Why some Swiss companies attract and retain the best talent... and how to draw inspiration from them to evolve your own company culture.
Every year, the Best Workplaces™ Switzerland ranking, organized by Great Place to Work, recognizes companies that excel in a strategically important area: the employee experience.
It includes both giants like Hilti, Cisco, or Salesforce, as well as SMEs, micro-enterprises, and start-ups that are active in various industries.
By analyzing in detail each category – large companies, SMEs, microstructures – a conclusion emerges:
HR performance is not a matter of budget, but of posture.
So, what do these model organizations have in common? And what can Swiss SMEs take away from them, even with limited resources? Answer below.
Some key figures
The average turnover in Switzerland is 16%, but drops to less than 8% in companies certified as “Best Workplace” (GPTW 2023).
(source: GPTW 2023)
The average cost of a replacement (recruitment, training, loss of productivity) is estimated to be between 15,000 and 30,000 CHF per employee (source: HR Swiss).
(source : HR Swiss)
83% of Swiss employees believe that a good internal climate is more important than salary.
(source: PwC Suisse, 2023).
The companies ranked as GPTW record an average of +20 to +25% operational performance.
(source : GPTW Europe).
Taking care of one's corporate culture is not a luxury. It is a strategic lever for performance and retention.
What the best employers do
By analyzing the results of companies in each category of the Best Workplaces™ Switzerland 2025 ranking, one thing becomes clear: being an attractive employer does not depend on size, sector, or budget. These organizations – large, medium, or very small – share a common stance: they place corporate culture at the heart of their strategy.
And they translate this culture into concrete, visible, and lived practices in everyday life.
Here are the 5 levers found in all these companies where it is good to work.
1. They invest in a strong, clear, and shared culture
They do not allow the corporate culture to be built "by default".
They define it, formulate it, and bring it to life through:
- clear and operational values (not just written on a poster, but integrated into daily life),
- managerial rituals that create connection: inspiring team meetings, moments of recognition, sharing of successes,
- consistency in HR between words and actions: the way to recruit, integrate, evaluate, or develop employees reflects the fundamentals of the culture.
👉 Result: a strong identity, felt, understood, and shared by all.
2. They make work more human, flexible, and respectful
These employers take into account the realities of their employees and adapt their organization around people, not the other way around:
- implementation of flexible schedules or annualized hours,
- easy access to remote work, even part-time, without guilt,
- support in cases of mental load, personal challenges, parenting, or career change,
- adoption of benevolent managerial postures, focused on trust, psychological safety, and active listening.
👉 It is often the details of everyday life (a word, a gesture, a posture) that make the real difference.
3. They invest in the development of everyone
They believe that every employee can progress, regardless of their role or seniority.
They set up:
- structured training program, from the integration,
- internal mobility opportunities or discovering new roles,
- mentoring programs or intergenerational partnerships,
- a budget training actually used (and not just listed in an HR brochure).
👉 The central idea: to develop skills, but also confidence, autonomy, and the ability to contribute to impactful projects.
4. They empower instead of controlling
They provide leeway, encourage initiative-taking, accept the right to reasonable mistakes, and build an adult-to-adult relationship between manager and employee.
They set up:
- clear but flexible work frameworks,
- lightweight reporting systems based on trust and results, not on time tracking,
- regular feedback mechanisms that replace fixed annual evaluations.
👉 By trusting, they gain much more engagement than through control.
5. They connect work to a greater purpose
These organizations have understood that meaning is the fuel of sustainable motivation.
They do not just set profitability goals: they explain "why" things are done.
They :
- highlight their societal, local, or environmental impact,
- involve their teams in collective or solidarity initiatives,
- communicate the purpose of the product, service, or profession clearly,
- give weight to actions that enhance utility and pride.
👉 Working in these companies is not just about "doing your job": it's about contributing to something larger that has meaning.
These five levers – culture, humanity, development, accountability, and meaning – are within the reach of all companies, even the smallest ones. They do not require large resources, but rather clarity, consistency, and a genuine commitment from management.
Where to start? Analysis & implementation
Transitioning from a "default" HR culture to a differentiating HR culture does not happen overnight. But it all starts with a phase of listening, analysis, and clarification, before implementing the right levers.
Phase 1: Analyze your culture and HR practices
Before launching actions or programs, it is essential to understand your real situation from a 360° perspective:
-
Donner la parole aux équipes
Conduct anonymous surveys, organize discussion workshops or individual interviews to gather perceptions of the internal climate, management practices, recognition, or workload. -
Identify your strengths and your blind spots
Where do your employees feel aligned with the company? Where are the silent frustrations? What practices drive talent away... or retain them? -
Measuring the gap between perceived image and lived reality
Does your HR communication match the actual employee experience? Are your promises (flexibility, kindness, growth...) kept on a daily basis? -
Use benchmarks
Compare your practices with those of other companies in your sector or of your size, using labels such as Great Place to Work™, external audits, or market surveys.
Phase 2: Implement visible and aligned actions
Once the diagnosis is made, it is time to take action. The objective: to strengthen what works, correct what hinders, and build a coherent and engaging culture.
Here are some concrete areas:
-
Clarify the expected values and behaviors
Formalize a clear, shared, and embodied corporate culture. And above all: align managerial and HR practices with this culture. -
Enhance the key moments of the employee experience
Work on the "moments of truth": recruitment, onboarding, first feedback, annual reviews, promotions, departures... These touchpoints have a disproportionate impact on engagement. -
Training managers to be culture catalysts
Management is one of the primary levers of attractiveness. Investing in their posture, their listening skills, and their way of recognizing and supporting is strategic. -
Implement simple yet effective tools
Feedback systems, recognition programs, smooth onboarding processes, lively internal communication... each lever strengthens engagement. -
Involve the teams in the developments
Nothing is more engaging than participating in the construction of the work environment. Involve your collaborators in defining the rules, rituals, and cross-functional projects.
These steps do not necessarily require large investments, but they do require a clear vision, active listening, and true coherence of action.
In conclusion: What if you also became a company where it is good to work?
What the best Swiss employers show is that one does not become an attractive company by chance. It is the result of sincere commitment, consistent choices, and a culture upheld on a daily basis.
No need to be a multinational or have unlimited resources: every SME can lay the right foundations to evolve its organization, strengthen its employer brand, and attract talents that resemble it.
At Ectos, we believe that every company has the potential to become a place where people feel good, where they want to engage, progress, and stay.
And we are here to support you at every step of the way.
Discover our business transformation consulting services.
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