A company-legend of 47 years
A casual chat with Röbi Rieser, who joined TBF as a draughtsman apprentice in 1974, about digitalization, zeitgeist, company development and his greatest love. An authentic, unplugged and – incredibly old-fashioned – full length tale for anyone who’s interested in personal stories.
Figures – and where they originated
age pyramid
Familiar faces, surprising stories
Evolution begins with conscious change in the present and a look at yesterday's experiences. Our employees reveal what this has to do with favourite coffee cups, electric guitars or penguins.
Léonie S. Mollet, Isabel Ammann, Marco Serraino
Three employees discuss work models for the future that are in place today.
It’s sometimes claimed, tongue in cheek, that ‘TBF has at least as many work models as employees.’ This claim is far from wrong... Léonie S. Mollet, Isabel Ammann and Marco Serraino discuss the advantages and challenges of this flexible working arrangement. They all agree that in this environment, trust and individual solutions reliably produce better results.
Léonie, what is unique about your personal work model?
My hobbyhorse is most certainly working remotely from New Zealand. Working remotely gives me insight into what I took for granted, for example, being responsible for organising my daily routine, building sustainable relationships from afar and contributing my strengths from a distance. It’s interesting to see how these habits change when I’m working in Switzerland.
I notice time and again that I place more restrictions on myself than my work does. It can be the tiniest of things: a few weeks ago, I discovered making phone calls while out for a walk. It is fascinating how much is resolved, particularly in very tricky or personal conversations, when I am literally on the move.
I like breaking new ground by exploring and pushing boundaries. This also means that I sometimes fail spectacularly, whether it be due to the hurdle of international bureaucracy or against my own standards. This is perfectly OK, it provides material for great stories and also ensures that I never take myself too seriously.
Marco, what is it like for you?
My work model is, in itself, not so spectacular. I work 0.8 FTE and, in doing so, try to balance my career ambitions with helping to look after our son and my ‘side job’ as a guitarist in a post-metal band. Because of this, I greatly appreciate the flexibility TBF offers.
It’s happened that in the middle of the working day, a tune has entered my head. A tune that (naturally) had to be recorded immediately. Two hours later, after my fingers had cooled down again, I carried on working. The working day might have been longer, but it was twice as productive. On more normal days, I use the flexibility to go on planned and spontaneous outings with the family.
Of course, things do not always run smoothly. To use Léonie’s expression: I ‘failed spectacularly’, particularly in the beginning. There were times when I spent a whole day in front of the computer without achieving a lot, because I allowed myself to be distracted too much while working from home or somewhere outdoors. The payback followed immediately: adding a concentrated night shift onto the working day. Lesson learned: focus!
Despite all of the flexibility, I am looking forward to more social contact in Beckenhof, the TBF office where I am based. Drinking an occasional spontaneous coffee with the team or going for a walk around the office for no reason... that is something I have definitely missed in the last 1.5 years.
And how have you experienced this change, Isabel?
Even though I have no children at home, I appreciate the flexibility of the new working arrangement. Since there is enough space for my whole office in my rucksack, I can choose to work wherever I want. For example, I occasionally go to Bern for a face-to-face meeting, work from home if I want to avoid distractions (or limit them to my cat), or I go to the office in Zurich if I am itching to speak to my work colleagues. This regular change of scenery ensures that everyday life is full of variety while also presenting unexpected challenges, such as when documents can only be made available by the customer in physical form, and I first need to find out when and where I can collect them.
I appreciate the time flexibility, especially when I am driving to the mountains without any traffic jams on a Friday afternoon and then can sit in front of the laptop again when I’m there. However, I notice that in addition to the framework set by my calendar in the form of appointments, I often impose ‘rules’ on myself that are obsolete under the new working arrangement.
My wish for the future is that I question these ‘rules’ more often – and ignore them where appropriate. I will then be able to choose where and when I work based on the needs that arise from the tasks ahead and my daily schedule. I would like to use this flexibility for more of the small things; not just to hang out the washing (which, for me, is a surprisingly good activity for studying a complex problem), but also in wintertime, to take in some air outdoors in the afternoon while there is daylight and sunshine, and then carry-on working feeling refreshed.
Michael Jäggi
‘I’ve never lost my ability to laugh.’
In his moving story, Michael Jäggi tells us why he has a guitar collection instead of a photo album. Looking back at his life, he says we should accept life and all its ups and downs.
Profession
Auto body paint technician -> IV professional integration of people with disabilities ->
Electrical planner
Role at TBF
Project manager, site manager, traction current planner
With TBF since
2018
While talking to you, I can’t help noticing the wall full of guitars behind you. How did that come about?
It all began in year 7 at school with a live DVD of Ozzy Osbourne. The moment I saw his guitarist Zakk Wylde working the strings, I knew right away that I wanted to be able to do that too! I already had my first collector’s item when I was only 13 years old!
A good friend who worked at the local music store and I came up with a plan to order a professional guitar. I had no intention of buying it, I just wanted to see what it felt like to hold it. But on the day the guitar arrived, my friend wasn’t around. So another employee called me at home and my mother answered the phone. She was totally surprised to find out her son had ordered a guitar like that! In the end, she bought it for me – on the condition that I help out in the afternoons at a local garage to pay for the guitar, which cost quite a bit. I worked there twice a week for two years.
What do these guitars mean to you?
You could say that the guitars and the way they are hung here are the product of my journey so far. There’s an experience, a memory, an encounter behind every single one… they are more than just instruments to me. In fact, they are like a collection of milestones in a photo album.
My passion for guitars is closely linked to a key situation in my life. Seven years ago, I was in a car crash, and I suffered severe injuries to my body and my head. I was even in a coma for a while. My girlfriend at the time put headphones on me and played me Zakk Wylde’s music over and over again. It was the music that was playing when I regained consciousness, and it also accompanied me through my difficult recovery period. His music touches me somewhere deep within. When I discovered one of his guitars on eBay, I knew right away that I had to have it! I told the guy who was selling it my story and how it connected me to the music of Zakk Wylde. And then something amazing happened. It turned out he was the manager of Zakk Wylde’s upcoming European tour! He was so touched that he invited me to a meet and greet with my idol, and after the concert he gave me a signed guitar.
What have you learned from your own story?
That you should never, ever give up following your dreams. I had to relearn everything from scratch after my accident: walking, speaking, eating. Everything. It was a really hard time for me, a time full of setbacks and frustration. The man in charge of my re-integration into the job market told me that I shouldn’t get my hopes up. ‘Choose an easy path to follow, Mr Jäggi,’ he said. But that was never an option for me. I wanted to work again and live my life independently, the way I wanted. I fought for that because I was convinced that I ultimately knew what was best for me.
When I look back today, I can say in all honesty, ‘I really have thrown off my chains. And I feel closer to my true self than ever before. I’m authentic.’
Taking your own story into consideration, what advice would you give others?
More than anything else, I would say, live your dreams – today and every day. Time waits for no one. So follow your dreams. Starting right now!
I have to ask one last thing out of curiosity: how many guitars do you have?
In total, I already have 25 (laughs). But there’s still a lot more room in my musical photo album.
Michèle Müller
Learning (through) your own strengths
Michèle talks to us about how uncertainty can guide development, how dialogue is linked to learning and why she isn’t a penguin who wants to fly.
Profession
MSc in Sociology and Geography
Role at TBF
Project Manager
With TBF since
2018
Michèle, you started out in TBF on projects of a completely different kind. Why was that?
I’ll have to go back a bit further to explain that one. My first job took me to the Netherlands, where I worked on urban development for Amsterdam city council. My area of work was called ‘nieuwe opgaven’, which basically means ‘new tasks’. The name says it all: my team functioned as a kind of emergency urban development office and worked only on the most pressing challenges. That’s when I first realised how comfortable I am with what looks like an overload of work; it presses my creative buttons. I really thrive on that unplanned interconnection of skills, people and projects.
Once I was back in Switzerland, I was eager to find out where I’d end up. After all, job sites don’t let you filter by criteria like ‘open company culture’ or ‘philosophy of sharing’. I came across TBF through an acquaintance, who is now a colleague, and my interest was piqued. I sent them a speculative application and that’s how I got into the project development and management team.
I quickly began to connect with people outside my area of work. This helped me cement my own personal network, but still I felt like I wasn’t really in my element. This sense of stagnation presented me with an important decision: did I want to stay or move on? I decided to stay because I saw many fascinating issues and ways to put my strengths to good use. The question remained though: how do I do this? So, I went about looking for informal mentors. Inch by inch, this helped me bring out my strengths and invest them in projects, which helped me feel more and more involved. This didn’t happen suddenly though; it was a gradual process.
What were the challenges in this shift?
Staying true to myself. In project management, I was expected to present a predefined skillset – something I didn’t conform to at all. On the one hand, I brought skills that came as a bit of a surprise. I’m good at juggling uncertainties and place great value on sharing and connecting. On the other hand, I confused people because there were some skills, I didn’t value highly at all and these were precisely the skills I was being measured against. ‘Be patient, it will happen,’ I heard time and again. However hard I tried to reconcile myself with things like tiny details and standardised processes, it just wouldn’t go in. I was a penguin trying to learn how to fly.
What does it mean for you to be able to utilise and really inhabit your strengths now?
I underestimated how crucial this was. I feel great because I can utilise my strengths where they're recognised. There’s an interplay of self-confidence and authenticity that allows me to take on responsibility. To do this, I need to stay open minded. As long as my position isn’t set in stone, I will continue to grow. Ultimately, this means that I always reflect on what I do and question what no longer fits. I now know, for example, that I am not a perfectionist. Personally, it suits me much better just to keep the essential points in view. And that’s absolutely fine because we always work as a team in our projects, and we need people with different perspectives. That’s something I first had to learn, and it required me to have the courage to be myself.
How do you manage the balance between your learning, your authenticity and any uncertainty?
My not so well-kept secret is networking. I usually work in tandem with others. I search out new mentors depending on what I need to learn. The aim with this is not to copy whoever is coaching me, but to use the dialogue with them to get closer to who I am.
This exchange also takes place between ongoing projects. What I learn doing A, I can then apply immediately to project B. When I’m able to create these kinds of connections between projects, skills and people, that’s a big win for me. If I only ever worked on one project at once, I’d never be able to link things up in this way.
What impact do you think your story has on TBF?
I’d like to be able to inspire others. Enjoying your work breeds a whole new mindset. The ability to be present and effective in a way that resonates with your own qualities is fundamental to success – both personally and professionally.
I’m able to see the growing commitment to prioritise people and their joint learning at TBF, and I love that. I share this visionary principle. It’s an incredibly valuable thing to be surrounded by other dedicated team players and be able to invest this enthusiasm into new projects. Ultimately, it’s about helping each other grow and encouraging independence – and clearing any dependencies or obstacles out of the way while you’re doing it. When this process starts rolling and it’s just great fun collaborating with clients, that’s when I’m in my element.
