It is not international geopolitics or uncertainty about economic growth that constitute the main obstacle to the development of SMEs with more than 50 employees in Switzerland. The most regularly cited brakes are bureaucracy and regulatory requirements. This is what emerges from the first “report on 2025 opportunities”, published by Raiffeisen Switzerland.
This new study sets out the main opportunities and challenges for the Swiss economy from the point of view of large companies employing more than 50 people. It was carried out by Raiffeisen Switzerland, in collaboration with the Institute of Financial Services of Zug (IFZ) of the Haute Ecole de Lucerne (HSLU).
For companies surveyed, bureaucracy and regulatory requirements therefore undoubtedly represent the main obstacle to their boom (77%), far ahead of uncertainty about economic growth (51%) and the geopolitical situation (33%). In order to meet the challenges linked to regulations, they first put on the development of staff and technologies, to which they also clearly devote the most important investment budgets.
Recruitment and cooperation to guarantee access to innovation
In order to ensure access to disruptive technologies and innovations as well as to strengthen their own competitiveness, companies are mainly based on the recruitment of highly qualified professionals (60%) and cooperation with other companies (51%). In addition, some 40% of them invest in research and development.
Two thirds of the companies surveyed finance such investments using bank loans or current account credits. The mortgage as a form of financing arrives in third position (19%). More than one in ten companies are fully used in its own funds to finance its investments.
The importance of stability and training
The 2025 opportunities report clearly shows what Swiss companies interviewed consider the main advantage of Switzerland. One in two business cites economic and political stability. A liberal labor market and the innovation force follow by far in the second and third positions.
Overall, companies are waiting for a reduction in the interference of policies, which clearly appears in the wish relating to a decrease in state interventions and the regulatory burden (75%). The situation is similar with regard to labor market and tax policy as well as financial and monetary political measures, sustainable regulations and public subsidies.
Only the training policy should be more encouraged to remedy the shortage of qualified personnel. 47% of companies questioned want the State to take more training initiatives, while barely 20% decide in favor of a drop in interventions in this area.
Regarding news themes such as artificial intelligence (AI) and entrepreneurial sustainability, companies identify more opportunities than risks. Aspects such as the transparency of supply chains, public subsidies and free trade agreements are on the other hand deemed less relevant, both in terms of opportunities and risks.
Greater flexibility at work
According to the survey, to be attractive employers, companies emphasize more flexible working time models, which promote reconciliation between professional and family life, and which they consider more important than purely financial incentives. Internal improvement programs, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital systems, gain importance. These skills are considered determining for the success of companies and the management of current technological dynamics.
About the 2025 opportunities report
For the production of the 2025 opportunities report, managers from large Swiss companies were interviewed between July and September 2024 under the aegis of the HSLU. A total of 214 people – the vast majority of the board of directors and directorates – participated in the anonymized survey. A fifth of respondents work in companies generating sales over 500 million francs and more than 40% employ more than 250 people.
Download the full study
SOURCE: CORTUNIQUE RAIFFAGE SUCHS
