"The model is not a no-brainer"

Successes must be celebrated when they occur. Recognition of good performance is also an integral part of the corporate culture at Noser Engineering AG. And there is indeed something to celebrate: in the race for this year's ESPRIX Swiss Award for Excellence, Noser Engineering AG has been awarded the prize "Being successful through employees". This is a further milestone on the company's consistent path to excellence, and a sign enough that there is more to a marketing claim than just empty words. We talked about this with CEO Geri Moll and COO Beat Zollinger, the driving forces behind Business Excellence, which has reached another level in the pursuit of continuous improvement with the latest award.

"We know how" is your company's claim. That sounds very self-aware. What is behind it all?
Geri Moll: Noser Engineering has 170 proven specialists, almost all of whom are engineers and therefore have a sound education. We ourselves also have a far-reaching training concept to provide our employees with specific ongoing training in their tasks, including social skills.

Beat Zollinger: Engineers may be visualists or "artists", but they are also doers and implementers. Thanks to their experience and their level of knowledge, we can definitely claim "we know how".

And thanks to the know-how, you also deliver the well-known quality. The IT sector in particular is developing at breakneck speed. Do you still have enough time to offer the highest quality?
Geri Moll: This is only possible if you work closely with the customer. It's about the art of breaking projects down into sub-steps that can also be implemented in a short time. In this way, you can identify possible changes at a very early stage and quickly adapt the requirements. The methods in project management have changed accordingly; the cadence of changes has become higher.

You mentioned the cooperation with the customers. These are also accordingly in the situation not only to demand, but also to deliver themselves?
Geri Moll: This is the case, and customers are aware of this. In the meantime, working together with customers as partners has become a matter of course.

Beat Zollinger: The customers also bring their own skills with them. This has changed compared to the past. And where soft-ware engineering is not a core competence, there must nevertheless be a commitment on the part of management to bring this competence into the company. Today, you no longer have the time for lengthy deliberations.

As a result, does a lot also happen according to the principle of "trial and error"?
Beat Zollinger: We do not use trial and error, but we do use a planned agile approach. This means that risks can be verified or eliminated at an early stage. In principle, we work with different scenarios, just like in risk management. The goal and drive must be to find the most sustainable solution in the end - and to do so at the lowest possible cost. We cannot afford trial and error.

You have now applied for the ESPRIX Swiss Award for Excellence. What does the term "excellence" mean to you?
Beat Zollinger: For me, this is about sustainable corporate development in all disciplines with a strong focus on customers and employees. As a privately owned company, we can actually function according to this principle.

Geri Moll: Of course, it is also about a continuous improvement process. We guarantee feedback and suggestions for improvement. The EFQM model provides a good basis for this.

But what was the decisive reason for relying on this model?
Beat Zollinger: Let me open a parenthesis here: We supply many industries that require a lot of certifications. At some point, we also had to realize that we could not do everything. With the EFQM model we found a holistic approach. We evaluated the fields of action relevant to us and set out on our way - and did so consistently. The Digital Transformation also gives us a concrete incentive: Following the cycle Plan - Do - Check - Act (PDCA), we initially focused a lot on "Do", but somewhat neglected the "Check" review.

Geri Moll: As a company, we have to be open to improvement. But you also have to want it. If a customer gives us a score of 8 out of a maximum of 10, we could simply be satisfied with that. But it is the missing two points that are interesting and we have to look into them. The EFQM model has therefore been given an important place in our corporate culture.

The motivation for taking part in the ESPRIX Swiss Award for Excellence? was to see that there is always room for improvement.
Beat Zollinger: The award is intended as the next stage after achieving R4E 5*, yes. The feedback we have received from the assessors is again very valuable. It allows us now to improve further on "fine-granular" stu-ents.

How important are such awards in general for your company - you have already received other awards in the past?
Geri Moll: We focus on individual topics. If there are opportunities to check results, then we are happy to participate - but not just for the sake of a prize. But it is certainly worthwhile to make a certificate visible, to visualize it.

The EFQM model is often said to be complex. How is it actually implemented in your company? How do your employees participate?
Beat Zollinger: The level of the enablers is very important. This is how we did it in our company: we trained the employees in EFQM, continuously informed and coached them. Living the philosophy is more important than the model. Through workshops and the alignment of our processes with the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology, as well as through continuous improvement, our employees also feel EFQM in their day-to-day work. We also involved everyone in the assessment - from the CEO to the individual employee.

Did you also have to deal with resistance - if so, what was it?
Geri Moll: A great challenge lies in the consistency. It needs full attention, because the model is not a self-runner. Our success factor lies in the fact that the model is present everywhere. Otherwise we would be confronted with many stumbling blocks.

Beat Zollinger: We are talking about a classic change project with all its advantages and disadvantages. There are always and everywhere employees who can lose themselves in such projects. That's why you always have to pick people up at their level.

Is there any way to quantify the effort required for the EFQM model? How much resources do you invest in the model per day?
Geri Moll: Continuous quality improvement is part of day-to-day business. It is therefore not possible to put a figure on this. One thing is clear: preparing the application for the award meant additional effort. It is also obvious that the EFQM model cannot be implemented without the support of top management. You have to keep at it.

With reference to the IT industry: To what extent does the model prove to be a good instrument for staying fit for the tough competition?
Beat Zollinger: It is certainly a good instrument, yes. It forces you to deal with your competitors, with new technologies and methods. In fact, it keeps us fit. I am convinced that the model will make us more sustainable. After all, we have to use and master the methods we provide to our customers ourselves. We simply need this mindset.

Finally, what are your next goals in the continuous improvement process?
Beat Zollinger: When it comes to digitalization, we clearly focus on innovation according to the PDCA principle. Entire industries are currently being substituted - see Uber or Airbnb. We have to stay on top of this and continue to make progress with innovations. And last but not least, we must continue to attract the best employees. Not only technical knowledge is in demand, but also more and more social skills.

Where do you see obstacles that could get in the way?
Beat Zollinger: Regulations are a great danger. An open environment must not be restricted by laws. That prevents innovation. It must continue to be possible to implement new business models in a simple way without immediately calling for new regulations.