Denis has been joining our ValueQuest team as a project manager and consultant since December 2024. Before joining us, he completed an apprenticeship as a banker at Sparkasse, studied business psychology in Heidelberg, and worked in human resources for around 10 years.

He primarily worked as an HR Business Partner and in human resources and organizational development. His professional career took him from the financial sector to consulting, the watchmaking industry, manufacturing, and the IT sector. He studied business administration at Lund University in Sweden for his master's degree, specializing in change management and leadership. Thanks to his expertise in finance and banking, he is our specialist for employee surveys in the banking sector.

What exactly do you do at ValueQuest?

From day one at ValueQuest, I was able to assume responsibility for employee surveys and 360-degree feedback. In addition to project management for large international corporations, I also advise Swiss SMEs on a daily basis, including in the financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors. As a project manager, I support the responsible project teams in all relevant aspects related to target groups, structure, timing, survey content, communication, and the follow-up process. My conclusion after six months: Those who define a sensible evaluation structure and good questions in advance will have a much easier time working with the results.

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At ValueQuest, I have the opportunity to take on responsibility and help shape things every day – that motivates me immensely.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

There's really no such thing as a typical workday for me. Since I manage a variety of projects simultaneously, no two weeks are the same, and the tasks are very varied. A large portion of my time is dedicated to our clients: Together, we define the framework for surveys and analyze the results of employee feedback. Personal interaction is important to me, so I enjoy visiting my clients on-site.

Every client project presents its own challenges: For industrial and manufacturing companies, I sometimes take innovative approaches to reach employees without email addresses (e.g., assembly line workers). For companies with production facilities abroad, I sometimes create questionnaires and results reports in Hungarian or Chinese.

What do you find most exciting about conducting employee surveys?
I find the diverse insights into different organizations, corporate cultures, and workplaces particularly exciting. This constantly gives me new perspectives that I can incorporate into my projects.

I repeatedly find that managers deal with critical feedback from their teams in very different ways: Managers who respond gratefully to feedback and approach the results with a willingness to learn send a strong signal to their team. This is significantly more effective than looking for someone to blame.

With the right mindset, well-designed employee feedback can trigger beneficial changes within the company. This gives me the opportunity to positively influence the motivation, job satisfaction, and productivity of our clients' employees through my work. This inspires me every day.

In your opinion, what is needed for employee surveys to really make a difference and for the results not to simply disappear into a drawer?
For a survey to bring about real change, it requires a clear commitment from leaders at all levels of the organization. The impact will fizzle out if managers don't take the results seriously, downplay them, simply justify them, or if management simply uses the survey as a marketing tool for a supposed feedback culture.

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I repeatedly find that managers deal with critical feedback from their teams in very different ways: Managers who respond gratefully to feedback and approach the results with a willingness to learn send a strong signal to their team. This is significantly more effective than looking for someone to blame.

The key is the willingness to critically examine the results and derive concrete measures from them. The real work only begins after the survey. We recommend that our clients involve employees and managers equally in the follow-up process and plan the necessary resources early on. At ValueQuest, we are happy to support them with consulting, train-the-trainer offerings, and workshop facilitation, even in the follow-up process. Especially in cases of unexpected results, it can be helpful to have an external facilitator accompany teams through their work on the results.

Where can we find you in your free time? What do you like to do to maintain your work-life balance?

When the weather's good, I'm always drawn to nature, preferably to Lake Lucerne. Hiking in the mountains, stand-up paddling on the lake, slacklining on the shore, or dining on a beautiful lakeside terrace provide me with a good work-life balance and personal satisfaction. When the weather's bad, I get creative in the kitchen and hone my culinary skills at home, inspired by fusion cuisine. Otherwise, I spend as much time as possible with family and friends and enjoy organizing activities and excursions. On vacation, I'm particularly drawn to discovering faraway countries in Latin America or Asia.