Executive Recruitment in Switzerland
Surveys of the workplace in Switzerland have shown that medium and large companies continue to have serious difficulties recruiting top executives, finding the accountants, fiduciaries, financial and banking professionals and managers on the Swiss labor market.
There is too much demand for top executives in Switzerland and insufficient human resources to fill the needs of companies seeking to recruit. The shortage of qualified management talent, professionals experience, and seasoned executives is most severely felt in banking, finance, and watch making and luxury industries.
Whether it be financial director, financial controller, managing director, credit analyst, or director of administration : the list is long of executive jobs and open career opportunities in Switzerland related to finance desperately sought by Swiss companies and for which the recruiting enterprises are having more and more trouble recruiting executive talent for work in Switzerland.
Companies active in recruitment of executives and management talent in Switzerland have reported that the demand for experienced profiles in banking and finance has remained very strong during 2007, and is continuing to increase, creating more and more upward pressure on salaries for work in Switzerland in the financial and banking sectors, as well as luxury watch making.
Swiss companies, according to current predictions, will continue to pursue their development; in particular the labor requirements of mid-sized companies are growing strongly, and have mounting needs to reinforce their staff, especially with financial management and accounting roles.
The difficulties of Swiss companies in recruitment of professional staff are even more serious when it comes to hiring senior executives. Finding the right candidate in Switzerland has become so difficult that entire subordinate business activities have been spawned in the field of finding and recruiting top managerial, executive and professional talent abroad.
For well over a year, there has been much more enterprise demand for top executives there are available human resources in the Swiss workplace.
The publishers of the recent labor surveys in Switzerland asked the managers of the Human Resources departments of major Swiss companies how they went about recruiting top talent for their job openings — for example Manager of Finance or Director of Administration — roles sought by many companies recruiting Switzerland.
According to recruitment companies operating in Switzerland, in order to attract the best talent or to retain them, employers have several choices. In Switzerland the addition of bonuses and other advantages is more and more common.
One out of six Swiss companies offers a premium oscillating between 6% and 10% of the annual salary and one in four up to 5% of the annual salary. There is a small minority (less than 5%) of top companies offering premiums of over 20%.
Swiss employers have also implemented less traditional advantages such as flexible hours or in-house nurseries, fitness clubs, company yacht races and other perks. And in the fields of finance and banking, it is more and more common to have additional vacation days offered.
The market for employment in Switzerland is more and more stretched, particularly in the banking and finance sectors, and in the luxury watch making industries. The pharmaceutical, I.T. and telecommunications sectors are also strongly affected.
