Dear Readers
Switzerland’s dual education system is a prime example of the combination of theoretical education and practical application. In this blog post, we would like to take a closer look at this successful model and how it lays the foundation for highly qualified professionals and future leaders.

An insight into the dual education system
The dual education system is a masterpiece of educational excellence. It combines learning at a vocational school with practical work in a company. This allows learners to be immersed in the world of professional practice from the very beginning and to apply their theoretical knowledge on an ongoing basis. This close link between educational institutions and companies creates professionals who, in addition to theoretical knowledge, also have the ability to successfully apply this knowledge in the real business world.

Advantages for companies
The dual education system in Switzerland is not only a benefit for learners, but also for companies. By integrating learners into their daily work, companies gain committed and highly motivated employees who are integrated into the corporate culture from the very beginning. This promotes the identification of young adults with the company and brings fresh ideas and perspectives into the company.
The path to a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Once they have successfully completed their apprenticeship, young people are free to plan their future careers. After obtaining the vocational baccalaureate, the exciting journey in the dual education system can continue. From a bachelor’s degree to a master’s or doctorate, everything is possible.

Shaping the future
The dual education system in Switzerland is more than just an educational concept – it is an engine for innovation and leadership. Companies that invest in this system and take learners all the way to a bachelor’s or master’s degree are banking on a future generation of leaders who not only have extensive expertise, but also the ability to adapt to the challenges of an ever-changing business and economic world.
At a time when agility and innovation are more in demand than ever, we can learn valuable lessons from the Swiss dual education system. It is the combination of knowledge and practice that not only produces excellent professionals, but also lays the foundation for companies to successfully navigate into the future.
With this in mind, we invite you to use Switzerland’s dual education system as a source of inspiration and to invest in learners. Because today’s learners will be tomorrow’s leaders.
With this in mind, we wish you a good start to the fall. The search for apprentices for 2024 starts soon! Switzerland’s largest apprenticeship portal – Yousty.ch

Here you will find further information:
Swiss education system (admin.ch)
Basic vocational education (admin.ch)
Higher vocational education (admin.ch)

“Summer is the time when it’s too hot to do what it was too cold to do in the winter.”

Mark Twain

With that in mind, we wish you a relaxing and sunny summer vacation! We’ll be back in September with our regular blog posts on our website. Of course, we will continue to deliver the popular HR Unlimited Fact Tuesday stories every Tuesday.

Your HR Unlimited Team

I am an interim manager in the field of human resources. And I am a photographer who shoots weddings. I do both with passion and great commitment. First there was human resources work, for more than 30 years. Five years ago, I added photographing people.

Even though personnel management and wedding photography seem very different at first glance, there are still some similarities.

Both fields require a high attention to detail, great professionalism and the ability to respond to the needs and wishes of the client. In both cases, it is important to build a good relationship with the client and maintain open communication.

As an interim manager, I am successful when I approach challenges quickly and flexibly and become part of the team in an uncomplicated way. When I photograph weddings, the experience and strengths I have gained through my work in HR management help me: having the right perspective, understanding the situation in the moment and acting appropriately.

My clients benefit from the influence of my two passions – HR work and photography – and my expertise can thus develop to its fullest.

Monika Wälty, Interim Manager, HR Unlimited AG

HR Unlimited AG, www.hr-unlimited.ch, is an owner-managed company specializing in interim management, based in Glattpark Opfikon, Switzerland, and has been offering corresponding assignments at home and abroad for more than 21 years. HR Unlimited AG is Andreas Biel, Tanja Biel, Balz Schlittler, Marcel Brader, Christian Hobi, Martin Hegglin, Christoph Müller, Dr. Thomas Pimpl, Daniel R. Brunner, Andreas Gnepf, Monika Wälty and a large, qualified pool of Interim Managers we know personally.

Chatbots and artificial intelligence AI are also on everyone’s lips in HR. Is it revolutionizing HR? Does AI simplify HR processes? Does it replace HR employees depending on the area of application?

Let’s take the recruiting process as an example. Chatbots can screen CVs, conduct automated dialogs with applicants and give personalized feedback to applicants. This sounds positively like professionalization and increased efficiency. But does it replace the human being? Will a very interesting candidate, an exciting personality with an unconventional career path, fall through the cracks? And how do applicants react to “impersonal communication” in the application process?

Of course, there is nothing wrong with productivity improvements in HR as well, but should AI take over more and more work steps, should automation advance more and more, so that Human Resources becomes less and less “human”?

I don’t think this will happen. Empathy, personal experience and appropriate judgment will always remain the be-all and end-all, the foundation of human resources.

On a higher level, the impact of chatbots on language and communication is also immense. Chatbots can creatively generate entire texts, blogs and dialogues.

People may call me “old-school,” but I’m rather critical of this. With chatbots and AI in general, it’s a very fine line between support and added value on the one hand, and stunting and greatly simplifying communication on the other. It is already apparent today that interpersonal dialog is declining, and chatbots are reducing it further.

There is a danger that we will rely on predetermined answers and no longer express our own thoughts and ideas. Supervised thinking is on the rise and our own creative, initiative and investigative actions are being lost. Individuality as well as judgment is withering away like a plant without water and intellectual uniformity is advancing.

Despite all these negative developments, I am nevertheless convinced that in human resources the main areas of personnel planning, management, development and communication and 1:1 support topics remain absolutely central. These factors cannot be replaced by any AI developments and cannot be delegated to any chatbot.

We interim managers from HR Unlimited will also continue to play an important role when it comes to filling gaps, stepping in quickly and with focus, and supporting and relieving your company and your HR department in all operational and strategic HR areas.

No artificial intelligence or chatbot will take over these tasks. We do! Give us a call!

PS: This text was written without any help from a chatbot.

Marcel Brader, Managing Partner

HR Unlimited AG, www.hr-unlimited.ch, is an owner-managed company specializing in interim management, based in Glattpark Opfikon, Switzerland, and has been offering corresponding assignments at home and abroad for more than 21 years. HR Unlimited AG is Andreas Biel, Tanja Biel, Balz Schlittler, Marcel Brader, Christian Hobi, Martin Hegglin, Christoph Müller, Dr. Thomas Pimpl, Daniel R. Brunner, Andreas Gnepf, Monika Wälty and a large, qualified pool of Interim Managers we know personally.

As interim managers, we often take on the role of sparring partner for management and suddenly bear a great deal of responsibility for sensitive business issues. For example, interim managers (executives) are often called in for crisis or risk management. We regularly encounter risks that could cost companies a lot of money.

As interim managers, we see risk management as a valuable opportunity management tool and point this out to our clients accordingly. This consideration is not only about image damage, financial losses due to fraud or compliance with regulations, but also about a general consideration of possible future risks. After all, risk management is basically nothing other than future-oriented decision management. Risks are set against possible opportunities and can also have a positive influence on corporate goals. Every management decision can trigger opportunities as well as risks.

Risk management illuminates decision-making processes from a specific perspective. In our daily work as HR interim managers, we regularly encounter the following risk areas: qualification risks, performance risks, shortage of skilled employees, departure risks, crime risks, compliance and many more.

Companies are well advised to set and implement appropriate guidelines. Organizational guidelines also promote your employer branding and the positive image of your company. The most important thing is to minimize or, at best, avert dangers and risks for the company that arise from non-compliant actions and breaches of rules by employees.

It is in the interest of every company to keep its risks and susceptibility to damage as low as possible. A loss of image can very quickly affect the economic situation of companies and, in the worst case, jeopardize their existence, as this is often accompanied by a massive loss of trust on the part of stakeholders.

Talk to us, we will be happy to support you!

HR Unlimited GmbH, www.hr-unlimited.com, is an owner-managed company specializing in interim management, based in Glattpark Opfikon, Switzerland, and has been offering corresponding assignments at home and abroad for more than 21 years. HR Unlimited GmbH is Andreas Biel, Tanja Biel, Balz Schlittler, Marcel Brader, Christian Hobi, Martin Hegglin, Christoph Müller, Georg Boos, Daniel R. Brunner, Andreas Gnepf, Monika Wälty, Dr. Thomas Pimpl and a large, qualified pool of Interim Managers we know personally.

It is well known that the Swiss healthcare system is undergoing significant structural change. Many hospitals and other health care facilities have been privatized by the cantons without providing them with sustainable structures and financial cushions for a post-cantonal future. This has now, in difficult staffing times post Corona, led to most of the large hospitals being dependent on state (post-) aid.

In terms of personnel, the hospitals are currently exposed to growing pressure on the labor market and thus to very tough competition. Here, temporary recruiters often play a shady role, raising the prices for temporary nursing staff many times over and motivating qualified nursing staff to give up their permanent positions for a temporary assignment. Sure, this is the free market economy in which hospitals now have to compete, but in the wake of the discussion about healthcare costs in general, this ‘spiral’ upward, leading to even higher costs.

HR departments of these hospitals do their utmost to counteract this development. For example, they introduce employer branding measures and try to position themselves as well as possible. However, we often see during our assignments in hospitals that they are not yet developed enough in the HR area to successfully manage such developments.

Neither do they have sufficiently defined HR processes, nor the tools to handle these processes digitally. Digitization is often only in its infancy and must be driven forward with all its might.

This is where we at HR-Unlimited can provide valuable services, in the alignment and management of an HR department, but also in HR business partner roles. Recruiting and service center deployments are also among our proven strengths.

If we optimize and further professionalize HR functions in hospitals, they will also become less dependent on recruitment agencies, which are currently doing very good business, and strengthen their own employer attractiveness.

Talk to us, we will be happy to support you !

HR Unlimited Ltd., www.hr-unlimited.com, is an owner-managed company specializing in interim management, based in Glattpark Opfikon, Switzerland, and has been offering corresponding assignments in Switzerland and abroad for more than 21 years. HR Unlimited Ltd. is Andreas Biel, Tanja Biel, Balz Schlittler, Marcel Brader, Christian Hobi, Martin Hegglin, Christoph Müller, Georg Boos, Daniel R. Brunner, Andreas Gnepf, Monika Wälty and a large, qualified pool of interim managers we know personally.

Andy is a proven HR generalist with experience in the IT industry, banking, insurance, live marketing services and cantonal administrations. Due to his many years of experience, he is able to communicate at the appropriate level up to C-Level and the Board of Directors.

Respectful interaction with all stakeholders as well as trust and tolerance are important to him in leadership and cooperation. One of Andy’s distinctive strengths is that he actively tackles difficult situations and seeks constructive solutions with those affected. Thanks to his empathy and obvious pleasure in working with colleagues, he finds it easy to exchange ideas at eye level.

Andy handles business activities pragmatically, solution-oriented and precisely. He likes to organize things efficiently and effectively, avoids activities just for the “gallery” and always keeps an eye on the big picture. Factual problem solving, a strong goal orientation and the balancing of effort and return guide him in his work. A good understanding of IT rounds off his profile.

He has gained many years of experience as an IT and HR project manager, HR business partner and as Head HR. His in-depth knowledge covers in particular the management of IT projects, restructurings and the development and implementation of social plans, the outsourcing of various (corporate) functions, the management of pension funds and the transformation in culture changes. He is familiar with processes and tools for solving difficult management and personnel situations.

He started his professional career at Zürcher Kantonalbank as an investment advisor and subsequently attended the HWV. Afterwards, his path led back to ZKB, first in IT and then in HR, where he worked as Head of Staff and later as Head of HR Systems. With the change to IBM Switzerland, he initially concentrated on project and department manager tasks and the introduction of HR software at larger companies and various administrations of cantonal authorities in Switzerland. Through various positions, he joined the Human Resource Department of IBM Switzerland, where he worked as HR Business Partner and later as Head HR of an international IBM Unit and finally as Head HR IBM Switzerland. He then moved to MCH Group AG as Head HR, where he worked until the end of 2022.

Andy has been married for many years and is the father of two grown-up daughters. He enjoys being outdoors, jogging regularly and is devoted to finding interesting wines. In the near future, learning various methods of mental training is on the agenda.

We are facing a shortage of skilled workers in many areas, nothing new so far.

As a Recruiting Specialist, you are challenged accordingly. The pond, our job market, with potential employees is not getting any bigger – but more and more bait is being thrown out, the selection for the active and increasingly passive job seekers is correspondingly large.  Sought-after specialists are currently inundated with offers!

The challenges for recruiting are manifold. But one thing is fundamentally important – speed and short reaction time in the process! As clear as it is, as simple as it sounds. It is always surprising how long applicants have to wait for a response or contact.

Companies have to be aware that recruiters are the first figurehead, the first business card for applicants. If you spoil the first impression with a (too) long response time, you are already starting with a handicap when it comes to recruiting good specialists. According to the motto: “You have no second chance for the first impression”! A motto that applies not only to job seekers, but also to companies! Due to demographic shifts and the current economic situation, we are moving in a distinct employee market.

Great employer branding, exciting development opportunities, attractive goodies and incentives, modern forms of work – all this is of no use if you as a recruiter do not hit the first important peg. Speed is essential.

Do you currently have a bottleneck in recruiting? Are you looking for a recruitment professional who can fill this gap quickly, professionally, competently and with passion in your company? To knock down those important pegs and with his experience, knowledge of human nature and the right intuition to fill the gaps in your teams with the right employees?

The interim managers of HR Unlimited are also recruiting professionals and are waiting in the wings for you and your company, contact us!

Marcel Brader

Managing Partner

HR Unlimited is an owner-managed company specialized in Interim Management, located in Glattpark Opfikon, Switzerland. For more than 20 years HR Unlimited has been offering corresponding assignments in Switzerland and abroad. HR Unlimited is Andreas Biel, Tanja Biel, Balz Schlittler, Marcel Brader, Christian Hobi, Désirée Leuthold, Martin Hegglin, Christoph Müller, Georg Boos, Andy Gnepf, Monika Wälty, Daniel Brunner and a large qualified pool of Interim Managers.

At the moment, I notice that many companies pick out individual HR topics and then quite promptly and frantically provide them with a digital tool. The result is usually subdued or no enthusiasm at all, which leads to astonishment in many places, because digital tools are the savior, right?! 

But the failure was foreseeable. Why? 

In most cases, there is no effective HR strategy that is accepted, supported and communicated by the management. Without such a strategy, there is a great danger of getting lost in the jungle of topics and only giving a tool to those who shout the loudest. In most cases, such solutions end up being more expensive and more complicated – because they are not coordinated – than a truly digitized solution. And what has been known for a long time, but is usually forgotten: there is not THE digital solution. It must always be sought on a company-specific basis. The HR strategy as a prerequisite for meaningful HR processes that can also be digitized. 

Talk to our interim managers today. They will accompany you competently and unagitatedly in and on this topic from A to Z. Their enormous experience ensures your digital solution, by the way, not only in HR, and ensures that you will not experience any surprises after the introduction of the digital platforms. 

Andreas Biel 

Managing Partner 

HR Unlimited is an owner-managed company specializing in interim management, based in Glattpark Opfikon, Switzerland, and has been offering corresponding assignments in Switzerland and abroad for more than 20 years. HR Unlimited is Andreas Biel, Tanja Biel, Balz Schlittler, Marcel Brader, Christian Hobi, Désirée Leuthold, Martin Hegglin, Christoph Müller, Georg Boos, Andy Gnepf, Monika Wälty and a large, qualified pool of Interim Managers. 

Immediately after the Swissair Grounding Andreas Biel founded HR Unlimited AG in April 2002. He continuously expanded the HR Unlimited team over two decades with unique personalities to become today’s HR Interim Management specialist with 4 Managing Partners, 2 Partners and 2 Ambassadors. And of course a high quality pool of experienced Interim Managers, who can take over any function – not only HR – interim in any industry at any time.