Talent development. Fostering employees.

Client advisor programs

Enhanced advisory quality: certification of Relationship Managers

Our employee training and development programs enable us to further improve the quality of our service and advisory offering, and to continuously adapt our business to evolving market and client needs. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities to support our employees' individual development journeys, from their first day at Credit Suisse and throughout their career. Our state-of-the art learning interventions enable employees to increase their skills and knowledge about products, solutions and advisory offerings, as well as compliance and risk. Our Conduct and Ethics Standards are an integral part of our development programs.

Since 2017, client-facing employees have been required to complete the Swiss Association for Quality (SAQ) certification. This further increases cooperation between Swiss banks and institutions in the area of professional development. As of end-2019, around 2,100 client-facing Credit Suisse employees are SAQ-certified and around 600 candidates are currently working through the SAQ certification process.

Conduct and Ethics Standards

The way we interact with clients, external stakeholders and each other is of key importance for the delivery of our strategy. At the same time, shareholders, clients, employees, legislators and policymakers are focusing increasingly on the ethics, behavior and integrity of banks.

With the introduction of a set of six Conduct and Ethics Standards across the bank in 2017, we have sought to ensure a common understanding and consistent expectations in respect of our culture and conduct. The Conduct and Ethics Standards are underpinned by a governance framework consisting of a Group Conduct and Ethics Board (CEB) chaired by two of the Group's Executive Board members, as well as dedicated divisional CEBs and a joint CEB for our Corporate Functions. Our Conduct and Ethics Standards are sponsored by the Board of Directors and the Executive Board of Credit Suisse, underscoring their strategic importance to the bank.

The Conduct and Ethics Standards are a core part of everything we do – from recruitment to performance management and our disciplinary process. 2019 saw a rotation in the Executive Board leadership for Conduct and Ethics with the appointment of the Chief Compliance and Regulatory Affairs Officer and Global Head of Human Resources to build on the existing strong foundation and further enhance and cement our bank-wide approach to Conduct and Ethics.

The Conduct and Ethics agenda remains a key priority under their leadership, with high importance being assigned to the recognition of positive behaviors and preventative training, as well as to ensuring appropriate governance and sanctions for negative conduct. In addition, "Local Culture Carriers" have been appointed in key hub locations, allowing us to complement the rollout of divisional and function-led initiatives by tailoring them to local practices and cultures.

Client skills and compliance

Maintaining a robust compliance and control culture is another important way in which we gain the trust of clients, as well as investors and regulators. At Credit Suisse, we strive to conduct our activities according to the highest standards of due diligence and in strict compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in all our markets globally. We expect each employee to be personally accountable for ensuring the activities within their remit are compliant with our internal rules and policies and for reporting or escalating issues of concern.

Credit Suisse offers employees a wide range of training programs involving traditional classroom instruction, e-learning, video-based courses and online learning communities. Additionally, employees can complete short training programs on their mobile devices, enhancing the user experience. Each employee completed at least ten mandatory training modules in the course of the year, depending on his or her area of responsibility. In 2019, we launched over 70 new mandatory e-learning programs on regulatory topics such as financial crime, cyber security and information awareness, as well as compliance with our Conduct and Ethics Standards. Our client-facing employees complete courses on cross-border activities and on topics such as the transition away from the IBOR benchmark interest rates to Alternative Reference Rates. In addition, a new course on the identification and management of conflicts of interest was conducted to train all personnel on this topic, which is of critical importance for the bank.

Talent development key figures

In 2019, we offered our employees around the globe a wide range of specialist courses and trainings.

Leadership development

In 2019, we remained committed to investing in the global development of our leaders at all levels of the organization. We continued to run the Management Excellence Program (MEP) and we adjusted the Leadership Development curriculum to actively train and support the development of Credit Suisse leaders at various stages of their careers. All programs are based on the Conduct and Ethics Standards and our Credit Suisse-specific leadership model. In 2019, a total of 5,477 Credit Suisse managers participated in these programs. In the first quarter of 2019, we launched the New Managing Director Program, which is designed to introduce recently promoted Managing Directors to their new role. Furthermore, we enhanced the development program for the bank's senior leaders by rolling out our new Managing Director Masterclasses. These classes aim to strengthen the leadership capabilities and culture of our most senior leaders by providing an exclusive development platform with a first-class faculty.

We have continued to run the Senior Talent Program (STP), which is designed to further enhance the potential of our most talented senior leaders. The STP aims to develop the critical leadership capabilities required to operate at the most senior levels of the organization. To build a pipeline of future leaders, we also launched the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), which is targeted at the most senior and talented Directors at Credit Suisse. The ELP provides the next generation of Credit Suisse leaders with key management skills, opportunities for self-awareness, and cross-functional business assignments. The STP and ELP programs both provide opportunities for Credit Suisse managers to learn about the challenges of the future, deepen their understanding of all our businesses and gain continuous exposure to the bank's most senior leaders. Additionally, the programs foster personal development based on feedback from various sources, including assessments, executive mentoring and coaching.

A culture of performance and development

Our employees' performance objectives are aligned with the Group's strategy, which places clients at the center of all that we do. We measure our employees' performance based on their contribution to the achievement of our business goals and against our Conduct and Ethics Standards to ensure that the Group's expectations in respect of conduct and cultural behavior are reflected and embedded in our daily work. Our globally consistent performance management process enables line managers to assess the performance, behavior and development potential of employees throughout the year.

The setting of clear objectives at the beginning of the year, followed by mid-year and year-end reviews, allows line managers to perform a comprehensive individual performance evaluation in accordance with global process standards and guidelines. Line managers complete various training courses in which they learn how to support team members in achieving their professional objectives. Furthermore, the performance assessment process allows us to identify the potential of our employees in order to effectively manage our pool of talent and promote individual development.

We offer our employees market-driven and competitive rates of pay based on performance-related compensation structures. In doing so, we not only take account of employee interests but also consider our obligations towards our shareholders, as well as regulatory expectations. Our compensation plans are aligned with our strategic ambitions and developed in close consultation with shareholders and in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Investing in Young Talent

We provide a wide range of attractive opportunities for young professionals and graduates who are interested in pursuing a career at Credit Suisse. Junior hires receive specific training, mentoring and career advice, thus facilitating their transition to full-time employment. Within our campus programs, we are also committed to promoting diversity across multiple areas, from social mobility to gender. These initiatives span the globe. In the UK, for example, our award-winning Steps to Success program is now in its seventh intake, offering university scholarship funding for students from underprivileged and underrepresented backgrounds. In the US, a similar program fosters freshman students from underrepresented backgrounds by providing information about careers in banking.

In our Swiss home market, where Credit Suisse is one of the country's biggest employers, we offer opportunities to a large number of students and undergraduates who are interested in entering a career in banking. In 2019, Swiss business students named Credit Suisse as one of their top-three ideal employers. A total of 87% of all Career Start Program participants transferred to a junior position in 2019 after finishing their training and continued their career within the bank.

Credit Suisse collaborates with leading universities around the world to source graduate talent. For instance, we deliver university courses in India, including Financial Risk Analytics and Business Management classes at BITS Pilani, as well as Financial Technology classes at colleges in Pune. In Switzerland, we offer a course on private banking at the University of Zurich and partner with the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in holding a seminar where students analyze current business challenges. In addition, we give lectures on various investment and private banking topics at several universities globally, showing students the range of opportunities available to them as they plan their careers. By harnessing technology and social media, we strive to ensure the visibility of our programs through webinars, Facebook Live chats and virtual career fairs in order to attract the most promising students and future professionals. We ran our first competition for university students involving real-time trading simulations when recruiting junior talent for our Global Markets division in 2019, as well as a Global IT Coding Challenge in which universities across the globe competed against each other.

We also take steps to develop and support our youngest employees. In Switzerland, Credit Suisse contributes to the dual education system and offers commercial and IT vocational training as well as high school programs. In 2019, Credit Suisse launched its new Focus commercial apprenticeship program, which provides an educational basic training year. Additional initiatives allowed Young Talents to gain intercultural experiences by completing assignments or studying abroad in Wroclaw, Shanghai and London. We continue to invest in our apprentices after graduation: In 2019, 73% of the young people who successfully completed their training were offered a permanent position with the bank. Credit Suisse won the ICT Award in recognition of its efforts to attract young female applicants for its IT apprenticeships.