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Maximum Flexibility: How SV Group Aligned Staffing Costs with Revenue Volatility

SV Group operates nearly 300 sites across Switzerland – spanning staff and system catering, public restaurants in seasonal leisure destinations, and large-scale event and stadium catering.
Despite having a strong internal staffing pool, the business faced a classic challenge: how can you manage staffing efficiently in an environment shaped by highly volatile revenue and varying personnel needs?

SV Group has partnered with Coople since 2011. In 2021, this collaboration evolved into a strategic partnership with significant growth potential.

The challenge

In a volatile environment – driven by events, holidays, illness, and seasonality – even a large internal pool reaches its limits. SV Group faced three major challenges:

  • Fluctuating staffing needs: Additional events, holiday periods, sick leave and seasonal shifts created short-term demand spikes.
  • Regional staff shortages: Availability of qualified staff and temps varied significantly by location – especially in remote areas, planning was particularly complex.
  • High coordination effort: Managing internal and flexible workers across nearly 300 sites required a central, user-friendly system.

The solution

SV Group implemented a three-layer workforce model that optimally combines flexibility, cost-efficiency and planning reliability:

  1. Core staff as the foundation
    With approximately 2,800 permanent employees, SV Group ensures optimal use of fixed costs while maximising productivity. Resources are allocated efficiently, and employees' broad skillsets are put to best use.
  2. Internal pool for predictable peaks
    An internal pool of 900 trained staff is activated when demand can be forecasted. This ensures quality and planning security.
  3. Full coverage via the Coople Pool
    When needs arise at short notice, a pool of over 800,000 flexible Cooplers is available – with more than 7,000 saved as favourites for fast response and consistent quality. The more urgent the need, the broader the search. Coople acts as a digital marketplace that connects internal and external resources through one central platform.

The results: Implementing the three-layer workforce model delivered strong outcomes:

Improved cost-efficiency:
Staffing costs were sustainably reduced, significantly improving the business's economic efficiency.
Flexible wage costs:
Aligning wage spend with actual demand enabled more efficient budgeting and financial flexibility.
Centralised management:
All temporary staffing is coordinated through a single platform – ensuring transparency across the business.
Lean cost structure:
External resources are only used when necessary, thanks to a clear shift logic that retains internal control.
Consistent quality and continuity:
Training provided by SV Group, combined with targeted favourites management, enables staffing with trusted Cooplers or in-house flexible staff – reducing onboarding time and boosting efficiency.
Integrated platform:
A shared tool for internal and external staff ensures end-to-end processes without media gaps or double entry.
Empowered planning on site:
Sites now coordinate their own shifts flexibly, independently, and efficiently – with a high degree of autonomy.

Conclusion

SV Group’s so-called “onion model” is more than a flexible solution – it’s a scalable control system built for operational excellence.

By strategically combining core staff, an internal pool, and external favourites, SV Group achieves maximum agility, cost-efficiency and consistent quality – even under pressure.

“

Coople helps us align staffing costs with revenue volatility, cover peak demand efficiently, and make personnel bottlenecks easier to manage.

Florian Senn