EOS Forum 24

Under the promising motto “Light and Shadow”, another successful, exciting and thought-provoking EOS Forum took place on Thursday, August 29 at the Metropol at Fraumünsterstrasse 12 in Zurich.

After a welcome by Andreas Hasler, CEO of EOS Schweiz AG, the journalist and presenter Annette Fetscherin, known from radio and television, skillfully and charmingly took over the moderation of the event.

Aymo Brunetti, Professor of Economics at the University of Bern, took the forum participants on a journey through the topics of the global economic situation, inflation and government debt, with particular attention to the situation of the resilient Swiss economy. Using meaningful tables, Brunetti showed the development of the most important economic indicators over recent years and explained these not-so-easy-to-understand relationships in an outstandingly vivid way.

Using charts, he traced the historical course of the global economic situation over the past 20 years and explained the relationships between (core) inflation rates, inflation and government debt in the most important countries, including Switzerland. He set out why great attention must be paid to core inflation and government debt in the coming years. Brunetti is very cautious about forecasts, honestly admitting that forecasts beyond one year are in fact not possible, because political, social and economic developments can cause abruptly unforeseeable changes in the data through special events.

In closing, the researcher pointed to the astonishing resilience of the Swiss economy, which can probably also be expected in the future. Besides a stable political situation, Switzerland’s robustness rests on the fact that the great financial crisis produced a stabilizing domestic economy and the great pandemic a stabilizing external economy. Globally, Switzerland remains one of the most stable countries in the world. What remains challenging for the country are rather long-term structural issues such as old-age provision, Europe and energy.

Kevin Lötscher, probably one of Switzerland’s most talented ice hockey players, captivated his listeners with the account of his career, which led from jubilant heights into the darkest depths and back up again. At the peak of his career, in May 2011 at the age of 23, shortly after the World Championship in Slovakia, the athlete was hit by a female driver who had been drinking and seriously injured. He vividly described the difficult and uncertain period of rehabilitation after the accident, from the induced coma to his return to ice hockey.

The images and film clips he presented movingly showed how a few seconds can change a life completely and lead to new paths. After long and careful consideration, the pro hockey player decided to retire on February 11, 2014, shortly before his 26th birthday. He took the forum’s visitors along on his further journey through life, which, after serious personal and psychological crises, led to a new life of his own.

Building on four important maxims for action (forgive, accept, process and let go), Kevin managed to find a new balance and to encourage and accompany other people with energy, movement and dynamism. He also stressed the importance of seeking therapeutic help when life darkens to the point that (almost) no way out can be seen. As a sports psychologist he is a much sought-after expert. His detailed life story can be found in his book “Eiszeit”, which he briefly presented.

His talk left the audience in a thoughtful mood. Once again it became clear to all of us that health, vitality and prosperity cannot be taken for granted, but are actually something to be received gratefully every day.

In the panel discussion that followed, with the speakers Prof. Dr. Aymo Brunetti and Kevin Lötscher as well as Melanie Blattert (Head Commercial) and Peter “Pepe” Kondakow (Director Operations), Annette Fetscherin probed the protagonists and deepened the topics taken up in the talks with exciting questions.

Melanie Blattert and Pepe Kondakow illustrated in practical terms how life-changing circumstances affect their respective fields of activity. Melanie went back to the difficult times during the Covid pandemic and explained how important it was to accompany and support the customers of EOS Schweiz AG. This situation also led to more inquiries than usual regarding receivables purchasing, as (potential) customers had an increased need for liquidity. The consequences of the wars (Ukraine, Gaza), the general fear of loss of prosperity and questions of energy supply are also noticeable.

Pepe Kondakow shed light on the effect of strokes of fate, which often culminate in consumers experiencing a new situation with their outstanding claims at EOS Schweiz AG, where we stand by them with advice and action within the scope of what is possible. He also spoke empathetically about a stroke of fate in the family of a close friend, who accepted the illness as a gift and showed him, Pepe Kondakow, how well off he himself is.

A further question to Melanie Blattert concerned the balancing act between customers’ interest in recovering the outstanding amounts as completely as possible and the often necessary acceptance of a balance payment from defaulting payers. She stressed how important communication is in this case. Pepe Kondakow seconded this by explaining how important it is to support customers and defaulting payers so that we fulfill the assignment well and at the same time live up to our social responsibility. It must be noted, however, that purposeful communication is also needed with defaulting payers who have difficult character structures, are recalcitrant, or keep reappearing with us with new unpaid claims.

The moderator asked how employees are trained to handle such challenging conversations. Blattert and Kondakow pointed to the fundamentally high training standards as well as constant support through coaching and joint review of recorded phone calls. It also happens – as a result of our lived feedback culture – that managers or colleagues praise an employee for a difficult conversation they handled. When escalation threatens, a manager will sometimes take over the conversation.

When asked, Brunetti outlined the effects of inflation, significant again for the first time in a long while, which can weigh heavily on individuals. As a researcher, however, he painted a fundamentally positive economic picture for the coming years, subject to an unforeseeable catastrophic event.

In the panel discussion, Lötscher stressed how important family and friends were to him during the difficult time after the accident. He was able to overcome the darkness that covered his soul and weighed heavily on him with excellent therapeutic support and an unbending need to do something meaningful again. These insights led him to mindfulness toward himself and others. From this grew the idea of founding a new company in which, shaped by the hard times, he now stands by other people psychologically and supportively.

At the end, Annette Fetscherin wanted to know from the panelists what customer service might look like in five years, where the economy would stand by then and which developments are to be expected.

Melanie Blattert is convinced that intensive personal support for customers will still be necessary and appreciated in five years, despite the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and increasing automation. AI will support everyday business and, for example, take over repetitive tasks or documentation. The stricter regulations on compliance and data protection coming in the next years will pose exciting challenges, which is why tailor-made solutions will become increasingly important.