"He who has no more vision ..."

The motto of the Swiss Quality Day was "Marketing quality". This was also the starting point for the introductory words of the moderator Andrea Lager, who also made a reference to the current FIFA affair - as a questionable example of the link between quality and marketing: On the one hand, football is to be marketed "like winning the lottery, because it is about emotions". On the other hand, however, compliance on the part of a sports association is also part of it and not just a little bit of it.

Quality is only experienced when it is missing

The first speaker was Stefan Hagen, coach and author. Right at the beginning, he asked an entrepreneurial Gretchen question: "Why do customers come to us?" The answer - after some thought - is then often, "Because of the quality of our products." In other words, every company believes it offers quality. But what is "quality" anyway? The answer given by Stefan Hagen seems somewhat resigned: "Quality is only experienced by customers when it is no longer there. He therefore recommends that the term be viewed even more strongly from the customer's point of view and also referred to the fact that the ISO 9001 revision now also takes this more into account. With regard to the difficulty in many companies where the management only insufficiently implements quality management, Hagen also made clear how much energy is necessary to anchor process and quality thinking in the individual employees in the first place. He also advised more courage for quality.

A question of profile...

Two parallel sessions then dealt with the topics "Quality needs culture" and "Quality needs profile". There, Prof. Dr. Hans Lichtsteiner, Director of Continuing Education at the University of Fribourg, showed how the profile can influence perception - also with regard to expected quality. This makes it all the more important for companies to create their own corporate identity through the right interplay of corporate design, corporate communication and corporate behaviour. For it is only through identity that a profile is created. Ueli Steiner, Managing Director of bio.inspecta AG, a company that certifies organic farms, among other things, provided a practical insight. The commitment to ecology - and also its economic impact - is reflected in the company's profile: qualified training and further education for employees, consistent use of public transport and car sharing are just some of the elements listed by Ueli Steiner. And: "Customers expect more in terms of reputation than they offer themselves. »

... or of culture

In Session II "Quality needs culture", two experts spoke about quality requirements in the area of personnel and governance. Prof. Dr. Jürg Meier - specializing in training, consulting, and management of companies - spoke not only about how quality should be measured and documented, but also about typical "cultural rituals" or external factors that influence company processes at all times. Meier examined the framework conditions for teamwork, relationships between clients and employees. Among other things, one of his credos to top management was: "Do what you're told."

The next speaker, Ruedi Josuran, was for many years a presenter and editor for Swiss radio ("Fenster zum Sonntag" on SRF 2). Today he is responsible for communications - career, health and life balance coach - at the BGM Forum Switzerland. In the Kursaal, the expert provided further points for well-functioning personal governance. He pleads for a "good way of dealing with oneself". The prerequisites for this are such big words as self-determination, self-reflection and self-regulation, "the recognition of one's own limits and potentials". Especially at the management level, "energetic filling stations", quasi small, personal recovery units, should not be taboo.

The Song of Songs for Education

After the "anniversary block" (see report on p. 7), four short presentations focused on the following topics: Marimée Montalbetti from SERI spoke about "Quality in education" and referred in particular to the Swiss dual education system, which is increasingly attracting interest from abroad. Stefan Eisenring, Director of the ibW Höhere Fachschule Südostschweiz (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Southeastern Switzerland), also echoed this sentiment, but called for higher vocational education and training to continue to gain much more recognition. Daniel Wiener then presented a visionary project with "Cargo Souterrain": An underground transport system will one day transport mail and other goods along the main traffic routes - unmanned and at 30 km/h on induction tracks. The project - privately financed by partners from the retail trade, Swiss Post, SBB and others - is currently undergoing a feasibility study. In the best-case scenario, commissioning is possible from 2028,

Swiss quality has lost its global edge

demand from the market is proven in any case, as Wiener explained. Finally, Alexander Jaggy provided a kind of checklist of how a brand can satisfy "Swissness": Is a brand credible? Is it relevant for the market and also for the product? Does Swissness have an information value? Does a brand differentiate and activate? If these points are fulfilled, it is easier to "sell a crossbow", the symbol of Swiss quality. In the subsequent panel discussion, the topics were elaborated on a little further.

Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard: "Don't fall behind".

Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, Head of the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), provided the closing remarks. She pointed out that Swiss quality had lost its global edge. Against this background, it is a challenge for politicians to find the right balance between protectionism and more competition. Overall, however, the head of department pointed to the strengths of our country: For example, the high safety standards or equal opportunities, which served as the basis for quality. She did not forget to mention that Switzerland's success model is also based on talent from abroad - with reference to the company founders Nestlé, Brown, Boveri and Hayek. In the end, it was equality of opportunity that provided the basis for quality. And the fact that quality has its price was also the subject of her remarks. The rejection of the 100-franc motorway toll sticker in particular raises the question of how much consumers are prepared to pay for infrastructure. And what is the greatest challenge for the transport minister? It is the digital transformation. "Switzerland has to be careful here not to fall behind," Doris Leuthard warns. But as long as visions like "Cargo Souterrain" are permitted in Switzerland, there should actually be a good breeding ground for future development.