{"id":26165,"date":"2026-02-26T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/?p=26165"},"modified":"2026-02-19T15:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T14:46:20","slug":"experience-remains-crucial-with-axahorizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/experience-remains-crucial-with-axahorizon\/","title":{"rendered":"Experience remains crucial. How AXA is tackling the skills shortage with &#8220;Horizon&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ccfic\"><span class=\"ccfic-text\">Experience remains crucial. Sibille Bl\u00e4ttler, Head of AXA Horizon, knows how AXA is tackling the shortage of skilled workers with \"Horizon\". <\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>With thousands of insurance professionals set to retire in the coming years, valuable know-how is at risk of being lost. With &#8220;AXA Horizon&#8221;, AXA is relying on a new model: retired specialists continue to work on a project-related basis and pass on valuable knowledge to the next generation. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The insurance industry thrives on experience: complex claims, pension planning, corporate risks and regulatory requirements can hardly be mastered with textbook knowledge alone. At the same time, the market is facing a demographic turning point: a large part of the baby boomer generation is retiring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axa.ch\/de\/ueber-axa\/medien\/medienmitteilungen\/aktuelle-medienmitteilungen\/2026\/20260210-axa-horizon.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;AXA Horizon&#8221;<\/a>, AXA has developed a working model that combines retirement and continued employment. Retired employees can remain active on a project-by-project basis, particularly where specialist knowledge and understanding of the company are difficult to replace in the short term. While the marketplace is aimed at retired employees, other parts of the program focus on employees aged 55 and over. AXA wants to network them better with each other, reach them specifically with further training opportunities and, if possible, keep them in the company for longer.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thebrokernews talks to Sibille Bl\u00e4ttler, Head of &#8220;AXA Horizon&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The insurance industry will lose a particularly large number of experienced employees over the next few years. What does this mean for AXA Switzerland? <\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the retirement of the strong boomer generation, AXA is not only losing specialist know-how, but also a great deal of experience and understanding of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With &#8220;AXA Horizon&#8221;, we have therefore proactively developed a program with which we want to enhance the last career phase, value older employees and their experience and keep them in the employment process for as long as possible with flexible offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">In which areas of the company does the loss of knowledge hurt the most?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Employees from the boomer generation work in all areas of the company. Naturally, the distribution is not entirely balanced, with individual teams and areas of responsibility having a higher or lower average age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Particularly in teams where several retirements are due in the near future, it is important to us that the various options are discussed proactively and that our employees can consciously choose the model that suits them best. In addition to offers such as Senior Flex &#8211; where employees can reduce their workload by up to 20 percent before retirement while their insured salary in the pension fund remains unchanged &#8211; we also offer options such as deferred retirement or the option of working via AXA Horizon. In contrast to deferred retirement, AXA Horizon encourages employees not to continue working in their traditional team, but to contribute their expertise in other areas if required.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the advantage of AXA Horizon for the employees themselves?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the fact that we provide them with targeted support in planning their career as part of the program, they can benefit from specific training opportunities and network more closely with each other via a community. Working after retirement&#8221; is another offer that they can accept or decline. AXA Horizon is designed to give them the flexibility to decide even more easily and flexibly about their own exit from working life. One of our key findings is that many people can imagine working on a reduced and flexible basis even beyond the AHV reference age. This is where we want to start.      <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conversations with AXA Horizon employees clearly show me that, in addition to social interaction, professional work also brings structure and meaning to everyday life. Someone once said to me: &#8220;You know, seven-day weekends lose their appeal in the long run. I really like coming into the office two days a week.&#8221; This statement has stayed with me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can a program like AXA Horizon measurably mitigate the skills shortage or is it more of a cultural initiative?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We see this as a combination of both. On the one hand, it triggers discussions at an early stage that lead to employees tackling their final career phase more consciously and engaging with the existing and new offerings. After the first year, we are seeing signs that existing offers are better known and are therefore being used more. On the other hand, we have brokered several mandates. This means that AXA Horizon employees are already helping out in various places.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which tasks are particularly suitable for retired specialists: complex cases, second opinions or coaching younger consultants?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In principle, the mandates placed must match the skills of the individual and the existing needs of the client. For example, there is no guarantee of employment on the AXA Horizon marketplace. We also generally arrange temporary assignments, usually on a part-time basis.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I recognize three patterns in the mandates I have brokered so far:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Employees with rare skills, specific expertise or a great deal of organizational knowledge who continue to work or come back in a targeted manner. They contribute skills that we cannot easily find on the labor market and pass on knowledge to the next generation. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Employees who provide support during short-term workload peaks or seasonal fluctuations. These employees have years of experience in these areas and are familiar with the organization. They can therefore be trained very quickly.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Employees who support teams with special topics or projects that they could not manage themselves for resource reasons. Many of these topics require a great deal of organizational understanding and a good network, which long-standing employees very often bring with them. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you prevent critical expertise from disappearing with individuals?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Medium and long-term skills management is fundamentally a management task, for which our HR naturally also provides managers with structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a company, we attach great importance to sharing knowledge and learning from each other on an ongoing basis. AXA Horizon is now certainly leading to further awareness of medium and long-term skills management and we also support teams and departments with specific workshops if required. However, the transfer of know-how from individuals remains the task of the teams.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will a flexible transition to retirement change the attractiveness of the insurance industry as an employer?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Basically, we offer our employees more flexibility with AXA Horizon. This can be a factor that increases our attractiveness. Also for young applicants who want to learn from experienced professionals or appreciate the fact that we promote a corporate culture that values employees of all ages and right through to the end of their career.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you notice that younger employees gain confidence when experienced colleagues are still available?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no general answer to this question and it also depends on the role played by experienced colleagues. However, initial mandates certainly show that younger employees work in tandem with AXA Horizon employees. Specifically, I have an example in mind where a very experienced AXA Horizon employee is working together with a younger employee on the technical replacement of a tool. The younger employee takes the lead in this project and benefits from the experience and understanding of processes and planning of the experienced colleague.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could this develop into an industry-wide model &#8211; similar to a &#8220;silver talent pool&#8221;?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the moment, we are strongly focused on internal implementation. During development, it was important to us that AXA Horizon suits us, our culture and our starting position. In this respect, the current program is also an AXA-specific solution. However, in discussions with other companies, we can see that there is definitely external interest in the approach.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do managers react: do they see additional complexity or real relief?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The feedback is very positive. Managers appreciate the simple process. In principle, they could have employed employees beyond retirement beforehand &#8211; which has happened in individual cases. As part of the program, we give the topic more visibility and relieve the burden on managers by relieving them of the administrative tasks for continued employment via AXA Horizon as a central office.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What regulatory or organizational challenges did you have to solve (e.g. responsibilities, liability, competencies)?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We use existing standard contracts for the employment of AXA Horizon employees. In addition, the existing regulations and regular HR processes also apply to AXA Horizon employees. This simplifies our work considerably.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do broker organizations or other companies need to consider if they want to set up a similar model?<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What worked for us was that we developed a program that suited our starting position and our culture, and that we were able to test the program in practice relatively quickly. We have consciously communicated to our employees that we want to learn together with them what is particularly suitable for us as an organization and the target group. The program should and may therefore continue to develop over the years.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The questions were asked by Binci Heeb.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-accent-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sibille Bl\u00e4ttler <\/strong>(49) has been Head of the &#8220;AXA Horizon&#8221; program at AXA Switzerland since January 2025. She previously worked as an Internal Strategic Consultant and played a key role in the strategic and conceptual development of the program. With her focus on people-oriented working environments and her specialist knowledge of New Work &amp; Collaboration, she brings valuable expertise to the program. Thanks to her previous activities at AXA, she knows the company and the insurance industry inside out.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokernews.ch\/en\/older-more-expensive-indispensable\/\">Older, more expensive, indispensable?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With thousands of insurance professionals set to retire in the coming years, valuable know-how is at risk of being lost. With &#8220;AXA Horizon&#8221;, AXA is relying on a new model: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5100,5134,5138],"tags":[10187,10182,10183,7343,10189,10181,10184,8246,6511,10186,10185,10188,6861],"class_list":["post-26165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current","category-general","category-interviews-en","tag-attractiveness","tag-axa-horizon","tag-boomer-generation","tag-communication","tag-competencies","tag-cushioning","tag-desire-for-knowledge","tag-experience-en","tag-flexibility-en","tag-know-how","tag-retired-specialists","tag-silver-talent-pool","tag-skills-shortage"],"acf":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Experience remains crucial. Sibille Bl\u00e4ttler, Head of AXA Horizon, knows how AXA is tackling the shortage of skilled workers with \"Horizon\". 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