In their study, ICT-Berufsbildung Schweiz predicts that there will be a shortage of almost 40,000 skilled workers in 2030. How does Adnovum win talent in this highly competitive labor market?
Karin Bühler: We excel with power, passion and refined positioning. In 2022, we gained more than 150 fresh talents, half of them in Switzerland. This reflects our attractiveness in the highly competitive labor market. One key to success are our ambassadors. They get involved at trade fairs and on social media; approx. 15 percent of new employees come to us via recommendations. In addition, we focus on agile candidate experience as well as active sourcing and cover the needs of all generations as far as possible to retain talent in the long term.
What offers and training courses does Adnovum provide for young people interested in IT?
Various paths lead to us, such as an apprenticeship, an internship or direct entry after graduation. In addition to apprenticeships in application development and system administration, we now offer one in interactive media design. In 2023, we will welcome our first apprentice to Adnovum Bern. Both changes are the result of employee initiatives. This is Adnovum: We learn from each other and grow together. Our employees create their own individual learning journey and acquire additional skills that open up new perspectives for them.
What values does Adnovum promote to its employees and how does the corporate culture express itself at work?
In first place comes «trust» – among ourselves and towards our clients. We believe in long-term relationships. New joiners quickly feel that we live up to «one Adnovum»: Here, they find friends whith whom it is fun to create and learn. A real-life feedback and error culture is important to us. For example, we recently introduced «f**up sessions» and regularly take the pulse of our employees with surveys and immersion sessions.
Hybrid work models are highly popular. What flexible models does Adnovum offer and how do you integrate on-site and home office employees?
A survey has shown that our employees in Switzerland are delighted with our «smart work» model. Smart work means that everyone can work in a way that best suits him or her. This ranges from flexible choice of work location to part-time work and job sharing, even in leadership positions, to the acquisition of additional vacation days. We want to make the model even more attractive through «workations», i.e. business trips combined with vacations. Our approach is to avoid restrictions where possible. We promote team spirit within the company by consciously cultivating local rituals and events, such as after-work beers, family days, and sports activities. Because at the end of the day, emotions decide on fun and success when working in a team.
This interview was initially published in the ICT Yearbook 2023 of Netzwoche.
