1st International Consultants Conference to raise issue of companies finding it cheaper to hire full-time employees than using consultants
The event will call for establishing a consultancy association to raise standards of Arab consultancy industry
The 1st International Consultants Conference to he held on the 1st and 2nd of June 2009 in Grand Hyatt Dubai, will raise the issue of exorbitant fees charged by Gulf consultancies, sometime two and a half times higher than a full-time employee doing the same job.
The event, with a wide international and local participation, reveals that consultancies in the Gulf, including engineering, management, business, marketing and communications, are 85 percent controlled by multinational agencies that station their consultants to their clients’ offices, by charging a fee that is two times and a half higher than if a full-timer was appointed by the client, including his other allowances of travel and accommodation.
Dr. Huda Sulaiman Al Jasem, Director of 1st International Consultants Conference, said: “The robust economy in the Gulf has created unprecedented opportunities for businesses to grow. This boom has led to an unregulated field, with no standardized fees rates in place. There is an urgent need for setting up consultancy association to regulate the Arab consultancy industry, taking it to a new level of professionalism and coherence."
Al Jassem added: “Those who fear that the market for consultancy is dead should bear in mind that Gulf economies will rebound in two to three years. I do urge all businesses to put their house in order in the coming quiet period to prepare themselves for the better days. Moreover, consultants have a role to play today to giving necessary guidelines to organizations that are witnessing a slowdown.”
At the two-day conference, response to crisis will be raised by international and local experts. Al Jassem added: “Businesses will not be very profitable if they respond slowly to their problems and challenges. This lack of proactive responses to challenges and change affects business performance and bottom line. The ability to identify and respond quickly to challenges is what separates business winners from losers. This is where consultancy work fits in”.
“Businesses in the Gulf are working the same old way, but in the modern world of globalization and fast paced economy will fail to deliver profits and performance. Identifying and implementing solutions to new challenges and business issues are not always simple. ‘Additionally, ‘family’ based businesses face the specific challenge of breaking with tradition or going out on a limb for innovations, because of the mix of personalities and history within the company. All of these issues need well defined and groomed consultants,” added Al Jassem.
Al Jassem urged the development of new organization structures; more effective goal-setting and planning processes must be learned, and practiced teams of independent people must spent real time improving their methods of working, decision-making and communicating.
The conference will also discuss issues management deal with every day, and the speed at which change is occurring and how organizations can no longer sit back and wait for issues to be resolved. It will also tackle how consultants can bring proven processes and results focused methodology successfully utilized in other businesses and industries including objectivity, multi disciplinary experiences, analytical skills, and efficiencies.
Al Jassem added: “Working with both public and private organizations, consultants take into account the nature of the organization, the relationship it has with others in the market, its internal organization and culture, and market culture. It is important to point out cultural change is the largest hurdle for any project, regardless of the size and amount of investment, no matter how well designed, the true measure of success will ride on the acceptance of the user community”.
She added: “Even after hiring a consultant the organization may not meet its challenges; the corporate cultural and behavior change can hinder the consultant’s advice; poor attitudes, repressed employees, egotistical managers, and people lacking job security will undermine the work that is done. Even the best consultant can appear incapable of setting the organization on the right path. The effective way for change is for a cascade from the top down, starting with the owners and trickling all the way down to the last employee. It is most important to develop a good working and honest relationship with your consultant where they become part of your team and to view consultants as part of normal management practice just as accountants and lawyers are seen as integral to the smooth running and growth of a business.”
The 1st International Consultants Conference is organized by Al Maharah Consultancy supported by the UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry Association as well as UAE Business Women council and Bell Consultancy.
