1. Sustainable corporate governance // 2. Business model and business performance // 3. Social affairs // 4. Environnment
3. Social Affairs
CEO Felix Müller at the SQS 40th anniversary event on the Gurten in summer 2023.
3.1 Social responsibility
The assessment and certification business is a «People's Business»: The quality of our services depends crucially on the people who provide them. It is therefore our duty to be a responsible employer for moral, legal and business reasons. In this context, the Code of Business Ethics developed in 2023 should be mentioned, which specifies our basic values in our dealings with each other and with third parties (see also «Normative basics» in chapter 1.1).
In Chapter 3, the information generally relates to all permanent employees in Switzerland. Exceptions are mentioned in the corresponding texts or graphics.
Permanent employees and freelancers in Switzerland
We can also assume social responsibility beyond our organisation because we contribute to greater health and safety in the workplace or to family-friendly working conditions with various services. However, our potential or actual social impact as a customer in the supply chains is not significant (see also «Essentiality» in section 1.2).
Every two years, SQS conducts a satisfaction survey among its permanent employees in Switzerland. At the beginning of 2023, a focussed «Pulse Survey» was conducted, now also for freelance employees. Over 270 employees took part in this survey. The results showed a high level of commitment to the employer. Satisfaction with their own work situation and the attractiveness of SQS as an employer were viewed rather critically in some cases. In this regard, various project groups have been set up to plan and implement specific improvements (see also section 1.3).
3.2 Employment conditions
The employees at the head office in Zollikofen work a full 42.5 hours per week on a flexitime basis.
The home office concept launched during the coronavirus pandemic has proven its worth and is very popular. According to the 2023 commuter survey, employees at the head office worked from home for almost 50% of their workload on average. SQS provided employees with the necessary technical infrastructure for this purpose.
Permanent employees in CH, IT, DE
We offer our auditors an annual working time model so that they can deal with fluctuations in their workload during the year in a self-determined and flexible manner.
All SQS employees are entitled to at least five weeks' holiday per year - one week more than required by law. Employees under the age of 20 and over the age of 50 receive an additional five days off. Early retirement is possible from the age of 60.
We consider the availability of part-time positions to be a key factor in attracting and retaining committed employees in times of a shortage of skilled labour. Accordingly, we offer the opportunity to work part-time for all our functions. At the end of 2023, 48 employees - almost 30% of our permanent employees - had already taken up this offer. They worked between 30% and 80%.
Social insurances
Occupational pension scheme
All permanent employees in Switzerland were members of our pension fund at the end of 2023. We offer an attractive occupational pension scheme in the extra-mandatory area, with generous employer contributions, an enveloping interest rate and various optional plans for employees. Our freelance employees are covered by their respective employer.
Interest of 2.5% was paid on the capital of active insured persons. The conversion rate for retirement assets remained unchanged at 5% and the technical interest rate at 1.75%. 2023 was a difficult year with a performance of 2.51% on total assets, compared to a target return of 1.20%. Thanks to the income generated, the fluctuation reserve was almost fully replenished, and the coverage ratio increased to 118.3%.
Activities for insured persons
In May 2023, we organised a seminar in cooperation with FUNK Insurance Broker AG to prepare for retirement. This was aimed at our employees over the age of 50. In summer, we organised two internal live webinar series for all employees on relevant pension topics for the first time. Both formats were extremely well received.
To summarise, we can say that our pension fund is well positioned. In recent years, we have learnt that a lot of progress is possible even under challenging conditions - this is where our confidence lies.
Training and further education
SQS invests a lot in the internal training and further education of its auditors. This is because there are no corresponding offers on the market. Before new employees are introduced to this area, they have to complete a complex qualification process. This includes numerous internal courses, observer assignments during audits by colleagues and, in some cases, even technical examinations by standard setters.
In 2023, SQS employees completed a total of over 1 000 training days. In addition to the regular induction of new employees, a wide range of topics were covered, such as changes in Swiss law, developments in assessed standards and norms and subject-specific updates. In addition, there were workshops with customer opinions or on the further development of SQS.
The annual Extended Auditors' Conference (EAT), held this year on 25 August with over 200 participants, provides an opportunity for exchange and networking among auditors and with employees of the head office, in addition to the educational aspect.
We are delighted that another SQS commercial apprentice successfully completed her training in 2023. At the end of the year, there was still one apprentice in training who will complete his apprenticeship in summer 2024.
Occupational health and safety
SQS is dealing with various structural challenges, some of which arise from the demographic development of the workforce and others from social trends. This requires certain changes in various areas (management, organisational structure, technological developments, etc.), which are tackled by various project groups (see «Organisational development by means of CIP teams and future forum» in section 1.3). Changes should be approached in a way that allows all employees to understand the change, participate in it and address concerns or potential conflicts as best and as quickly as possible.
As an employer, SQS should be a place of safety and security in these unstable times. This includes active, transparent communication and reliability.
In 2023, permanent employees in Switzerland recorded 1,231 days of absence due to illness or accident. 86% of these were due to sickness-related absence. These figures were in line with the average for previous years and within an acceptable range. There was therefore no need for action with regard to structural issues. Where necessary in individual cases (health problems, workload, etc.), individual measures were discussed with employees and implemented.
Workforce structure and -dynamics
SQS is challenged by social trends and specific requirements in its core business. Auditors must have a certain amount of professional and life experience in order to be valued by our clients. As at the end of 2023, 70% of our permanently employed auditors were 52 years old or older.
From a social perspective, this is a positive development, as increasing unemployment among the elderly poses various challenges for our society. From an operational perspective, however, this means that SQS will have to make enormous efforts in the coming years in order to have sufficient human resources to cope with the demand.
The increasing requirements of accreditation and authorisation bodies regarding the qualifications and impartiality of auditors are further reducing the target groups for the recruitment of auditors. One of the consequences of this is that our pool of freelance employees is constantly growing, while the number of permanently employed auditors is stagnating or - depending on the area - even decreasing. The social trend towards part-time work and multiple challenging commitments may be an advantage here.
Proportion of women among permanently employed auditors
Gender diversity
SQS is an employer that is committed to diversity and gender equality. For a long time, the certification business was considered a male domain, not least because of the intensive travelling involved and the industrial nature of the business, which attracted more employees from technical professions. Against this backdrop, it is encouraging that the proportion of female auditors rose from 8.1% to 19.0% between 2013 and 2023.
