Finance adapted to remote working shortly after the pandemic's outbreak. The success of home-working raises fundamental questions over how many staff banks and insurers want to maintain in pricey Switzerland.
«Virtual workforce» is the new buzzword among consultants and management in financial services: the term refers to a more flexible workplace model where employers and staff interact largely on digital channels – a dramatic reversal from the busy streets of Geneva's banking district around Rue du Rhône as well as Paradeplatz in Zurich.
Banks and insurers are the natural candidates to adopt the model, as the eight months since coronavirus was declared a pandemic shows. In record time, firms sent employees home with company laptops. «Even we were surprised how quickly the new methods of working established themselves,» says Stephan Surber, a senior partner at recruiting firm Page Executive in Zurich.
In fact, many firms are struggling to entice workers back to offices, while other companies appear to have permanently embedded a partial work-from-home routine into their policy.
Where Doesn't Matter
The shift lays the groundwork for a wider trend. «The rapid spread of remote working models raises the question for Swiss banks of moving to a form of virtual work, in which where the employee sits no longer plays a role at all,» says Tanguy Dulac, director of human capital at Deloitte in Switzerland.
Dulac's clients include Genevan wealth managers, for example. Virtual workforce, according to Dulac, is an option for Swiss lenders – if some criteria are met. The option represents a massive shift: if location isn't a primary criteria, then people with financial expertise no longer need to be employed in Switzerland.
India's Example
Zurich, home to a large chunk of the alpine nation's finance industry, is the most expensive city in the world, alongside Hong Kong and Paris, according to «The Economist». Banks have already tinkered with so-called off- and near-shoring, or sourcing more talent from cheaper locations than Switzerland, like technology and operations from India or Eastern Europe.
For the world's largest offshore center, most revenue is U.S. dollar, euro, or other major currency-denominated, while spending is in Swiss francs. The Swiss currency's persistent strength is likely to tempt banks to move more jobs – including highly-skilled personnel – to a remote working set-up abroad. This means pressure on Swiss salaries, which rank among the highest in Europe.
Post-Corona Workplace
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