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Negotiations are in everybody’s mind. Hardly a report in the news, a field report from the business world or a further training course fails to mention this topic. The relevance of negotiation skills in professional life across all industries and companies seems undisputed. Nevertheless, little is known about how executives actually negotiate in the Swiss business world.

BGPartner AG, in cooperation with the Negotiation Academy Potsdam (NAP), has conducted the first scientifically based practical study on the negotiation behavior of Swiss executives.

The results of the study “How do Swiss executives negotiate?” were presented to around 100 invited guests at the Kongresshaus Zurich on May 25, 2023. In the subsequent panel discussion, experts from business and science discussed the study results and their significance for practice. Click here for the aftermovie.

Three important key findings from the study are briefly summarized here once again:

1. Only 48% of all Swiss executives had the topic of negotiation as part of their training. Although the trend is rising, there is a considerable need to catch up: In Germany, for example, 70% of all executives already enjoy negotiation training.
2. 62% of all Swiss executives are not prepared by their companies for upcoming negotiation tasks. Here, too, there is a considerable need for action, especially since it has been proven that much better negotiation results can be achieved with appropriate training and continuing education.
3. Only 32% of all Swiss executives regularly negotiate in teams, although team negotiations have been proven to achieve better results. The potential here is also not fully exhausted.

The panel members were: Andrea Wucher (entrepreneur and independent board member), Marc Lüthi (Chairman and CEO of SCB Eishockey AG), Yusuf Savmaz (Member of Executive Committee, BNP Paribas Wealth Management Switzerland) and, on the part of the study authors, Prof. Dr. Uta Herbst (NAP, University of Potsdam), Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth (NAP, University of Hohenheim) as well as Elena Mégevand (lawyer, partner and CEO of BGPartner) and Oliver Gnehm (lawyer, partner and chairman of BGPartner).

Enjoy the aftermovie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOoDKnnYVlo

Author:
Oliver Gnehm
BGPartner Ltd
gnehm@bgpartner.ch
+41 31 312 20 20