The same goes for the insurance business. But even there, experimenting with new work structures and management forms are underway. Baloise for instance has granted some of its IT teams a veto over hirings. The members all had a say in the recruitment of new team members and thereby were given responsibility for making it work.

The Basel-based insurer has kept some of this concept on board, applying it to projects without making it the norm. Agile forms of work are however used widely in asset management and in IT. «The company as a whole has become more democratic,» said a spokesman.

Der Beitrag zählt

A recent decision by Axa, a rival of Baloise, is also going in that direction. One of Switzerland's biggest insurance firms has given all members of staff the right to home-office, irrespective of rank and work-time percentage. Axa is awarding staff a flat fee of 200 francs per year towards their expenses for the maintenance of their work stations at home.

Axa claims that the «Smart Working» concept is based on the idea that the individual's contribution towards meeting company goals is what counts and not the place where this contribution is made. This will likely affect the way management is being organized and executed.

Agility, flexibility, home-office – words only for sure. The organization has to pay off. Wymann will look at the result of the new structures implemented in a year's time and see whether the changes have paid off.