-
 Our
company has two major areas of activities – training and
consulting. In 20 years of business, we have provided training
courses for more than 21,000 staff and managers from over 1,000
enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City and the other southern
provinces.
Businesses recognize the value of training services more easily
than they do consulting services since they can see more
immediate impact from training activities. The demand for
training, therefore, is higher and the supply is also readily
available as market entry conditions are relatively low.
According to Circular 35 of the Ministry of Science, Technology
and Environment, the establishment of a training center or
institution is quite easy and low cost. Therefore, low market
entry conditions, coupled with an inadequate regulatory
framework leads to unhealthy competition and disorder in this
market. We have seen cases of newly established training centers
copying our course outline almost exactly in their
advertisements and then closing shop within a few months. This
makes it difficult for customers to identify the good suppliers,
and those who are doing business responsibly like us are
negatively impacted. However, the area of vocational training
for example, welding skills, boiler operation training, etc is
very strictly regulated with high entry conditions. Luckily we
obtained our license for vocational training 20 years ago; today
the conditions for obtaining this license are almost impossible
to meet by a private enterprise. That is why there are very few
private vocational training schools.
As for the consulting services area, we believe that the market
has high potential. The coming WTO accession will increase
pressure on businesses to undertake changes in their management
system in order to become more competitive. However, currently
the concept of management consulting services is quite new; it
started to emerge in the 1990s when foreign investors began to
invest in local private businesses and introduced consulting
services. Many private businesses are not aware of the benefits
of using independent consulting services, and their perceptions
of the scope of consulting services are sometimes not accurate.
On the macro front, Government can play a more active role to
stimulate the development of the BDS market through facilitating
the creation and operation of a BDS providers' association,
which then could establish professional standards for BDS
services. The public socioeconomic information database should
be improved and be made available to the wider business
community as this information is a key input for BDS suppliers.
Mr. Vo Sang Xuan Vinh Deputy Director,
ECO Consulting and Technology Development Co. Ltd.,
Deputy Rector, MTC Management and Training Colleague.
-
 In
the last few years, the consulting market in Vietnam has grown
very fast. When we set up our company in 2002, I had forecast
that it would take three to five years before local private
businesses were ready to pay for management consulting services.
But in fact it has taken less time. In the past two years I have
seen quite a large number of businesses hiring consultants at
considerably higher fees. The demand for consulting services, in
both quantity and quality, has grown very fast, and it is a big
challenge for consulting service providers to grow in tandem.
Those businesses that are past the start-up period and are now
in the growth phase tend to face new problems in their human
resources or financial management systems, as well as in their
long-term development strategy. This is where management
consulting firms like ours can help.
However, despite the increasing demand and capacity to afford
the cost of services, we as consultants still face the big
challenge of proving the cause-and-effect relationship between
the consulting services we deliver and a company's improved
performance. Only when we can do this successfully will
businesses, especially SMEs, be able to see and recognize the
value of consulting services.
Our experience shows that the success of any consulting
engagement lies more with the clients than with the consultants.
Company directors who are open and who give direct and
straightforward feedback will help the consultant significantly
improve the quality of service. Conversely, directors who do not
communicate their expectations by sharing information and
providing feedback have a higher probability of being
disappointed with the results of the consulting service.
To help the consulting market grow further, government agencies
and development organizations can indirectly intervene through
awareness raising and training and information dissemination
activities. But they should not intervene by directly providing
services or giving subsidies, because that can distort the
market.
Mr. Vu Quang Thinh, Director, MCG Management Consulting Co. Ltd.
-
 In
my view, the Government does pay attention to the development of
the BDS market. For example, the Government provides financial
support to businesses to obtain ISO certification. But on the
demand side, businesses are often not proactive in seeking out
business services – about 80% of our customers only seek ISO
certification when they are pressured to do so from their
buyers.
Low demand cannot be attributed solely to low awareness. It is
due more to the low quality of services and the limited capacity
of the consultants. I think in the consulting services area,
quality is very important, but many Vietnamese consulting firms
now rely largely on part-time staff who do not necessarily
ensure high quality services.
A typical challenge that consultants like us face in consulting
assignments is that top management in firms may be very
committed to make changes but the middle managers and staff down
the line are not so willing, as changes may result in more work
without more pay. We overcome this challenge by being devoted to
our work and expressing sympathy to the client in difficult
circumstances. We are always ready to listen and try to
understand our client's wishes. With this attitude, clients are
more receptive to our advice and they are also more willing and
open in giving us their feedback. Many businesses are not
willing to use consulting services because they do not fully
believe in the benefit of these services. I recently attended an
MPDF consulting skills training course, where I learned how to
communicate the value of consulting services to the client more
clearly. This has helped me to win more contracts. Other
consultants would probably welcome the opportunity to attend a
course that helps them to improve their professional skills.
Mr. Tran Dinh Cuu, Director, Tran Dinh Cuu Consulting Co. Ltd.
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