Applied and exemplified social responsibility

Fvery much is being done for paraplegics in Switzerland: if the Paraplegic Foundation founded by Dr Guido A. Zäch did not exist, it would have to be invented. The Swiss Paraplegics Association (SPV) is the Foundation's "little sister", so to speak. Founded in 1980, the association is the national umbrella organisation for paraplegics. In Nottwil, where the Paraplegic Centre with its comprehensive medical facilities for the treatment and rehabilitation of paraplegics and tetraplegics, which is known beyond the country's borders, is also located, the SPV maintains its office with currently over 60 permanent employees. It is therefore a classic SME. It is headed by Dr. Thomas Troger, a champion of appreciative leadership.

Dr Troger, you and your organisation were awarded first prize in the Swiss Employer Awards in the "50 - 99 employees" category. That must have been very satisfying. How do you yourself now notice among your employees that you are doing a lot right as a boss?

Thomas Troger: I notice this very easily in that my employees are always highly motivated and come to work with joy. They are willing to take on new tasks and are open to changes, even short-term ones. These are all signs that a company is functioning well. I myself - as a Valaisan - am very direct and address everything clearly and consistently. The employees appreciate that. Because honesty is simply part of a culture. You have to be able to put things on the table, even if it's not always pleasant. If things don't work out bilaterally with your direct supervisor, you have to have the courage to go to the next level up. After all, it is up to us superiors to find solutions. This requires a culture of trust - and I demand it. Employees notice that they perform better together than alone. This is where the added value of a company lies, and I don't understand how often managers don't see that you have to work on the so-called soft factors. You have to work on the mindset and get the employees on board. It's obvious that not every employee can fit in - not because they work badly, but because they simply don't fit in with the corporate culture.

What do you consider to be the most important cornerstones of a good employer?

A good employer must consider how to bring the younger generation into a company in the longer term, even if they don't "work" everywhere in the same way as us older people. Because the longer there are, the fewer employees there are on the market. That's why we need to build appreciation and trust in the company, combined with credibility and reliability as leaders. People - especially young people - like to go to work where they enjoy it, where they can develop and where they can help shape the company. Because employees are always also co-entrepreneurs.

And what does that look like in practice for you?

For example, full-time employees are required to submit 20 suggestions for improvement in writing each year. This way, an employee can automatically get involved and help shape the company's development. As a company, we can only function if we push the soft factors and create role models so that there are also "role models".

How does "demanding" suggestions for improvement go down with employees?

This works very well. It took some convincing to introduce it. At the time, I didn't explain to people that this was related to the EFQM model. For me, it's about empowering employees to do more; because they are usually capable of much more than they are generally given credit for. And you have to pick up these abilities. Leadership requires requirements; you have to set goals, otherwise you're fiddling in the fog. And last but not least, as a boss I have to exemplify the behavioral changes I want to achieve. Making and demanding suggestions for improvement is a good tool for this. It takes a lot of effort and commitment from everyone. But over time, this becomes part of the culture of the company. By having to submit suggestions for improvement, employees also feel that they are being taken seriously. I had a key experience almost 30 years ago as a newly qualified manager: full of verve, I submitted written suggestions for improvement to my boss on my own initiative. But these were simply shelved. It is really sad when the boss is the bottleneck when it comes to implementation. A boss has to be a coach and not just a better administrator.

You mentioned the EFQM model. What role does it actually play in your company?

Too much in companies is still about control. Of course: certain controls and checks are important. In this respect, there is an excellent model in the Deming circle Plan - Do - Check - Act: We also plan, execute, check and act. And the "check" is exactly this necessary control instrument. As a boss, I don't have to stand behind every employee and ask whether he has really done everything or not. But: If I give freedom, then I expect responsibility. If I give trust, then I also receive performance. As a boss, I simply have to lower my ego a bit, then it works.

And in the same breath, you also carry out quality control via the incoming suggestions for improvement, also in terms of leadership.

In principle, yes. At the moment, many improvement proposals are concerned with digitalisation and what can be optimised with technology. It's mainly about improving processes. Because we are obliged to become more efficient.

The SNI is a non-profit organization. Do you have to manage such an organization differently than a normal company?

No, not at all. Because you can't do everything in a "social" way. It's an illusion to want to run a company democratically. But we have a flat hierarchy even with 100 employees. The challenge is to get them on board with our way of thinking. At the same time, the association must be responsive to all members. To that end, we regularly conduct large surveys. We have been conducting employee surveys since 1999, initially on an annual basis and now every two years.

In your organization, people with and without disabilities work together without barriers. To what extent is diversity a must for a healthy corporate culture?

My predecessor was a wheelchair user himself. Under my leadership, even more wheelchair users have since been recruited. Our ambition is to change the social mindset. That's why we also work with many volunteers. As a company, you have to have the will to hire people with disabilities. In terms of diversity, I can say that we are doing great. We employ many part-time employees. Even mothers can easily rejoin us after a maternity leave. We also train apprentices; although we now need more and more effort from the younger generation in order to be able to integrate them in the long term. The statement that employees over 50 cost more has to be put into perspective: Of course they are more expensive, but they hardly need any more integration effort - also thanks to their life experience.

If I summarize your statements as a whole, then it can be said: At SPV, you will find corporate social responsibility in action?

Yes, that's so. Another example: We have employed a highly paralyzed quadriplegic in our own travel agency. You also have to help him drink, for example. For this to work, it requires a lot of empathy on the part of the work colleagues, and we encourage that. How do you judge

you the current situation regarding the reintegration of people with disabilities in general?

A lot of things are going very well in this respect in this country, cooperation with IV agencies, for example, has improved. Suva, for example, is also doing a very good job, also in terms of prevention. I observe that SMEs are basically very open to taking on people with disabilities. In this way, the owners assume their social responsibility. Large companies, especially international corporations, may still have some catching up to do in this respect. But it is also undisputed that retraining is costly. Not all disabled people have the ability to do something completely different; a 55-year-old bricklayer cannot simply become a computer scientist.