"Work is to be carried out with due care and accuracy"

One thing has always been clear to corporate management: to safeguard its reputation and promote a good working atmosphere it is crucial that a company commit itself to special values that staff and clients can identify with. Below you will find out how Swiss Re’s basic values have progressed over the last 140 years.

Back in 1879 staff were required to comply with the following stringent office regulations:

"Staff shall adhere strictly to office hours of 8 am-12 pm and 2-6 pm, as they shall need to use this time to the full if they are to keep their work up to date in the necessary fashion. (…)
Each individual shall carry out his/her assigned duties with due care and accuracy and may not fall behind in his/her work. (…)
It is in the employee's own interests to observe the highest standards of cleanliness in offices, secondary rooms, desks etc."

In the 1950s the focus shifted to having a positive outlook towards the job, colleagues and the company as well as to the drive to deliver work of the very highest quality. The book that each new member of staff received on their first day contained information – albeit in flowery language – about what was expected of a future member of the Swiss Re workforce:

"Whether you are satisfied or not (…) very much depends on your attitude to your work, your colleagues and the company (…). [It] has nothing to do with your salary and your career progression (...). Your dedication to your work and your determination to do your very utmost for the company are what counts."

So, what are Swiss Re's most important core values today? Our Corporate Philosophy comprises the four central tenets of excellence, efficiency, integrity and sustainability. These four core values are designed to assist us in carrying out our work and are a component of our multi-layered Corporate Philosophy.

Despite the lack of regular past sources of reference, if we compare our core values today with those of the past, one thing is clear: our company values have remained virtually unchanged – they have just been expressed in different ways over the years. Throughout our company's history, a lot of importance has been attached to expressions that denote the quality of work,such as ‘care’, 'accuracy’, ‘determination to do one's utmost for the company’, ‘excellence’. Economic feasibility (‘may not fall behind (..) in his/her work’, ‘dedication’, ‘efficiency’) has always been a central element,in the same way as has been the requirement that staff conduct themselves in the appropriate manner (‘attitude towards work’, ‘due care’, ‘integrity’).

If there is one term that has become firmly anchored in Swiss Re's core values since the revision of our Corporate Philosophy in 2004, it must be ‘sustainability’. In the wake of accelerating working processes, it has become imperative for the company to guarantee the sustainability of its processes, products and structures (both in the environmental field and from the point of view of work organisation). However, a careful look at Swiss Re's basic values over the years shows that sustainability has been an underlying theme throughout the company's 140-year history.

Picture source: drawings by Hans Tomamichel from: 'Swiss Reinsurance Company Zurich' (1954), which used to be handed out by senior management to new entrants on their first working day at Swiss Re. ( © L. Tomamichel, Richterswil)

Learn more about today's corporate values of Swiss Re!

This article originates from Swiss Re Company Archives, Zurich
Find out more about Swiss Re's history!