Daniela and Emanuel Steiner

After studying at the University of St. Gallen, Daniela Steiner worked for Partners Group in New York and San Francisco, where she was responsible for Venture & Growth within the Investment Team. Inspired by the start-up scene, she returned to Zurich in 2013 and founded HEYLIFE, a drinks company that she later sold. It was around then that she met Emanuel Steiner. Following studies at Columbia and Harvard, he worked for BCG in Zurich before creating FELFEL. Today, Emanuel Steiner leads the company as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, focusing on strategy, product innovation and customers. His wife Daniela Steiner is on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, where she is responsible for product development and corporate culture. The family-run business with locations in Lausanne and Zurich – and partners throughout Switzerland – is shaped by the trust, motivation and passion of every individual at FELFEL. FELFEL uses an intelligent fridge to provide companies throughout Switzerland with food that is healthy, affordable and easy to access.

As we emerge from the acute phase of the COVID-19 crisis, our journey towards a new normal begins. EY asked various thought leaders and decision makers to take stock and share their insights into what’s next. Daniela and Emanuel Steiner, founders of FELFEL, discuss the potential of strong customer relationships, the vital role of internal communications and why companies should reflect more on their corporate culture in future.

At the beginning of this year, did you have an inkling of what awaited you in the spring?

Daniela: Definitely not. I don’t think anyone could have anticipated something like this happening. Even though there were stories coming from Asia, the economic and health impact was still unfathomable back in January.

Emanuel: Funnily enough, it was through our customers that we realized something was brewing. Medtech companies and hospitals were calling us up and ordering fridges and they wanted them immediately. Usually the process takes a month or so. So we noticed that certain markets were preparing.

How did the lockdown affect you?

Daniela: I was heavily pregnant. We welcomed twins two weeks ago. So for us privately, the lockdown wasn’t so bad. There were lots of events that got canceled. On the one hand, that was a shame, but on the other we were able to recharge our batteries, spend more time together as a family and gain lots of time to focus. The FELFEL team has now grown to 100, so it’s usually so busy that we can only look at the company’s strategy and focus at night. During lockdown, we were also able to invest in focus time, which was something very positive for us.

What opportunities and risks have emerged for you?

Daniela: Food is an absolutely vital part of people’s daily working lives. Everyone has to eat. The fear of eating out at a restaurant or in the canteen has meant new opportunities for us. On the other hand, though, more people are working from home, and some of our clients operate in industries that have been hard hit. So we recognize risks as well but we can’t yet predict what the economic impact of those will be.

Emanuel: We made a lot of progress in our relationships with corporate customers. Many suddenly had time to engage with us. So we had discussions about employee satisfaction and what can be done to help motivate people in such a difficult situation. The things we learned about our customers and how we can collaborate with them will have a long-term effect.

What has changed most over the last three to four months?

Emanuel: Before coronavirus, hardly anyone ever said thank you for the – at times tough – task of leading people. The crisis has given leaders a platform on which to prove themselves to their teams. This period has demanded some specific leadership qualities. Team members appreciated or came to appreciate bosses that took the initiative and cared about their wellbeing. I think this is something that will remain.

What challenges did you face?

Emanuel: We learned how important it is to invest time in communication. We never understood before why you need someone for internal communications. Now we get it. It takes a lot of time and effort, it’s extremely important and it’s hard – especially if you can’t stand up and talk directly to your people but have to communicate through a screen on Google Hangouts or Zoom. We made a bit of a faux pas when communicating our remote working policy, for example. We focused too strongly on the people who could work from home and forgot that a sixth of our employees have to come into work because they’re in the warehouse, installing fridges or creating products. So it’s really vital to be inclusive in all communications. To ensure you don’t leave anyone out and do keep everyone in the loop.

What other lessons learned in this crisis will you be taking with you into the future?

Daniela: The first reaction is usually to be on the defensive, to hide away; whatever you do, don’t say anything, just wait until customers approach you. We consciously did the opposite of that quite soon. I think this was one of the biggest lessons learned during this phase – that’s it’s worth proactively approaching people, developing relationships, creating transparency and seeing what you can do to help.

With hindsight, is there anything that you would have done better or differently?

Emanuel: Never stop hiring. When everything was looking so uncertain back in February and March, we decided to freeze plans to hire 40 or 50 new people. We’re now having to make up for every week we waited. This is time that’s difficult to claw back. Over the next year, we’ll be looking for 70 new people. If you’re in a high-growth business, you should never stop hiring.

Will the way you work change forever?

Emanuel: Employees, especially of big organizations, have now demonstrated to their employers that they can work very well from home. These companies will be much more comfortable with remote working in the future. I predict that they’ll get rid of large offices. But they will still need a base where people can get together; it’s very difficult to cultivate corporate culture via Zoom. To get people back into the office, you need to offer an attractive space. In Switzerland, the hurdle for returning to the office is relatively high as so many people commute. So I think that many organizations will reduce their office space but will invest more instead in the space they do have and the quality of that space. That starts with nice furniture and ends with food – with FELFEL.

Daniela: The culture issue is something that’s still not entirely been resolved, it’s a topic many companies need to think about. In Switzerland we have a large service industry and I think clients ultimately often choose their provider because they have a cool culture and great people. This will be the big challenge and many will have to think about how they want to do things in the future, how they’re going to cultivate culture.