Employee development and retention
For a service company like Bellevue, employees are the most critical asset for long-term success. High employee engagement and strong identification with the company underpin our success. We foster a strong entrepreneurial culture with flat hierarchies, high self-responsibility, and flexibility in terms of working hours, workload and work location. The historically low voluntary turnover rate and high average length of service are testimony to strong employee identification with the company.
The value Bellevue creates for clients is inseparable from the expertise, motivation and high identification of Bellevue employees with the company, so we attach great importance to selecting the right kind of talent. The suitability of a candidate is typically evaluated in a process involving multiple selection stages and assessments, with special consideration given to soft skills such as teamwork and compatibility with company values, in addition to professional expertise. From an employee perspective, the manageable size of the company and resultant ease in establishing personal connections is a major success factor. Discrimination by criteria such as age, background and gender is not acceptable.
Our goals:
- Bellevue aims for a voluntary turnover rate of under 10%
- Bellevue also aims for an employee survey response rate above 80%
In fiscal 2023, the voluntary turnover rate rose to over 10%. The increase was driven by various factors, including long-term employees seeking new challenges elsewhere and strategic decisions prompting some employees to leave Bellevue in 2023. For 2024, we expect the turnover rate to return to levels seen in previous years.
The last employee survey took place in 2022. Findings from the last survey were addressed by measures implemented in 2023 (see «Employee engagement» for further details). The next employee survey is planned for 2025.
Employment
The following tables provide an overview of the number and type of employees. The figures refer to the actual number of employees as of December 31 of the respective year.
Total number of employees | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||
Switzerland | 72 | 74 | 66 | |||
- thereof men | 51 | 55 | 48 | |||
- thereof women | 21 | 19 | 18 | |||
Europe | 24 | 26 | 29 | |||
- thereof men | 16 | 18 | 20 | |||
- thereof women | 8 | 8 | 9 | |||
Other | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||
- thereof men | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
- thereof women | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 100 | 104 | 99 | |||
- thereof men | 70 | 76 | 71 | |||
- thereof women | 30 | 28 | 28 |
Apart from interns, Bellevue does not employ temporary workers or workers who do not have guaranteed hours.
Split full vs part-time employees | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
Switzerland | 54 | 18 | 57 | 17 | 46 | 20 | |||
- thereof men | 44 | 7 | 48 | 7 | 40 | 8 | |||
- thereof women | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 12 | |||
Europe | 21 | 3 | 21 | 5 | 23 | 6 | |||
- thereof men | 15 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 17 | 3 | |||
- thereof women | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | |||
Other | 4 | – | 4 | – | 4 | – | |||
- thereof men | 3 | – | 3 | – | 3 | – | |||
- thereof women | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | |||
Total | 79 | 21 | 82 | 22 | 73 | 26 | |||
- thereof men | 62 | 8 | 67 | 9 | 60 | 11 | |||
- thereof women | 17 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | |||
Part-time employees at Bellevue enjoy the same social insurance benefits as full-time employees. All permanent employees are given the option to increase their pension contributions. Pension contribution rates can be changed once every calendar year. In fiscal 2023, 8% of employees made use of this opportunity. Since Bellevue is not a party to any collective bargaining agreements, the terms and conditions of employment for its employees are not affected by such agreements.
In fiscal 2023, a total of 10 employees were hired across all regions.
Number of new hires | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||
Switzerland | 6 | 13 | 7 | |||
- thereof men | 3 | 10 | 7 | |||
- thereof women | 3 | 3 | – | |||
Europe | 4 | 2 | 1 | |||
- thereof men | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
- thereof women | 1 | – | – | |||
Other | – | – | – | |||
Total | 10 | 15 | 8 | |||
- thereof men | 6 | 12 | 8 | |||
- thereof women | 4 | 3 | – | |||
By age groups | ||||||
>50 | 2 | 1 | – | |||
30-50 | 7 | 11 | 7 | |||
<30 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||
Total | 10 | 15 | 8 | |||
Recruitment rate 1) | 9.8% | 14.8% | 7.8% | |||
- thereof men | 5.9% | 11.8% | 7.8% | |||
- thereof women | 3.9% | 3.0% | 0.0% |
1) The recruitment rate is calculated as follows: Number of new employees/([Number of employees at the start of the year + Number of employees at year-end]/2)
The employee turnover rate at Bellevue is calculated on the basis of voluntary departures and has historically been lower than average for its sector.
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||
Employee turnover rate | 10.8% | 3.9% | 2.9% | |||
- thereof men | 8.8% | 2.0% | 1.9% | |||
- thereof women | 2.0% | 1.9% | 1.0% | |||
- thereof Switzerland | 7.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | |||
- thereof Europe | 2.9% | 1.0% | 0.0% | |||
- thereof Other | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Bellevue employees are granted paid parental leave in accordance with the laws in the country where they are employed:
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||
Total number of employees with entitlement | 3 | 5 | 4 | |||
- Male | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||
- Female | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||
Total number of employees who have received | 3 | 5 | 4 | |||
- Male | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||
- Female | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||
Return after parental leave | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
- Male | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||
- Female | 1 | – | 1 | |||
Return and still employed after 12 months | n/a | 3 | 3 | |||
- Male | n/a | 3 | 2 | |||
- Female | n/a | – | 1 |
Training and education
As a highly specialized investment boutique, Bellevue employs dedicated, reliable, and well-trained staff who stay current and upgrade their skills. The company supports its employees in maximizing their development potential by providing an environment and tools that foster personal and professional growth and continuing education at all levels and in all areas of responsibility. Through regular employee performance and career development reviews (MBO approach), individual profiles are identified and strengthened by targeted measures such as specialist education, leadership and management training, upgrading of skills in various work techniques, internal and/or external IT training, and language courses.
The company distinguishes between two career paths: «executive» and «expert». These are considered to be of equal value and can be pursued complementarily based on personal aptitude. Potential employees suited for an executive career undergo a management development program to prepare them for their future role.
Every employee has a formal, structured annual review to evaluate their progress, discuss individual career development measures and define next steps, with the emphasis on evaluating individual education opportunities. Bellevue covers a significant portion of the costs and, if necessary, provides paid time off for training.
Bellevue does not yet have consolidated data on the average number of training and education hours per employee. A process is being implemented to disclose these figures starting from the 2024 fiscal year.
Training and education was provided as follows in 2023:
- Cyber security: All Bellevue employees are required to complete online cyber security courses.
- Sustainability: Employees received training on CO2 emissions, through presentations by external experts (Swiss Climate) and other means.
- Compliance: The following internal compliance training courses were organized for employees: Code of Conduct (portfolio managers), Cross Border Sales (Sales Switzerland), new Swiss Data Protection Act (all employees in Switzerland), creation of marketing documents (Sales, Marketing and Product Management) as well as general compliance/internal directives training (all new employees).
- External training: Five employees of the Private Markets unit attended a refresher course to renew their registration as consultants in the Register of Advisors. Two employees have started or completed training to become CFA.
- Executive career path: In 2023, 7 people attended a management training program consisting of various modules and individual coaching inputs.
Employee engagement
In 2022, Bellevue carried out a group-wide employee survey for the first time. This was done in cooperation with iCommit, an independent research firm. The aim was to measure employee satisfaction and any attendant need for improvement. The results were discussed by the Group Executive Board, then at team level with employees. Specific action points were defined jointly with the employees so that improvements can then be brought about. The following topics were addressed in 2023:
Employee information channels
In order to address employees’ increased need for internal information updates, a total of 4 quarterly employee information events were held in 2023. Besides the latest operating results, information is given about specific products, new developments, the projects being developed and pursued by individual teams and so on. The presentations are prepared in collaboration with the directly involved employees, which gives them an opportunity to present their specific tasks and related challenges in their own words.
Employee development
Due to Bellevue’s flat organizational hierarchy, employee development activities focus more on advancement as an expert and less on the executive career path. In addition to the annual review, employees have opportunities during the year to suggest and pursue suitable training and education initiatives (see «Training and education» for further details).
Collaboration between executive management teams
Due to its historically and geographically diverse structure, Bellevue operates with multiple executive management teams. A level of merging and consolidation has now taken place, and interaction has been stepped up through regular meetings.
For further information on the 2022 employee survey, please consult the 2022 sustainability report.
Employee bonus programs
In the spirit of identification with the company and the entrepreneurial activities of each employee at his or her level, we give employees across all hierarchical levels a share in the success of the company.
The compensation system for Bellevue employees is conceived to motivate employees at all operating units to strive for excellence. This is «entrepreneurial compensation with commitment» – a meritocratic model. It comprises an attractive entrepreneurial profit-sharing bonus as variable compensation. This profit-sharing bonus is directly linked to the operational financial performance of Bellevue Group. In addition, part of this variable profit-sharing bonus is paid out in the form of blocked shares and stakes in the products we manage (we believe in «eating our own cooking»). This approach promotes a long-term high-performance culture. Further information is disclosed in the annual compensation report.
Furthermore, Bellevue periodically offers an employee share ownership program. The Board of Directors approves a voluntary employee stock ownership plan on an annual basis under which employees are entitled to purchase shares of Bellevue Group at a discount to the market price.