Switzerland has maintained its place at the top of the Human Development Index in 2019, ranked in 2nd place behind only Norway for the second year running, and ahead of Ireland, Germany and Hong Kong.

According to SwissInfo, the list, released by the United Nations Development Programme, measures progress in three areas of human development: a long and healthy life, which is measured by life expectancy, access to knowledge, measured by mean years of education per capita and a decent standard of living, calculated through gross national income (GNI) per capita.

Even by the high standards set by other countries in the “very high human development group”, such as the United States, which stands in 15th place, Switzerland still remains above average, seeing a 6.1 years increase in life expectancy, 3.7 years increase in mean time spent in education and a GNI per capita increase of 20% between 1990 and 2018.  

However, it’s not fantastic news for everyone, as the UN Development Programme has warned global inequality levels are being affected by new factors, with broadband adoption rates and adult tertiary education rates being astronomically higher among those in countries with very high human development than their less developed counterparts.

In very highly developed nations such as Switzerland, with the ever-increasing percentage of individuals in jobs requiring tertiary education and rising GNI per capita, the likelihood for absenteeism and low productivity due to stress and work related mental-health issues has never been higher. The negative outcomes that this can have on both employees’ wellbeing and organisations in terms of hours lost, means that we must take great responsibility and put steps in place to prioritise corporate wellbeing, in order to secure a beneficial outcome for all.

EMEA Recruitment have recognised this and we are currently in the process of planning exciting events in 2020 around the topic of Corporate Wellbeing. We look forward to telling you more in the New Year!

To read the original article by SwissInfo, ‘Switzerland keeps a top slot in human development’, click here

When Jacob Morgan released his book, The Employee Experience Advantage, in 2017, he brought a realisation for many about the importance of employee experience. For many companies it is now the key battle ground to attract and retain top talent.

Graeme Johnson, former HR leader at Virgin Media, speaking in Las Vegas in 2016 perfectly exemplified the cost of a bad candidate experience which for them stood at $5 million per year. We discussed this topic further with Silvina Layani, who advises companies on how to create a fabulous employee experience, and we agreed the following guidelines in regards to the candidate process:-

• The Application: Candidates must understand the process and what to expect.
• Communication throughout the process: Keep in touch with the candidate once they have applied. A ”black-box” process will frustrate, demotivate and detract talented individuals who will share the lack of ”human-touch” with their friends and contacts. That means communication with us, the Recruiter, so that we in turn can communicate with the candidates.
• Interviewing: Interviewers should apply a human-touch rather than simply reading a series of questions like a robot. This is an opportunity for a ”customer conversion” and should be treated with undivided attention. It's important that interviewers sell the benefits of the company and the role.
• Feedback: Providing feedback to candidates, even if not lengthy, will keep the experience positive and help them develop further. This will ensure that all candidates, including those who are not retained, will have a positive experience and might create positive brand advocacy in return.

We would like to congratulate the Buchillon Yacht Club (BYC) and its members for a successful start of the 2019 sail racing season! EMEA Recruitment is a proud supporter of BYC - an international sailing club based in Buchillon, Switzerland. The club promotes and encourages the sport of sailing and sailboat racing.
 
June has been a fantastic month for BYC with several podium finishes:

• Gold Medal in J70 Nordic Championship: Held in Hanko, Norway, BYC’s Fredrik Hedlund and his Agera3 Racing Team won 1st place among 33 competing teams.
• Gold Medal in J70 Grundig Cup: Held in Oslo Norway, Agera3 Racing Team won 1st place among 11 competing teams.
• Gold Medal in J70 Norwegian Championship: Held in Hanko, Norway, Agera3 Racing Team won 1st place among 20 competing teams.
• Gold Medal in 5.5 Metre Hanko Race Week: Held in Hanko Norway, BYC’s Christoph Burger won 1st place in the 5.5 Metre Class together with Team New Moon.
• Bronze Medal in Star Class World Championship: Held in Porto Cervo, Italy, BYC’s Eivind Melleby won 3rd place with his team in the highly competitive Star Class World Championship. The event saw 63 teams from 20 nations race for the Championship.

BYC has a busy sail racing calendar for the reminder of the year. Its members will participate in several national and world championships during the next few months. Best of luck from the EMEA Recruitment team!