International SOS Webcast Series with Top C Level Executives Across Switzerland Discloses Health & Security Issues and Trends on Workforce Resilience

09 July 2021 ,  Geneva

 

Following a series of online interviews over the past 12 weeks, International SOS - the world’s leading company in health and security services - is today sharing the insights of key leaders from ABB, Chubb, Cotecna Inspection, Holcim, IG Bank and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions on how COVID-19 has impacted their global organisation and employees. This webcast series, Workforce Resilience: A Vision from Leaders, now available on the International SOS YouTube channel, assesses the impact of the crisis on the workforce and starts drawing the future of health and security management in the workplace.

Making resilience meaningful again

On encouraging both its guest speakers and audience to re-examine the notion of resilience itself, every one of the top leaders interviewed share similar key pillars:

A capacity to come out of the crisis stronger, the necessity for greater flexibility, the urge to maintain a sense of purpose…

To Fouad Bajjali, CEO of IG Bank, the definition of resilience even is a matter of thriving: Workforce resilience is the ability to achieve and thrive under very complicated situations of stress or difficulty.” A key vision that companies such as Holcim have understood and already started acting on, by training their employees to be more resilient, underlines Cédrick Moriggi, Global Head of Security and Business Resilience at Holcim.


People are expecting a transparent and clear vision from their leaders in such a period. KPI’s or data in a crisis don’t reach people. To bring reassurance, communication is key.

“People want you to have a plan, they need to have that security that you know how to guide them. Don’t allow the crisis to stop you. Gather your troops, relieve your people from unnecessary work so that they can focus, because they are already feeling the pressure.”  These are some of the recommendations from Andreas Berger, CEO of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.

He also outlines his ‘10 commandments’ for businesses to manage a crisis and highlights some of the findings from an employee “Pulse” survey, where 92% of respondents at the business are positive about the care and concern demonstrated by Senior Leaders during the pandemic.

In addition to a transparent and clear vision of the Senior Management, “Transparency, purpose, and support" is essential, highlights Sébastien Dannaud, CEO at Cotecna Inspection. Those three pillars proved extremely relevant and impactful to Cotecna during the past challenging months in the face of COVID-19.

Mental health in the spotlight

Whether the effects of this crisis last in the long term or not, one key health concern has now become of prime importance to company leaders: the mental health of their team members.

As Robert Itschner, Country Managing Director of ABB Switzerland, underlines ”The complexity of mental health is that it is not visible.” And yet, it has become a priority in a context where a majority of employees have been working from home for the past 12 months. Company action plans regarding mental health have been accelerated like never before.

From offering training in wellbeing to highlighting individual hidden talents, empathy has now become one of the most powerful tools at hand to create meaningful connections, even through screens. In the words of Dawn Miller, Regional Executive Officer Chubb Central Region (Switzerland, MENA, Turkey): “taking care of your employees’ mental health can be as simple as asking how they are doing – and meaning it.”

To be or not to be vaccinated… A company’s role and responsibility

So, what about your employees’ physical health in a world where Covid-19 is still a threat? When asked about their point of view on vaccination, all the Swiss leaders interviewed by International SOS have pinpointed the key role it has to play for their business and the entire economy.

As employees have returned to work and start going back to business travel, it is becoming increasingly relevant for companies to work on their return to operations and return to travel strategies, including vaccination policies and programmes. By having the right occupational health and security strategies, by staying up to date and understanding local and international regulations, preventing misinformation, leaders now have various tools at hand and the possibility to partner with International SOS aiming to protect their workforce from health and security risks.

The six webcasts can be found here: Workforce Resilience – A Vision from Leaders - YouTube

 


Notes to Editors

 

About the International SOS Group of Companies

The International SOS Group of Companies is in the business of saving lives, protecting your global workforce from health and security threats. Wherever you are, we deliver customised health, security risk management and wellbeing solutions to fuel your growth and productivity. In the event of extreme weather, an epidemic or a security incident, we provide an immediate response providing peace of mind. Our innovative technology and medical and security expertise focus on prevention, offering real-time, actionable insights and on-the-ground quality delivery. We help protect your people, your organisation's reputation, as well as support your compliance reporting needs. By partnering with us, organisations can fulfil their Duty of Care responsibilities, while empowering business resilience, continuity and sustainability.

 

Founded in 1985, the International SOS Group, headquartered in London & Singapore, is trusted by 12,000 organisations, including the majority of the Fortune 500, as well as mid-size enterprises, governments, educational institutions and NGOs. 12,000 multicultural medical, security and logistics experts stand with you to provide support & assistance from over 1,000 locations in 90 countries, 24/7, 365 days.   


To protect your workforce, we are at your fingertips: www.internationalsos.com