By Isabelle Amschwand swissVR
The publication of the swissVR Monitor I/2025 sheds light on the strategic role of boards of directors as a decade shaped by the rapid ageing of the population gets under way. Surveyed between November 2024 and January 2025, 360 board members from both listed companies and SMEs offer a clear diagnosis: the demographic issue is no longer a weak signal, but a key driver of performance and resilience for Swiss companies.
Four in ten board members already see the impact of ageing on their company, and a further 20% expect it within three years. Yet only 57% of boards put the issue on the agenda over the past year, and 45% admit they do not devote enough time to it. The gap between the perceived severity of the issue and the attention it receives reveals a classic governance tension: day-to-day operational urgency too often crowds out structural challenges, even though they are reshaping markets, customers and human capital.
The study shows that 88% of board members consider themselves sufficiently informed to assess the effects of demographic change, yet only 37% of boards have set measurable objectives on the issue. Organisational responses remain fragmented:
Asked about their own way of operating, board members expect demographic change to affect first and foremost work organisation within the company (69%), strategy (68%) and management culture (68%). The composition of the board itself ranks much lower (44%). For nomination, remuneration and risk committees, the challenge will be to turn these percentages into explicit roadmaps: succession scenarios, digital skills and senior customer insight, age-related ESG indicators, and so on.
Convinced that the regulatory lever remains decisive, 87% of board members call for a relaxation of weekly working-time legislation, 90% want tax incentives to encourage people to remain active after the age of 65, and 97% support tax advantages linked to old-age provision. “State measures can offset the effects of demographic change to some extent, but they cannot mitigate them on their own. In addition to positive incentives to work, it is imperative to preserve or strengthen our capacity for innovation,” notes Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin. Bettina Schaller, President of World Employment Corporation, stresses the dual need for flexibility and inclusion: “Making working models more flexible is essential, but it must be complemented by continuous training and the fight against age discrimination.” Finally, Nathalie Bourquenoud, board member of Vaudoise, warns: “Ignoring demographic change is like refusing to see the tide rising when you are on a boat.”
Beyond tactical adjustments, the priority for boards is to embed demographic dynamics into every strategic cycle: analysis of sector-specific impacts, demand scenarios, redeployment of skills and a redesign of investment policies. As the talent shortage is compounded by shifts in consumer pools, board members will have to strike a balance between productivity and personalisation, automation and human presence, the short term and sustainable value creation. Boards that manage to orchestrate this transition will place Swiss governance at the forefront of an economy whose primary engine of competitiveness remains, more than ever, anticipation.
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