Good - But good enough?

As Chief Operating Officer of leading bank UBS, Sabine Keller-Busse must ensure that the entire organisation functions through good times and bad: “How do I make sure the bank remains operational without interruption? How do I maintain a high level of customer service and ensure the safety of employees spread all over the world? And do all that in a company that is regarded as systemically relevant and therefore needs to stay operational?” UBS told over 80% of its employees to work from home at a very early stage. According to Keller-Busse, its annual investment of over CHF 3.5 billion in IT systems has paid off in this respect. In addition, in recent years the company has vigorously brought roles back in- house, allowing it to rely on its own service centres and making it less dependent on external service providers. Corporate clients have been provided with ample liquidity within the framework of the federal government’s loans programme – quickly, thanks in part to the support of bots. Here, too, early digitisation has borne fruit. UBS processed 24,000 loan applications within a very short time. “At UBS, the established crisis management processes that we engage in annually have ultimately paid off when it comes to managing a major crisis.”

In statistical terms, the survey found that one third of participants have communication at the top of their list of priorities; one in ten rely on flexible- working employees; one in twenty rely on stable infrastructure. One in eight simply underline the importance of staying calm. Right at the top of the list, however, comes a rather obvious consideration that becomes vital in a crisis: having enough liquidity.

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Leadership: awaken the strengths in your team