Mr. Leuenberger, you are Managing Director of Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (BCN). How important is skills development at your company?

Updating knowledge has always been a challenge for organizations. What's changing is the speed with which customer needs and expectations are changing, technologies are evolving and, as a corollary, legal and regulatory environments are developing. One of our clear priorities is to offer our customers support that meets their expectations, and to provide our staff with the means to ensure their employability over the long term, whatever their job or function. You raise the issue of the importance of skills development, which is a strategic one. Employees must feel the need and desire to do so, and employers must provide a framework that enables and encourages it. That's how we'll be able to offer our customers relevant services, delivered by competent people, over the long term.

Can you tell us about your company's management philosophy?

Our organization is of intermediate size, which I find very interesting. This has led us to set up a management system based on clear principles and foundations, while maintaining close proximity between the hierarchical layers. In fact, we have recently reduced the number of hierarchies, and we are actively working with our teams to develop the idea that everyone can take on a little more autonomy in their tasks, provided we give them the space to do so. This may seem counter-intuitive in an environment marked by a strong culture of control, but on reflection it's not at all incompatible. This initiative is also to be understood as a response to the problem of employability for each and every one of us. More autonomy, more reflection, more questioning, more initiative and, ultimately, more satisfaction.

What do you expect from your managers in terms of management, and how do you support them in their training?

I expect them to be courageous, to pay particular attention to communication and to be very tactful. Taking on the responsibility of leading a group, whatever it may be, implies a major personal investment. It can be learned, but it's difficult to build it up if you don't have a solid predisposition to begin with. As far as training is concerned, which I'd call the "continuous improvement cycle", it starts with the example and tone set by top management. How can we make the most of everyone's potential? This is a question that needs to be kept firmly in mind. It's a question of awakening pre-existing aptitudes, encouraging and instilling confidence in managerial abilities. Depending on motivation levels and needs, training can include individual coaching.

What do you see as the main challenges facing the French-speaking financial center in terms of skills development?

We have a responsibility to develop the skills of our staff and to offer people with both the potential and the desire, the professional opportunities that will keep them in our business. This will require ever greater involvement in development plans within organizations. At the same time, we have to fight to maintain certain specific skills. As a mid-sized bank that does not operate in a major financial center, we sometimes find it difficult to recruit in highly specialized fields.

When it comes to developing technical skills, the credit business is at the heart of a cantonal bank's activities. The next session of the ISFB Credits certificate will start very soon (March 2025). What major challenges do you see in the credit business, and how can this program offer concrete solutions?

As far as my company is concerned, financing is our core business. Although we are committed to training the next generation in this field, we are currently finding it difficult to cover our needs, which are so great. Being able to rely on structured, well-calibrated training developed externally both relieves our internal training efforts and opens us up to other practices that can be very enriching. I would add that in this field, which has long been marked by great stability, we are experiencing significant and rapid change. The ISFB Credits Certificate therefore meets an obvious need.

Pierre-Alain Leuenberger

Chief Executive Officer, Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise

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