Training and professional education

For the LLB Group, training and professional education is an important instrument for raising its competitiveness. In 2016, we invested CHF 1.6 million (2015: CHF 1.2 million) in the targeted development of managers, talent and competences. Effectiveness monitoring conducted by the organisational unit Group Human Resources showed that further progress had been made in 2016.

The culture of “challenging and promoting” has proved successful. In 2016, 48 percent of the 23 newly vacant leadership positions could be filled internally by an existing employee. At the same time, new entrant managers and employees have a high level of qualifications: 74 percent either graduated from a university or a university of applied sciences or have higher professional training. The opportunities that we offer help us to recruit and retain committed employees and managers.

Management culture

Courses are held every two years to promote the further development of our management culture. In 2016, our 160 managers took part in the “Leading to success II” training course and dealt intensively with our vision, our guiding principles and the StepUp2020 strategy. They were essentially introduced to the concept of situational leadership. The model can be applied flexibly to different situations and different development levels of employees. Managers adapt their behaviour as the particular situation requires.

Client adviser certification

A strong client relationship remains the most important success factor in banking in the long-term. The LLB Group accordingly invests heavily in the know-how of its employees. By the end of 2020, all client advisers will have completed training programmes in accordance with the standards of the Swiss Association for Quality (SAQ). A pilot group started the certification training in March 2016 and finished it at the end of 2016, achieving a 100 percent pass rate.

With our new programme for SAQ client adviser certification, we are ensuring the outstanding advisory competence of the LLB Group for the long-term according to uniform quality criteria. Client adviser certification also complies with the regulatory requirements that arise from the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA).

Measuring the success of staff development

The LLB Group has installed two uniform appraisal processes – the “Performance Management Process” (PMP) and the “People Development Process” (PDP) – to support the systematic further development of its staff as skilled employees, managers and individuals.

  • The PMP is used to link Group objectives with individual staff objectives. The process has been institutionalised across the company and it works for employees and managers alike, irrespective of their function.
  • The main focus of the PDP is on the competences that LLB needs to achieve the objectives set in the StepUp2020 strategy (2016 to end-2020). In 2014, Group Human Resources, together with the operating units, created five “Potential Pools”, the goal of which is to systematically develop identified talent with good performance and excellent conduct. In 2016, 7 percent (64) of our employees were allocated to appropriate “Potential Pools” on the basis of a careful evaluation process.

Professional training

When it comes to the training of its junior employees, Liechtensteinische Landesbank lives up to its responsibility as one of the largest providers of training in Liechtenstein. In 2016, 38 apprentices (2015: 42) at the LLB Group benefited from high-quality dual professional training, which combines theory and practice. The classic basic training remains the main pillar of the development programme for our junior employees. We believe that the provision of a broad education is a key task, especially as through the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate (FVB) it allows young adults to keep their options open to go to a university of applied sciences or a traditional university.

Bachelor, work and study, and master programmes

Since 2014, the LLB Group has intensified its focus on university graduates. Each year there are three different programmes available for seven candidates: practical-based direct entry for graduates (2016: 3), a work and study programme for postgraduates in the final phase of their studies (2016: 2) and a trainee programme for postgraduates (2016: 4). Talented young people get to know our company in-depth from the inside as part of an eighteen-month on-the-job trainee programme covering three areas of work – in 2016, we took on three trainees with an above-average master’s degree.

Our trainees are in contact with top management, are involved in day-to-day business from their very first day of work and profit from the comprehensive spectrum of a universal bank. Trainees whose performance and commitment in all three areas of work are satisfactory are recommended for a permanent position. In order to enhance its profile as an attractive employer, the LLB Group strengthened its presence at the Universities of Liechtenstein and St. Gallen, FHS St. Gallen University of Applied Sciences and Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Winterthur (ZH).