SME Day in 2003, whose story will be told again next year on October 28, 2022.

More information: www.kmu-tag.ch

According to the "ZHAW Content Marketing Study 2021", 66 percent of companies in Switzerland rely on social media to reach their customers. They use these channels to distribute content created specifically for the target groups and thus draw attention to themselves. The reason for this development can be quickly identified: marketing communication via social media is cost-effective. Social media are therefore very well suited for content marketing. This aims to reach customers with content that offers them clear added value, such as informative, advisory or entertaining benefits. As part of marketing communications, content marketing is generally on the rise: more than half of the companies surveyed (57 percent) actively use it. For the study mentioned at the beginning, ZHAW researchers surveyed around 660 Swiss companies from all parts of the country online. The study was conducted by the ZHAW School of Management and Law and supported by Watson and AZ Konzept.

Facebook most used

"Companies today have recognized the importance of social media, and even very many small and medium-sized companies are now making extensive use of them," says study author Adrienne Suvada from the Institute of Marketing Management at ZHAW. The companies surveyed primarily use Facebook (69 percent), LinkedIn (53 percent), Instagram (50 percent), YouTube (42 percent) and Twitter (35 percent). When it comes to companies' assessment of the effectiveness of social media platforms, pretty much all of them score positively, with the niche channel Spotify achieving the best result with a score of 4.03 (out of 5). However, only about four percent of companies use it. Of the larger providers, LinkedIn and Instagram stand out in particular. In addition, Facebook and Twitter are also seen as effective distribution channels.

SMEs catch up

Content marketing in general is used by 58 percent of large companies, and by 48 and 52 percent of medium-sized and small companies respectively. Furthermore, three-fifths of the companies that do not currently use content marketing plan to do so in the future. "While larger companies have been relying on this tool for some time, the trend now seems to have arrived among small and medium-sized companies as well," says study author Adis Merdzanovic of the ZHAW Institute for Marketing Management.

With content marketing, companies pursue a dual objective: on the one hand, they want to retain customers with good and interesting content and thus position themselves on the market; on the other hand, many see it as a further instrument for promoting sales and turnover. On average, companies invest a good 33 percent of their marketing budget in content marketing. This proportion is likely to increase in the future.

Also in marketing communication: content matters

"Digitization and social media have given companies new communication channels. But to use these successfully, content with real added value for the target groups is also required," says Suvada. The study also shows that one of the most important challenges is the regular creation of good quality content. Forty-one percent of companies say they struggle to produce good, engaging content, while 38 percent struggle to provide new content on a regular basis. Yet companies draw on many different formats for their content production: from online events to videos and illustrations to podcasts or blogs, they use virtually all content marketing tools, albeit to varying degrees.

Source: ZHAW

We meet the two "lions" Lukas Speiser and Patrick Mollet for a conversation in Zurich - informal atmosphere, very "startup-like". You can tell that "founder's blood" flows in their veins and they are happy to make their experience - and part of their successfully earned money - available to other ambitious company founders.

Patrick Mollet is not only co-owner of Great Place to Work, but also works as a consultant, start-up coach and investor. He sold the recruiting start-up BuddyBroker from the business network XING in April 2016. This he supported until the end of 2017 in the areas of account management and marketing in sales. Back in 2004, Patrick Mollet founded StudiMedia, an agency specializing in university marketing and employer branding, with his student friends. From 1997-2003, he studied business administration and law at the University of Bern and subsequently completed his doctorate at the ETH Lausanne.

Lukas Speiser is co-founder and CEO of Amorana. He is passionate about sports and enjoys experiencing international cultures. As a child he lived one year in Japan and as a teenager three years in the USA. Even before studying finance at the University of Zurich, he built up and sold one of the largest Swiss promotion agencies. After graduating in Finance, Lukas Speiser started in Investment Banking, serving institutional clients in equity, derivatives and bond trading. After four years in banking he started his own business and founded Amorana together with Alan Frei.

Mr. Mollet, Mr. Speiser, what are your expectations as investors going into "Höhle der Löwen Schweiz"?
Patrick Mollet: I was asked to appear on the show at short notice and spontaneously accepted. I joined with the expectation of getting to know cool business cases and exciting founder personalities - and of course with the hope of being able to invest in one or the other startup.
Lukas Speiser: Through my friendship with Roland Brack, I know to some extent what to expect in the show. I hope that this season will again feature exciting cases that we can hopefully accompany successfully.

What does a startup have to bring to the table to make it interesting for you as an investor?
Patrick Mollet: There are some widely recognized things that should be fulfilled: A "product / market fit", i.e. covering a real customer need, and a good team. After all, investors primarily invest in people. The first product idea alone is rarely a success. You need a team that is able to make one or two pivots. For me personally, it's also about supporting products that make sense and - this may sound pathetic - make the world or society a better place. Simply earning a lot of money quickly is not the focus here.
Lukas Speiser: I can only emphasize that. What is important for me: Passion in the founders! They have to be willing to work intensively to solve a real problem. Without passion, they would give up very quickly. Entrepreneurship is exhausting; there are many hurdles waiting, and if you are not then ready to continue with focus, then success will fail to materialize.

This passion, this enthusiasm: does it also have to be present in you as an investor, or is it much more about the prospect of profit?
Lukas Speiser: A little of both. But primarily, we want to contribute to the further development of the startup ecosystem in Switzerland. I was lucky that we had great investors on board at Amorana, who supported us in the best possible way. I would like to pass on this experience to other startups, i.e. help them with know-how and an investment.

When you talk here about the Swiss startup ecosystem that needs to be developed further: I conclude that there is still a lot of room for improvement. Where most of all?
Lukas Speiser: There is therefore still a lot of room for improvement because the Swiss startup culture is still much younger than in other countries. That's why this positive cycle - people found something, have success and then make an exit, become investors - is not yet so well formed.

What would it take in Switzerland for things to move forward more quickly in this regard? More shows à la "Höhle der Löwen Schweiz"?
Patrick Mollet: I simply notice that, compared to other countries, there is not yet such a big startup culture. Founding a company, launching a product, doesn't have the same status in this country. People look at you critically, and there is a fear of failure because you are then stigmatized. It's different in the U.S., for example: If you haven't failed at least once there, you're not a real entrepreneur! In Switzerland, when you fail, people are quick to say, "I told you so - you should never have started in the first place. In Switzerland, there is also the fact that we have a lot of good companies, big companies that pay good wages. Of course, many people are in a comfort zone and have a lot to lose: You're around 40, you have a family - and even if you had a good business idea, the well-paid job is still closer...

Where would the pain threshold for possible failure be for you today?
Lukas Speiser: The willingness to suffer is already very high, otherwise you shouldn't start a company in the first place. I had already founded a startup before my studies and was then able to sell it. After graduating, I initially went into the finance industry, so I wasn't in the startup world. But after my banking job, I consciously wanted to go back there and then founded Amorana together with Alan Frei. Of course, I knew at the time that the road would be tough. But I didn't expect it to be so difficult right away. In short, you have to be prepared to suffer.

What were the biggest difficulties?
Lukas Speiser: The biggest difficulty was finding good people. Today, we are lucky to have a great team. As a startup, you can't pay high salaries, but you still need top-qualified employees. And those usually already have a well-paid job... That means it's difficult to get people excited about a startup.

What was it like for you, Mr. Mollet?
Patrick Mollet: My path was somewhat different. I started my own business while I was still a student, so I never had a well-paid bank job to fall back on. I therefore knew right from the start that you have to suffer a bit and cut back on a lot as a startup founder. My first companies were all self-funded. The whole investor ecosystem didn't even exist back then, so you couldn't start a company with the idea of meeting interested investors right away. That's why there were phases during which you couldn't pay yourself a salary. When you then see your own colleagues making a career and earning more and more, every now and then you ask yourself: What am I actually doing this for? You have to be able to suffer - but that leads to the very moment when success arrives. If you're not prepared to suffer, you often give up too soon.

From today's perspective, what do you recommend to start-ups? To look for investors as quickly as possible or to rely on their own funds first?
Patrick Mollet: That depends primarily on the business case. There are cases that require a lot of capital right from the start, for example if you need to scale very quickly. For all others, it is of course nice to be able to start with your own funds and test the market before going all in.
Lukas Speiser: It makes sense to bring in investors early when capital is needed. But not only that: Investors have a lot of experience. You should draw on that, not just on their money. Collecting this know-how is worth a lot, especially in the early stages.

So that you can safely survive the first five years... Research confirms, as is well known, that the survival rate of companies increases when they are professionally accompanied. On the other hand, what "beginner's mistakes" have you made yourself and what lessons have you learned from them?
Lukas Speiser: The most important learning for us was that you absolutely have to focus. As a founder, you have many ideas. Just by pursuing one of them, you see more opportunities left and right: This could be done, and that too... This is exactly what happened to us in the beginning. We did many things in parallel, but then learned to focus on one thing. Founding a startup and making it big is hard enough. If you want to do three other things at the same time, it becomes almost impossible.
Patrick Mollet: I can confirm that. It was the same for me. I had several things going on at the same time. Even the idea for the employee recommendation tool "Eqipia" was only pursued in passing. Nothing came of it for the first year and a half. Only when we concentrated fully on it did it become a success.

But still, it shouldn't be wrong to go multi-track in the beginning to test different things?
Patrick Mollet: I'm not saying that this initial phase was fundamentally bad. But learning consists of taking the decisive step at some point and betting on one card.
Lukas Speiser: You can certainly test different things. But if you notice that one thing has potential and starts to work, then you should focus fully on it.

This is something that not only applies to startups, but that you can also recommend to established SMEs?
Lukas Speiser: I only know established companies from the perspective of an employee. But there, too, it's the case that you perform better if you're focused. And there's also the 80/20 rule at established companies.
Patrick Mollet: Particularly in today's VUCA world, it is important that companies react in a more agile manner and also give employees more trust and more freedom to try out something new. If something emerges from this that could work, however, the company must also clearly focus on it and lead the idea to success.

The prerequisite for this is probably a corresponding level of attention on the part of the management. However, it seems to be becoming "fashionable" for larger companies to adopt a "startup groove" as part of their culture. What do you think of that?
Lukas Speiser: I think this is enormously important. If you stick too strongly to just one thing and don't allow a startup mentality, then innovation is also lacking. There are well-known fatal examples, such as Kodak: They had all the patents for digital photography, but didn't believe in its future. As a result, they missed the trend completely.
Patrick Mollet: Rigid hierarchies and top-down processes are relics of the past. Our world is spinning far too fast for such structures. Large companies are therefore strongly challenged to become more agile. But ultimately, it is always a question of culture: How much do you trust your employees to be innovative themselves? Do you also allow mistakes, or is there an error culture? Too often, people are still punished immediately if they make a mistake.

Back to startups: In many business plans, it is noticeable that sales are supposed to go through the roof after five years. What was that like for you? What was the decisive moment when your company finally started to fly?
Lukas Speiser: It is still a struggle today. We still feel we have to innovate even more and develop even further, grow even more. But we noticed how, after about six years, our idea was working better and better. We had more and more data, and now we know which customers come back and why. Steady growth has now set in.

So there was no "triggering moment", e.g. when a major customer joined the company?
Lukas Speiser: Not with us, no. We are in the B2C business. We simply see more and more new customers coming in and existing customers ordering again and again. This then leads to a kind of "compounding effect.
Patrick Mollet: I was lucky enough to be able to work with a major customer right from the start. For us, the moment came after about two to three years, when the customers began to use our solution not just as an experiment, but strategically. Companies are always very cautious; they try something out without being committed. But when word gets out about who else is already using a solution, the demand comes relatively quickly.

And when things are going well, the company can be sold successfully. Both of you have already made such exits. When you part with your "baby," do you feel a kind of "parting pain"?
Patrick Mollet: In our case, we didn't want to sell at the beginning... We were looking for a strategic partner and were in the middle of another round of financing. Then we were approached by Xing, who wanted to develop a similar solution to ours. For them, it was ultimately a make-or-buy decision. We then reached a commercial agreement within a few weeks. In such a fast process, there could be no pain of parting. For us, the sale ultimately made strategic sense; it wasn't about making as much money as possible, but about finding the right path for our "baby. In addition, you don't sell the company just to be gone. We remained heavily involved, for example, by training sales staff and supporting the technical integration.
Lukas Speiser: Right from the start, we intended to eventually bring our company to an exit. We always communicated this to our investors. This meant that we also concentrated all our work on this exit. In the end, it was not a complete separation for us either; Alan Frei and I are continuing to work on Amorana in order to develop it further. Operationally, not much actually changed for us.

So away from ownership to pure management... Now it is statistically proven that reasons are absolutely in trend - the IfJ Institute for Young Enterprises even speaks of a Founder boom. If you want to encourage someone to implement a business idea with their own company: What would your message be?
Lukas Speiser: Now is a good time to start a business. Precisely because there are shows like "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" (The Lion's Den Switzerland), where you have the opportunity to pitch your business idea, and also many other startup events. This didn't exist at the time we founded our companies.
Patrick Mollet: Complementary to this is also the consideration: What is the worst thing that can happen to an entrepreneur in Switzerland if he fails? At the moment, the economy is doing well, we have a real employee market with a shortage of skilled workers. So if you realize after two or three years that it's not working out with the new company, you can usually find a job again quickly and thus a secure income.

So then: Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Lukas Speiser and Patrick Mollet: Absolutely right!

More information on "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" can be found at https://www.3plus.tv/die-hoehle-der-loewen-schweiz

Here's the review of the first broadcast

The EasyGov.swiss platform is an online counter for companies operated by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs Seco. Via EasyGov, official procedures can be handled electronically, such as obtaining permits, registrations or applications. For example, applications for a Covid 19 loan could also be submitted digitally.

Cyberattack on Easygov occurred as early as August

Now it has been revealed that in August 2021, criminal hackers managed to steal a list of names of up to 130,000 companies by means of an automated query, presumably. These companies had applied for Covid 19 credit in 2020, at the height of the pandemic-related economic crisis. According to Seco, companies that have already repaid the loan in full, as well as all confidential company data such as bank details, IBAN numbers, contact persons, etc., were not affected. The credit amount as part of the attacked data collection was also not tapped by the hackers, Seco informs. And the data of the companies registered on EasyGov was also not affected.

As Seco continues, an attack with up to 544,000 accesses per day was detected between August 10 and 22, 2021. A total of 1.3 million queries were made in August. The perpetrators had carried out an automated query based on the UID numbers. From this, a list of companies that have applied for a Covid 19 loan and have not yet repaid it could be created with a high degree of probability.

No more security leaks

Seco reacted immediately. The attacked web interface was closed within a few minutes. "The accessed data was removed from the server and the process used on EasyGov was completely deactivated. The affected Covid 19 credit application correction process was available to companies in the public area of EasyGov without login. In the protected area (i.e. with login), such an automated query is excluded," according to a statement from Seco, which is supported in this matter by the National Cyber Security Center NCSC. Further security leaks are not known.

EasyGov has been in existence since 2017, and the cyberattack now reported is the first such incident. Seco notes that cybersecurity is given high priority at EasyGov. "The cyberattack that occurred is being comprehensively investigated and all necessary measures are being taken to ensure that the platform is secure in the future, even in the public area (without login)," the statement continues.

Source 

Close the Gaps: On average, women have much less money than men. The new Swiss financial media platform elleXX wants to change that. It is primarily aimed at women, but focuses on equality and sustainability. The platform offers a wide range of social and financial topics. This includes a comprehensive knowledge collection that shows and explains the various gender financial gaps. Checklists and explanatory videos - initially in German and English - round out the content offering.

elleXX with financial products suitable for women

But the platform is not just about highlighting gender inequality in the context of financial issues. Together with recognized partners from the financial world, elleXX has also developed concrete women-friendly white label financial products. These include, for example, a sustainable and women-friendly equity product launched in cooperation with Migros Bank. A 3a solution and a legal protection product are also to follow in November, which elleXX is developing with other cooperations. All products can be purchased directly via elleXX with just a few clicks.

The three founders

There are three women behind elleXX: Business journalists Patrizia Laeri (CEO) and Nadine Jürgensen (COO), and Creative Director Simone Züger. "We want to finally close the gender wealth gaps," says Patrizia Laeri. "My co-founder Nadine Jürgensen and I have been writing and shaking up financial and legal equality issues as journalists for two decades, but have never been part of the solution. So we decided to continue to journalistically enrich women on our own platform while providing meaningful solutions." COO and co-founder Nadine Jürgensen continues, "Women live longer, earn less, do most of the unpaid work for the family and are often only employed part-time. We want to encourage women to close their financial gaps."

Important impact company

The branding of elleXX comes across as unusual and creative. Creative director and co-founder Simone Züger explains the sophisticated design approach as follows: "Many media and financial sites have a dry and uninviting design. However, it is crucial to transport emotions into the digital space and to do so with a targeted approach. Nadine Jürgensen adds: "We address women, but exclude no one. Men are also welcome here. Equality only works together." The fast-growing Swiss digital agency Liip was won as a tech partner. Liip founder Hannes Gassert sees elleXX as an important impact company.

Click here to go directly to the platform

The current IDG study Cloud ERP 2021 shows that mobile devices are playing an increasingly important role in companies - not least in service. More than two-thirds of those surveyed opted for a cloud ERP system primarily in order to have access to ERP functions and data anytime and anywhere using mobile devices. The software manufacturer proALPHA provides 8 tips on how companies can improve their mobility in service.

1. digital instead of analog

The paperless office is considered the workplace of the future, but many companies still rely on analog documents and handwritten notes on their processes. To save resources and speed up internal processes, it's worth taking the step toward mobile, digital applications. For example, employees can find all forms and checklists collected in one place - ready to be called up at any time for the next job.

2. use existing infrastructure

The switch to mobile working does not mean that previously used hardware equipment becomes superfluous. In many cases, existing smartphones, tablets and the like can also be used for mobility in service. Ideally, there is already a detailed overview of the mobile devices that can be used and their technical equipment. This allows companies to quickly check whether they meet the requirements and, at best, save costs.

3. provide process data ad hoc

If you offer your customers different service models, you should define each item precisely and store the entire process centrally. Whether time- or runtime-dependent maintenance for machines, individual support calls or spontaneous service orders that only arise at the customer's site - valid data is indispensable for every task. With the help of mobile devices and an ERP solution, data entry is carried out independent of location and time. The most important prerequisites: Context-dependent access to the necessary information and a simple user interface that makes work easier for employees.

4. digital deployment planning as a test balloon

With the first step toward digitization in dispatching, companies can relieve the workload of their dispatchers with the help of end-to-end digital solutions. Among other things, these take into account holidays and absences as well as individual knowledge and certifications that are necessary for the respective activities. Graphical map and route displays provide visual support for optimal resource utilization - so discrepancies can be identified at a glance. Once planning is complete, Mobility enables the responsible parties to reach all technicians and other employees quickly and consistently.

5. intensify integration

For functional digital processes, the mobile devices and the service module of the ERP system must be seamlessly integrated. Only in this way is it possible to retrieve relevant information ad hoc, to enter documentation quickly and easily, and to report back material consumption and time requirements directly for invoicing. Ideally, information flows without media discontinuity should also be ensured for upstream and downstream systems - for example, for working time planning from your time management software.

6. document easily with mobile devices

One of the most common service tasks is correcting defects at the customer's site. With quick before-and-after photos or videos, the work performed can be easily documented. This also makes it easier for technical staff to prepare for possible follow-up appointments. The use of mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets is ideal for this purpose, transferring the image material directly to the document management system and linking it to the appropriate project. This saves valuable working time on every job, which adds up over weeks and months.

7. work mobile online and offline

A high-performance network connection is essential for a successful mobility project with real-time data transmission. But what happens when employees work in high-security areas or basements without network coverage? To ensure that the data entered is not lost, mobile solutions that support offline operation are ideal. These save the captured information and transmit it automatically as soon as the connection to the network is restored.

8. develop specific key figures

In addition to the operational benefits, mobility in service also creates a basis for sound management decisions. Thanks to digitization, all relevant data is available centrally in real time and can be used by management, for example, to make further adjustments to the service offering or to set the strategic course for the development of new products and services.

Source and further information: proALPHA

The new association "Swiss Freelancers" wants to connect freelancers from all over Switzerland and give them more visibility, both individually with their respective services as well as freelancing as a form of work in general. While freelancing - be it full-time or part-time as part of a work portfolio alongside part-time employment and/or family - is also steadily increasing in Switzerland, politics and the social system are still geared towards the traditional full-time employment relationship with a single employer. As a first action, Swiss Freelancers is launching a cross-industry freelancer survey.

Changes in the world of work

"Will companies only employ freelancers in the future?" was the question posed in an article in the NZZ a good year ago. Even if, for the time being, a complete replacement of traditional employment relationships is unlikely to take place, the trend is clear: According to the Federal Statistical Office, the share of full-time employment relationships has fallen by more than 10 percentage points in the last 30 years alone, for women as well as for men. There are more part-time relationships, more full-time freelancers, but also more freelancers working part-time alongside family work or one, perhaps even several, part-time jobs. And there is no reversal of the trend in sight: The traditional full-time job is being replaced more and more by a portfolio of self-employed and dependent, permanent and sometimes only temporary jobs. "However, the social security instruments are still geared towards stable employment relationships, the classic full-time job," says Claudius Krucker, president of the new association "Swiss Feelancers", in this regard. Particularly with the experiences from the Corona pandemic, he sees a need for action here in politics. But the association should do more: "It is also about the visibility of freelancing itself. Since freelancers by nature usually work alone or only temporarily in teams, they are not perceived as a group. They get little presence in the media, unlike large companies, and have no natural lobby."

Support for freelancers

Claudius Krucker himself worked as a freelancer in a home office and therefore knows the problem of the lack of social contacts from his own experience. In 2014, this led him to found CreativeSpace in St.Gallen, a coworking space with workstations and workshop rooms for creative professionals, which is now also present in Zurich. "Especially for freelancers, coworking is an ideal alternative to the home office," he says, explaining his commitment to the concept of coworking spaces. Thus, the Swiss Freelancers association also focuses on contacts within the freelancer community in order to promote exchange at regular networking meetings. In addition, the association wants to support its members with sample contracts and a freelancer charter, not least to clarify the relationship with clients. "It's about professional behavior and fairness on both sides," says Krucker.

Swiss Freelancers compiles comprehensive study

With the Swiss Freelancer Survey, the association is now going public for the first time. The survey will result in the first cross-industry study on freelancing in Switzerland. In line with the broad spectrum in which freelancers work, the survey primarily addresses structural issues. "We are not asking about hourly rates. But of course we are interested, for example, in how the Corona pandemic has affected the various freelancing sectors - and whether the network of support tools has also held for freelancers," explains Krucker. Finally, the survey also asks about the other joys and sorrows of the freelancer status, because: "With the association, we have to offer support where the shoe pinches our members."

More information: www.swiss-freelancers.ch

Only real estate agents who have a strict quality management and confirm this in recurring inspections can become members of the Swiss Chamber of Real Estate Agents SMK and receive the quality label. As a professional chamber of the Swiss Real Estate Association SVIT, the SMK is the first point of contact in all matters relating to real estate marketing. On October 19, 2021, the Swiss Chamber of Real Estate Agents held its General Assembly and was able to report a further increase in membership. "The continuous increase in membership confirms that the strict quality criteria associated with our label are recognized by the leading real estate agents in Switzerland as a clear added value in the market," said Ruedi Tanner, President of the Swiss Chamber of Estate Agents (SMK), on the occasion of the General Assembly in Zurich. More than 100 members make the SMK the largest real estate broker network in Switzerland. "Our members guarantee their customers quality, competence, trust, transparency and consistently exclude conflicts of interest."

Swiss Chamber of Brokers defies competition

The dynamics in real estate marketing are high. And with it, new competitors such as banks, insurance companies, and real estate platforms as well as fixed-price or free brokers are entering the market, vying for the favor of real estate sellers and buyers with different business models. In this highly competitive and increasingly digitalized environment, it is crucial to have sustainable quality standards and to persistently establish them. "With our quality claim as market leader, we create orientation," clarifies Ruedi Tanner. Only those who meet the quality criteria defined by the SMK and confirm them on a recurring basis receive the seal of approval. SMK members are professionally trained real estate specialists who can demonstrate several years of practical activity in the industry.

AGM: Dieter Mader replaces Claude Ginesta on the Board of Directors

At the SMK General Assembly, Ruedi Tanner (Wirz Tanner Immobilien AG) was confirmed as President, Kurt Bosshard (Bosshard Immobilien AG), Christian Häle (Sonnenbau Group), Carlos Garcia (Markstein AG) and Marc Wyss (Immobilien Wyss Schweiz AG) for another two years on the Board. The previous Vice President Claude Ginesta (Ginesta AG) did not stand for re-election. Dieter Mader (Früh Immobilien & Partner AG) is a new member of the board.

Broker convention: great response

Following the General Meeting, the SMK invited to the Broker Convention 2021 - with very large attendance This important get-together of the real estate industry was held under the motto "Growth - Wheel of Fortune or Hamster Wheel? What is needed for prosperity, security and health? The renowned speakers Mathias Binswanger, Professor of Economics, Karin Frick, Head Think Tank at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute GDI, and Katja Gentinetta, political philosopher, explored this question in depth and from different perspectives. The Broker Convention 2021 was moderated by Soja Hasler.

Source and further information: www.maklerkammer.ch

The economic impact of COVID-19 has also led to more people looking for new jobs. One bright spot in the job search is the steady growth of the cloud computing industry, which offers opportunities for people with cloud skills, and increasingly for people in non-IT roles, such as sales or marketing, where an understanding of cloud technologies is an advantage.

Cloud certification exams enable new job opportunities

A variety of digital and virtual training options are available for those interested in the cloud. Obtaining certification for the cloud industry can increase the chances of getting a job, and Investigations show that certifications pave the way to higher salaries and provide a competitive advantage. 93 percent of organizational decision makers agree that certified team members add value beyond the cost of certification (Global Knowledge).

5 tips to prepare for cloud certification exams

If you're looking to take a cloud training course, below are five tips you can use to increase your success.

Tip #1: Set goals and assign them to certifications

Before diving into online courses or reading technical white papers, visualize your goals and get a picture of what success looks like. Work back from there to better understand what steps are necessary to achieve your goals.

Align your personal interest with in-demand cloud roles. This will help you identify appropriate industry certifications that validate your skills and allow you to stand out when applying for jobs.

Tip #2: Use learning materials for self-study

Access training materials, on-demand and live lessons, and practice tests online. Digital training enables learners to develop skills and knowledge for any cloud domain with short, self-paced, and often free courses from multiple learning and cloud providers.

Many training providers provide learning paths or look for an official exam guide to help you prioritize. Research which training provider and training program will best prepare you to pass the industry certification exam.

Tip #3: Find community

You are not alone! In addition to online learning resources, there are also countless online communities where you can interact with people who are also preparing for a certification exam. In these groups, you can get insider knowledge about the most important aspects of studying, helpful resources to help you make the most of your study time, or information about how the exam works. A good place to find online communities are LinkedIn groups and certification-specific subreddits.

Tip #4: Establish consistent study habits

The amount of time required for coursework and hands-on experience varies by certification. A good rule of thumb is that you should plan 15 to 20 hours for studying and preparing for basic level exams, and five times that time for an Associate level exam. You should allow 5 times more time for a subject or specialty level exam than for an associate level exam.

Tip #5: Gain "hands-on" experience before the test day

Get hands-on experience. Sign up for lab-style training to learn about the technology in real-world scenarios. Use free versionen to experiment with the technology. Also tutorials on the Self-study, can help step by step. Finally, find a friend or professional mentor who works with the technology on a daily basis and whom you can ask for advice.

Cloud training and certification programs offer both professionals and job seekers a unique opportunity to gain new skills and take advantage of growing career opportunities in the cloud. Validating a demonstrable level of cloud skills through industry certification can provide a clear competitive advantage in the job market.

Author:
Scott Barneson is Director of Learning Products for AWS Training and Certification. Scott leads global curriculum development, product management, and AWS certification programs to help individuals and organizations acquire and validate in-demand cloud skills.

Peter Schönenberger leads the "Quality Manager" seminar at the SNV Academy. In an interview, he tells us what participants can expect in the seminar, why he recommends continuing education at the SNV Academy, and what he thinks of online seminars.

How long have you been a lecturer at the SNV Academy and which seminars do you lead?
I have been a lecturer at the SNV Academy since 2014. At that time, I was asked if I would be interested in leading a practical seminar on the SN EN ISO 14001 standard. I accepted and I still offer the seminar "Environmental Manager according to SN EN ISO 14001" today. Over the years, I brought in more ideas about which seminars related to the "world of standards" are relevant and interesting for the practice. Now, seven years later, I lead three more further training courses at the SNV Academy: "Quality Leader", "Internal Auditor" and "Quality Manager".

Let's go further into the last seminar. What is mainly covered in the "Quality Manager" seminar?
The aim is to train the seminar participants to become quality managers in three days. After the seminar, the participants will be able to set up a quality management system in their company and thus ensure the assurance and improvement of quality. The practical relevance is very important to me. I want to provide the participants with the necessary information and the appropriate tools and I am also available to them as a consultant for individual problems from their company.

Who is this seminar aimed at? Who can register?
The seminar is aimed at people who want to establish a quality management system in the company. This can be employees or managers from quality assurance as well as other specialist areas or members of the management. Participants do not need to have any previous knowledge and it does not matter in which industry they work. What is important is that they are looking for a practical introduction to quality management.

Why should the seminar participants take the seminar at the SNV Academy?
The SN EN ISO 9001 standard is an important component of successful quality management. Anyone who wants to introduce such a management system should therefore be able to interpret this standard correctly in relation to their own organization. And at which institution, if not at the Swiss Association for Standardization itself, can this knowledge best be imparted? In addition, participants receive the respective standards free of charge. Furthermore, the SNV gives me the platform and takes care of the administrative part, and I contribute my know-how. The seminar participants receive an SNV personal certificate at the end of the seminar, which is very valuable on the market.

What other added value does this seminar offer?
One added value that I can also provide as a lecturer is certainly my 20 years of experience. I have advised over 150 companies and successfully led them to certification. I have worked with a great many companies from a wide range of industries and have worked with them to develop solutions for their business. Furthermore, I enjoy lecturing and this is certainly transferred to the participants.

What do you like about being a lecturer?
For me, it's always nice when I notice at the end of the three-day seminar that the participants can take away a lot for practical use. At the beginning, they have a lot of questions and don't feel quite as comfortable with the topic yet. I am then pleased when I can loosen the knobs and open questions are answered from hour to hour.

In times of Corona, the seminars are offered online. You have also been offering online seminars for just under a year. What are your experiences?
Until the Corona pandemic, the SNV Academy did not offer online seminars, and when they were introduced due to the situation, I was rather skeptical. I was convinced that there was a need for personal exchange on site. But after only a short time, I realized that online seminars also have advantages. The seminars can be conducted very efficiently and compactly, and thanks to the appropriate tools, group work can still be incorporated. It is a pity that the personal discussions during the break are omitted. However, I usually clarify the individual questions specific to individual companies during a telephone call after the seminar. I could well imagine that we will continue to hold certain seminars online after the pandemic or offer a combination of face-to-face and online teaching per seminar.

Online seminar: Quality manager incl. SNV personal certificate

To be held on April 27-29, 2022. Price from CHF 1352.00 excl. The participation fee includes seminar documents and the relevant standards.

Your contact for further information: Sandro Micaglio, sandro.micaglio@snv.ch, Tel: +41 52 224 54 44

At www.snv.ch/de/academy/weiterbildung.html or under the following QR code you will get more information and the possibility to register.

Contact:
Swiss Association for Standardization (SNV)
Sulzerallee 70
P.O. Box
CH-8404 Winterthur
www.snv.ch

The young company Felfel is now known throughout Switzerland for its specially developed refrigerators and digitally controlled logistics: This allows companies without staff canteens to be supplied with fresh and sustainably produced food. This has resulted in a new form of modern catering for employees. Now this concept is to be extended to coffee consumption in the office.

400 farmer cooperatives in Peru

Under the newly created brand "Gavetti by Felfel" coffee is brought into Swiss offices. It is a special coffee: the coffee beans come from over 400 farmer cooperatives in Peru, Nicaragua & Honduras - 120 of which are women-only businesses. Ten francs from each bag of coffee beans delivered from the Latin American countries goes to the "Mujeres y Café" project, which supports Peruvian women farmers with training and production equipment. "Gavetti coffee farmers produce only organic coffee, and no synthetic fertilizers or chemicals are used," says Felfel-
co-founder Daniela Steiner, "and they are part of a Fairtrade association." As a result, the wages that can be paid to the Gavetti farmers are above the average level.

Swiss quality coffee machines

The Gavetti coffee is also processed on this ecological line until it foams and spreads its fragrance in the cup in the office. The roasting is done by an Italian family business, and the coffee machines are produced by a Swiss manufacturer. There is no unnecessary packaging material such as aluminum capsules. The roasted coffee goes directly into the machine, the coffee grounds are composted and turned into biogas in Switzerland. Porcelain cups are encouraged instead of paper cups, and vegan oat milk is available in addition to Swiss cow's milk.

Twenty coffee recipes

The core of the offer is the all-round service: beans, roasting and machine are provided, and daily deliveries and cleaning are made. In total, the Gavetti coffee machine offers over twenty recipes - from cappuccino to ristretto - which can be rounded off with cow's milk or oat milk. But the coffee machines can do even more: thanks to the support of innovative technology, it adapts the passage of the coffee to the weather - always with the aim of ensuring the ultimate coffee enjoyment.

The offer of Felfel in detail

"Gavetti by Felfel" offers its customers an all-round carefree package. Thanks to digital logistics, the daily filling of the coffee machine is guaranteed, as is the delivery of all components for daily coffee enjoyment, such as porcelain cups or, alternatively, biodegradable paper cups, sugar, or even cow's and oat's milk. "With Gavetti, we can offer a strong coffee experience to companies that want to be great hosts for their employees without requiring them to hire additional staff," says Felfel co-founder Emanuel Steiner.

More information: www.felfel.ch / www.gavetti.ch