Recruitment of personnel at the Industrial Services of Geneva (SIG) is subject to precise rules which aim to avoid favoritism and conflicts of interest, indicates in its conclusions an external audit published on Monday. However, some points can be improved.
An investigation into the recruitment processes at SIG was opened after a controversy broke out last spring, involving Christian Brunier, the company’s general director at the time. Media reports revealed that several members of his family had been hired and worked at SIG.
>> Read about it: Serious suspicions of nepotism hit Geneva Industrial Services
The question then arose as to whether these people had benefited from privileges during their recruitment. “In the case of people close to the former general director, the audit concludes that at no time was there any pressure or influence from the latter,” the SIG said in a statement. published Monday.
Links must now be announced
The company adds that the investigation, which it itself commissioned, notes that these situations were managed in a professional and transparent manner, like any other recruitment. “We can eliminate any risk of nepotism,” said the president of SIG and former Geneva State Councilor Robert Cramer.
However, the audit suggests areas for improvement. In particular, he recommends systematizing questions about conflicts of interest during engagements. From now on, new candidates will have to announce whether they have family ties or friendly ties with a SIG employee.
>> Listen to the analysis from 12:45 p.m.:
Pricing complies with federal standards
SIG also revealed the findings of two other audits, one relating to the calculation of electricity and gas prices charged by the company. He notes that these rates comply with federal standards. However, some elements can be improved, which GIS promises to take into account in the future.
The other audit was related to an investigation opened by the Court of Auditors. The latter recently published a report on the losses of the SIG electricity network. According to its findings, the company’s customers paid a little too much for their electricity because of these losses. To correct the overbilling, SIG began to reimburse 27 million francs to their customers since last July.
>> More details in our article: The Court of Auditors notes overbilling by the Industrial Services of Geneva
Poor communication and non-deception
During its investigation on this subject, the Court of Auditors denounced a tense climate. According to the audit, however, SIG employees demonstrated good will in their collaboration with the Court of Auditors and did not intend to mislead or conceal information.
This tension is rather due to communication problems in the company, he believes. The report recommends clarifying the roles of different services and procedures in order to improve internal transparency.
Vincent Cherpillod with ats/cf
