At the taxpayer's expense Confederation spends over 1 million francs on coaching
Two federal offices have decided to invest over one million francs in external coaching for their employees and managers. But why?
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- The Federal Office of Information Technology and Telecommunications (FOITT) and the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) have commissioned external coaching for employees and managers.
- The aim is to promote personal development, cooperation and conflict resolution.
- This will cost around 1.2 million francs.
1,189,100 francs. For this contribution, the Federal Office of Information Technology and Telecommunications (FOITT) and the Federal Office for Customs and Border Protection (FOCP) have concluded a mandate for external personnel consulting. This was reported by "Blick".
These include individual and group coaching sessions for employees and managers. They are intended to help promote personal development, deal with difficult situations, work better together and resolve conflicts within the team.
Both federal offices explain that they work in an environment that is constantly changing. According to the BAZG, they want to provide optimal and sustainable support for these processes.
Controversies surrounding the Customs Act
The BAZG has been in the media more frequently in the past. The reason for this was a customs law that is intended to greatly expand the authority's powers. There were discussions about whether customs officers should be allowed to carry weapons and how sensitive data should be handled. The then head of customs, Christian Bock, resigned in May 2023, and Pascal Lüthi took over his position at the beginning of 2024.
The BAZG explains that the consultation could also cover topics such as consolidation and digitalization. It also states that the invitation to tender has nothing to do with the new director taking office. He has had a positive influence on the mood. Over the past four years, employees have already been able to take advantage of external coaching if required. As the previous contract is due to expire soon, a new call for tenders has been launched.
Technological change
At the FOITT, the reasons are less specific. It refers to the rapid technological change in IT, which is significantly changing tasks and working methods. Coaching is seen as a complementary measure to personnel development. According to an internal survey, the mood among employees is good.
The FOITT explains that it also makes selective use of internal consultations. However, specific coaching services are required for the IT area, which are covered by the tender.
Beweggrund GmbH, which has already advised other federal offices, was awarded the contract for the coaching services. The contract has a cost ceiling of CHF 1,189,100, whereby the FOCA can spend a maximum of CHF 200,000 and the FOITT a maximum of CHF 900,000. The actual costs are invoiced according to utilization.
The Federal Administration is known to regularly make use of expensive consulting and external services. In 2024, the expenditure for this amounted to a total of CHF 673 million. Parliamentarians have long been calling for this expenditure to be reduced.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.
