How to win the race for the best skilled workers

Are you attractive to skilled workers as a Swiss employer? When deciding on an employer, most employees still base their decision on the usual satisfaction factors such as:

• Salary
• Working conditions (number of working hours, overtime policy, vacation days, social benefits, occupational pension plan)
• Job security
• Location
• Company image (within the industry and wider society)

So if you want to attract the best skilled workers, you need to at least match the market standard in all these decision-making factors. Are you lagging behind your Swiss competitors in any of the satisfaction factors listed? Then we recommend that you first invest in creating a good foundation. Because no matter what you offer your employees, if you as an employer cannot keep up with your competitors in terms of basic requirements, you will always struggle to attract good skilled workers and, above all, to retain existing ones. The higher your attractiveness as an employer, the easier it will be for you to attract good staff.

Don’t just focus on employer branding externally, but also internally. Many employees no longer want to spend their whole working life in the same role. The opportunity for further development has become a decisive factor in making a company attractive to employees and retaining them in the long term. It’s not always easy for SMEs to offer their employees new, attractive positions. However, further development can also mean

• taking on new customers,
• moving departments,
• taking on more responsibility within a team,
• the opportunity to further their education or learn new skills,
• or mentoring apprentices.

It’s important for you as an employer to proactively promote long-term prospects. Think specifically about what opportunities for further development you can offer at your company over a period of years and to whom.

Talk to your employees regularly and ask them what they need to stay motivated. Of course, you can’t offer everything all the time, but the better you understand the needs of your workforce, the more likely you are to find a solution that satisfies both sides. This is the only way to ensure you stay attractive as an employer and that you can count on good, loyal employees despite the shortage of skilled workers.

SMEs can make themselves even more attractive as a place to develop one’s skills by offering new learning formats:

• Microlearning: short, concise learning modules – ideal for employees who want flexible, needs-based learning. Particularly suitable for soft skills, tools or process knowledge.
• E-learning platforms: digital learning portals (e.g. LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Udemy Business) offer a wide range of courses without requiring a lot of organization.
• Learning on the job: practical learning through real tasks, job rotation, shadowing or project-based assignments in other teams.
• Digital learning and feedback platforms: tools that make further development measurable, including learning paths, automated feedback loops, goal monitoring and skills profiles.
• Internal knowledge formats: Lunch & Learn sessions, short internal workshops and peer learning promote knowledge transfer while strengthening corporate culture.

Managers play a decisive role in shaping corporate culture and making an employer more attractive. Managers are a relevant factor in attracting and retaining employees. Did you know that managers are often the cause of resignations? This makes it all the more important to give careful and strategic thought to how you fill management positions.

It’s important to know what your strategy is and where you want to take your SME in the coming years. Do you have a management team that’s working toward this goal?

Select employees for leadership roles who are not only knowledgeable, but also

• able to both empathize with and lead people,
• can motivate people,
• can serve as role models (embodying the corporate culture, acting strategically),
• have good communication skills,
• can give transparent and relevant feedback,
• and are interested in being there for employees in the long term and supporting them in their further development.

To attract qualified managers, especially in light of the ongoing shortage of skilled workers, SMEs should expand and professionalize their recruiting methods:

• Active recruitment: Take a targeted, direct approach to managers on platforms such as LinkedIn or Xing. Particularly effective when talent is in short supply.
• Social media recruiting: Career content on LinkedIn, Instagram or TikTok makes your leadership culture visible and attracts modern executives.
• Data-driven selection processes: Assessment tools, skill analyses or matching systems improve the quality of selection and reduce the number of poor appointments.
• Employer branding in the application process: First impressions count: transparent communication, quick feedback and a clear corporate culture increase the recruitment rate for executives.
• International recruitment: Especially in times of shortages of skilled labor, foreign talent can be a valuable addition, particularly in areas such as technology, IT, engineering or nursing.
• Professional onboarding of foreign executives: Language support, cultural coaching and structured training facilitate integration and improve retention.
• Cultural diversity as an opportunity: Diverse management teams make better decisions and have a strong influence on younger employees, especially Gen Z.
• AI tools in recruiting: Modern matching algorithms assist with pre-selection, improve accuracy and save time in application management.

In addition to the above points, a positive work and team culture contributes significantly to employee satisfaction. It helps your employees feel like they belong and also sends a signal to the outside world – making it a good measure for employer branding. When defining a corporate culture, it’s particularly important that it suits your company and your employees. A culture must be authentic, otherwise it will have no impact and will not increase your attractiveness.

We recommend you carefully consider how you want to define and actively live out your individual culture in your everyday work. Here are a few practical examples:

• “We have a family-like corporate culture”: All employees are on first-name terms. We encourage informal interaction between employees with regular events and team-building activities. Employees are encouraged to support each other.
• “Our culture is performance-oriented”: We empower our employees to perform at their best in their field of expertise. That’s why we constantly invest in training and provide financial support for employee education and continuing professional development. We highlight their successes and reward them financially.
• “We live a culture of innovation”: Employees are encouraged to contribute innovative ideas. We offer sufficient freedom to develop their own creativity. Rather than seeing failure as a disgrace, we view it as an opportunity to learn.

Gen Z refers to people born between 1995 and 2010. As employees, they are somewhat different to Generation Y or Millennials (1980 to 1995), for whom self-fulfillment and flexibility are particularly important. Gen Z wants more. Here’s what you need to offer to increase your employer attractiveness among Gen Z:

• Diversity and inclusion: Diversity covers a whole variety of characteristics such as age, ethnicity, gender, social background, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, physical and mental disabilities and education. If you want to increase your attractiveness as an employer to young professionals, you should employ a wide variety of people in your company. It’s crucial that you value and promote the individuality of each employee.
• Purpose: Young people in the job market are increasingly looking for meaningful employment. Meaningful work makes an employer attractive. At your SME, the “raison d'être” should be clearly defined and, ideally, visible. Why do we exist as a company? What do you want to achieve and for whom? And how can individual employees contribute to this goal?
• Sustainability: Sustainability is a major issue for young professionals. Not only do they strive to live sustainably in their private lives, they also want to work for a company that operates sustainably. Have the sustainability of your SME analyzed, calculate your carbon footprint and develop measures within the company to promote sustainability. UBS clients benefit from a 20 percent discount on an esg2go sustainability analysis. With esg2go, you gain detailed insights into your sustainability according to ESG criteria.
• Feedback culture: Personal development is very important to Gen Z. Members of this group want regular feedback on how they’re doing. Their goals should also be reviewed on an ongoing basis. 
• Actively use digital channels: Gen Z primarily obtains information via digital media. Social media recruiting via platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn or specialized job platforms increases your reach and appeals to young talent on sites they use every day. Short videos, behind-the-scenes insights and authentic team stories are particularly effective.
• Value-oriented employer branding: Gen Z wants to know what a company stands for. Communicate your values clearly, whether it’s innovation, sustainability, diversity or social engagement. It’s important that these values are not only formulated on paper, but also noticeable in everyday work.
• Authentic communication: Gen Z quickly spots whether an employer is authentic or just trying to market themselves in the right light. True stories from the team, transparent insights and “real voices” from the company are more persuasive than perfectly produced campaigns.