Top sharing in Basel

Since last December, Hug and Mauch have been in charge of the medium-sized Oberwil branch in the canton of Basel-Land – part-time as equal heads of the UBS branch.

“We were very surprised when our Regional Director Samuel T. Holzach approached us with this opportunity. But that’s not all: he motivated and encouraged us to take this step,” says Mauch. However, there was nothing new about this model, according to her job partner Hug: “Stefanie and I shared a client book from 2009 to 2014 using job sharing. We got to know each other very well and value one another highly. We complement each other perfectly.”

No more biased views

“This is not the first instance of job sharing in the Basel region, but it is the first at management level,” says Regional Director Samuel Holzach. “Even if I often encounter skepticism about job sharing, we’ve had successful collaboration in all cases up to this point.” It’s also not true that efficiency is lost by having two people on the job, says Holzach, dismissing another prejudice: “On the contrary, a part-time team of two is used to working efficiently in a targeted way. The goals that have been reached prove this.”

Of course, the two job partners have to be willing to collaborate closely, to coordinate and to communicate with each other. According to the Basel regional director: “They have to like and appreciate each other too. That is the fundamental requirement.” This is a perception that the two heads of the Oberwil branch share: “Our mutual agreement and coordination works smoothly. We’ve known each other very well for a long time. We don’t jockey for influence or power. We’ve never been played against each other either. That wouldn’t work.”

Positive client reactions

The two managers say that reactions from clients and non-clients from Oberwil and the surrounding area have been very positive. But that’s not all: “Hardly anyone would have thought that UBS would take such a courageous step.” In the meantime, good collaboration has also been established with employees. “We ensure direct, open interaction with everyone. Entirely in line with our ‘from me to us’ private client motto,” says Mauch.

“But we’re just at the beginning and there’s still a lot to do,” Hug points out. “The Oberwil branch has an enormous amount of potential that we would now like to tap into step by step. This includes increasing the digital use of our products. I’m glad that I have a sparring partner like Stefanie who has the same ambitions as I do.”

Monika and Stefanie in a nutshell

Monika Hug has worked for UBS for 30 years. She has fulfilled various roles, mainly as a client advisor in the area of Private Clients in the Basel region. She was born in 1969, is married and has two children. Hug lives with her family in Oberwil. She lists reading, Mardi Gras and her family as her hobbies.

Stefanie Mauch, born in 1974, has been at UBS for 16 years. Before her current job, she worked as a client advisor and deputy team head at Aeschenvorstadt 1 in Basel. Mauch has two children and lives with her family in the region. Her hobbies are traveling, culture, reading and sports.

Hug and Mauch have been managing the Oberwil branch in the canton of Baselland on a part-time basis since December 2017.