Permanently in flux

SAQ-QUALICON AG is in a good economic position. Why?

Beat Häfliger: One point is crucial: we have been able to establish ourselves in the Swiss education landscape. Together with our training partners, we offer federally recognised qualifications. This has opened up completely new market potential for us.

What are these degrees?

We began in 2007 with postgraduate diplomas for quality managers at the level of higher technical colleges. Since 2010, we have also been offering Master's degrees (MAS) and Certificates of Advanced Studies (CAS) at the university of applied sciences level.

That was the breakthrough?

Yes, those were important milestones. Another was the move to Olten in 2011. Here we can present ourselves to our customers as a professional training institute, which is our strength.

And that's what it takes to compete?

The continuing education market is brutal. Our main competitors in many subject areas are the universities of applied sciences. They are highly innovative, they have research projects, they always know what's new. And above all, they can place their activities on the market with enviably high marketing budgets.

Hard to keep up?

That is a challenge. That's why it's important for us to differentiate ourselves, with our philosophy and our own topics. On the other hand, we also foster cooperation by partnering with universities of applied sciences to offer continuing education masters.

How does the cooperation between a governmental and private organization work?

That is the great art. Universities of applied sciences have rules set by the state that they have to comply with, and we want to contribute as much of our own experience and expertise as possible. This is then a process that we negotiate. It is no coincidence that today we cooperate with universities of applied sciences that have a private sponsorship.

And is there a winner?

Master's degree programmes are a cooperative venture where both partners ideally contribute 50 per cent. Federal degrees can only be awarded by the university or the higher technical college. We deliver our own packages, for which we are responsible.

So the participants commute between the university and Olten?

You attend modules. Most of the modules leading to federal qualifications take place at the locations of our partners HWZ and SIB in Zurich. Today, everything is modular. Everyone can achieve their training goals at their own pace and intensity.

In other words, the forms of learning are changing?

Education is very much in flux. And it is doing so at a great pace, driven by technology, which today offers completely different possibilities.

How do you meet this challenge?

There are new forms of learning, there are e-learning approaches, that is also coming to us. This means that we have to be technologically very differently positioned. We have invested a lot in this, especially in the last three years. We have developed new tools and strengthened our team with an IT specialist.

In the old days, the lecturer used to stand at the front of the class and talk ...

The face-to-face teaching still remains, is also valuable. But the share of face-to-face time in the learning process is decreasing. Today, you can learn at home at any time. This means that we have to provide customers with learning units on the Internet that they can work through themselves, where they can learn, take tests to check their learning, where they can solve transfer tasks - all this is done via platforms. We also work with videos, for example currently on the revision of ISO 9001 2015.

What are the economic benefits of this flexibility?

The steady increase in sales over the last few years also has to do with our professional image and marketing. Nevertheless, if face-to-face teaching tends to decline and you can access any learning material on the Internet for free, that has an impact on our business model. We have to go new ways, that is also a challenge.

After all, some SAQ-QUALICON courses are already fully booked until mid-2016 ...

Yes, but there is a lot of work behind it. We have to react quickly to additional demand. Today

New technology - new learning

the customer acts much more dynamically. There is a need for training, not just next year, but subito, and then he goes on the Internet and looks: Where is it available and when does it start?

The Internet is becoming indispensable for canvassing?

More than ever! We practice something like search marketing. We know what words are chosen in searches, know what the needs are. We have to be identifiable via the internet. And our presentation must be top notch. The training can still be so good, if it is not found, the success remains.

What are the advantages of training at SAQQUALICON?

The distinguishing feature of our continuing education is clearly our practical relevance. When our participants do project work or transfer tasks, it is always, and I emphasize always, implementation in practice, a concrete solution in their companies or in their personal professional environment.

Which also sets new accents for the share price development?

Yes. Another reason we are doing so well is that we specialise in sectors. One success story, for example, is medical technology, where we work closely with the Medical Cluster and the SAQ medical technology specialist group and have developed the courses together.

So this is an education with a clear focus ...

Medical technology is a highly regulated area, and it threatens the very existence of companies if they cannot find the experts they need to approve products in new markets. There is enormous pressure.

How do you go about it?

We have formed a development committee of experts and analysed it: What are the needs, what backpack will be needed in the future? We conducted needs assessments and online surveys and developed a corresponding modular course. The course is a success and the cooperation with the industry representatives is extremely constructive, a great experience.

Medical technology topics are highly specialized ...

Yes, that's why we have to have the experts from the companies, from the practice. These practitioners are now authors and lecturers with us. The satisfaction of the participants with form and content is extremely high.

You're making your infrastructure available to them?

Yes, it all goes through our education center and is organized and developed by the product manager, who knows the scene well.

Do you want to further expand this successful model?

We are on board. The focus is on the healthcare sector, which we also want to deepen sector-specifically. We already have a course that is specifically geared to the needs of this sector. We want to expand this offer. That's why we now have a doctor working for us who will drive this topic forward.

The health care system is gigantic in its breadth ...

When we do courses, we always survey the needs first. In this case, by means of an online survey plus additional interviews. And we did this at all levels of the hierarchy, right up to the CEOs of hospitals and other institutions in the healthcare sector. From these surveys, a clear No. 1 theme emerged: Efficiency and cost optimization. There's a lot of pressure there. And the organizations have the problem that they have too few specialists with the relevant technical and methodological knowledge for this.

The pressure is building from the political side ...

Yes, but there are also more and more technological possibilities. For example, the introduction of electronic patient records alone is changing many processes, but also roles, activities, professional perceptions. All of that has to be implemented. What is also exciting and what we are observing is the renaissance of Kaizen and Lean Management. Things are really taking off again.

Is there such a thing as a classic in the continuing education program?

That is probably still the quality and process manager. But, and this is an important point, the job profile is changing. In the past, we trained specialists for quality systems, that was the standard. Today, we train quality and process managers as generalists. The future quality and process manager really only has one raison d'être, and that is to make the results of the organization better. That is a completely different challenge.

That is, the ability to implement becomes crucial?

In the past, people spent days in such training courses learning standards, methods and regulations, ISO 9001, etc. Today, we do that more as a sideline. What they also need to know today is: How do I deal with people, with power constellations, with superiors, how do I find the right method for process improvement in the right context, how can I position myself strategically? In short: How do I find my role in quality management!

How would you define that role?

I always put it this way: the quality manager is increasingly becoming - and I'm talking primarily about SMEs here - a company developer. Today, we see quality managers making a career and going far up the ladder. Because they not only have close technical responsibility, but also the skills to assert themselves in various functions.

Doesn't that blur the professional profile?

Quality managers today have much more demanding tasks than in the past. That makes it exciting for us as well. We are sure that there will always be a need for these experts, that the need will always be there, in every company, in every organization that differentiates itself through quality, but a quality manager today needs broad competencies.

Question: Is Business Excellence still an issue?

Difficult to say, I personally find the model excellent, especially for business development. Especially in the healthcare sector, the application of the approach is relatively widespread. We always fall back on it in our consultations, especially for leadership development. Many players have simply used the model incorrectly. Quasi as a quality management system. But it isn't. It is more a way of thinking, it helps to ask the relevant questions and to move one's own organization forward by means of best practice approaches.

What else plays a role in the consulting business?

In companies today, Six Sigma is much more important than EFQM. Externally and in-house, we are doing much more Six Sigma training today. Kaizen is also a topic again. The trend towards more regulations is also reflected in our consulting activities. In addition to medical technology and healthcare, the focus here is also on the topics of security and safety.

Consulting remains a core activity?

It is part of our business model; in terms of sales, it accounts for about a quarter. Our main business is education. Our vision is clear: we are the leading centre of excellence for quality. We empower and support individuals and companies. As a consulting firm, we can be replaced; there are plenty of others. But as a training organization, we are unique. For quality assurance, for example, which is still very important, there are hardly any alternatives in German-speaking Switzerland.

Does SAQ-QUALICON feel the economic development?

Yes, of course. It's always the same game. When costs are cut, it hits the education budget first. Because nothing has been done there yet that could hurt in the short term. The effect is already there: Industrial customers are sending fewer people to training. But we compensate for that with new target groups and innovative offers in the service sector.

Without new offerings, things wouldn't keep going up?

Every SAQ-QUALICON product has a life cycle. In addition to our classics, there is often a hype and it disappears again. That's why we have to constantly identify new needs at an early stage. At the moment things are going extremely well, we are in a great position and have very good employees. An extremely professional team. That's why I'm very confident.

Quality still gives you wings?

Yes, those who deliver quality have clear advantages in the market. The men and women who are active in the field of quality today have a label in their job title that is timeless. And: quality specialists will always be in demand in the future. Beat Häfliger, thank you very much for the interview.