Introducing Roman Scherer

On 2 June 2020, Roman Scherer took up his “office” as branch manager in Zurich. We asked him how the first 180 days had gone so far, what he appreciate particularly and where he sees the biggest challenges in the future:

You have been in “office” for around half a year now. What were the first 180 days like? What did you particularly appreciate?

As I have worked in the security sector before, the scope of duties at Certas means a return to my “old domain”. Thanks to this knowledge and my previous management experience, I have been able to gain an excellent impression of the company in a relatively short time. What I have found particularly positive are the professionalism, the open and courteous employees as well as their respectful interaction with one another. The employees put their hearts and souls into their work.

In the course of your introduction, you got to know the various departments. What was your most interesting experience during these encounters? Is there anything which was particularly special for you?

I enjoyed a very intensive introduction. Over a period of three months, I got to know all the areas at all the locations, including the employees. The most interesting experience was the personal exchange with the employees and their stories relating to Certas. Something special happened to me during a night shift at the alarm centre. When the burglar alarm went off, I was able to listen in on the customer talking on the phone to our dispatcher while he searched the building. And I kept asking myself: What happens if the customer suddenly faces a burglar? An extremely challenging time for the dispatcher!

Altogether, in all the teams I had countless eye-opening experiences resulting from the discussions with the employees.

Can you list 5 keywords which spontaneously come to mind when we talk about the challenges for Certas in 2020, apart from the Covid situation?

• Cross-organisational cooperation,
• process simplification and automation,
• complexity of the systems (such as CERTAS Portal and the new command and control system),
• expansion of existing and future products,
• maintaining customer relationships at this difficult time.

Covid, with all its uncertainties, will still be with us next year. Where do you see the greatest opportunities in the coming year? And where do you see the biggest challenges?

I see the greatest opportunity in continuing to focus on our customers, with the possibility of surprising our customers positively on a daily basis. I also see further opportunities in the automation of our processes, which will create leeway for the employees, so that they can operate with even greater customer proximity in future. I see the biggest challenge in the consolidation of the processes, the structure and our corporate culture. In addition, it’s important for me to establish stability and continuity at the Zurich location.

What do you appreciate most of all in your new job with us at Certas?

Most of all, I appreciate the close contact with our employees and the customers. A “why not?” and not a “yes but ...” mentality is very important to me. Together, we can develop new business models which will take us, and ultimately also the Securitas Group, forward.

The work–life balance, that is the balance between career and private life, is very important. How do you manage it?

The exchange with my family and my environment is very important to me, because it constantly provides new perspectives. In addition, I complement my intellectual work at the office with physical activities in my leisure time. Solutions often come to me when I least expect them. However, I don’t make a strict distinction between work and leisure time. I really enjoy my job and that’s why I integrate it in my life.

We celebrated our 25th anniversary in 2020. We have already achieved much that we can be proud of. Where do you see Certas in 25 years? And how do we ensure that we will still be the market leader in Switzerland in 25 years?

To start with: I don’t expect that we will all have been replaced by robots and artificial intelligence 25 years from now! But joking aside: I do think that automation will be further advanced. Humans will only intervene where human interaction is really necessary. The human being will therefore still play a central role for us.

Certas can look back on a remarkable success story. There is every indication that we can continue our success story. On the one hand, there is a large market potential, and on the other hand I sense a willingness for transformation in the company. The customer needs are gradually changing. We have recognised that we have to take action in order to satisfy these needs. This has happened again and again in the history of Certas, and the company has proved capable of successfully responding to new requirements. Thanks to our values – personable, reliable and visionary – we are creating the best conditions for maintaining our number one position in the future.