Swisscom : Putting people before paper

Starting from August, those who apply for an apprenticeship at Swisscom won't need to submit a school report or certificate. Swisscom is looking to put people and their skills at the heart of its new application process. Marc Marthaler, Head of Next Generation can explain why and how the process works.

Swisscom is completely changing the application process for apprentices. Instead of submitting a detailed dossier, applicants are now invited to a so-called NEX-Day. Why?

We have had 8,000 applications for 250 apprenticeships in recent years. So on the one hand we have disappointed a lot of applicants with a rejection and on the other hand we were always faced with the question: Who of these 8,000 people fits best into our innovative training model, which is based on an internal project marketplace and thus requires a great deal of self-direction? Those with the best grades? Those with the best dossier? And this is where the problems of comparison begin: depending on the canton, the municipality, the school and the teacher, the starting point for a grade is completely different. It's the same with the dossier: one pupil may have talented parents who help her prepare the dossier - the other pupil is completely on her own. We don't want talents slipping through our fingers, and that is why we have rebuilt the entire selection process from scratch. The aim is to put people at the centre and not to analyse dossiers.

How exactly does it work?

At the beginning, we are only testing the new system in German-speaking Switzerland. During the application process, applicants answer several questions in a video tool. The answers are then assessed independently by at least two people according to defined criteria. On this basis, suitable applicants are invited to the NEX Day or to a Junior Experience Day in the Swisscom Shop for those interested in an apprenticeship in retail. On NEX-Day, they work on various tasks with several recruiters. There is an individual interview, a team task or a specific task related to the chosen apprenticeship. Instead of a theoretical dossier, we get to know the young people in different, everyday contexts.

And academic performance no longer counts at all?

Correct, students are recruited with us as of now without us knowing their grades. Experience has taught us that grades can give a distorted picture.

Latest news about Swisscom