SBACC Mar-Apr 2015 Newsletter

PMC NNECT S B ACC ’s N e ws l e t t e r

Issue 2015 April - May | www.sbacc.org.sg

First Ever Singapore Management Consulting Awards (SMC Awards)

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Maximizing Your Value through PMC Financial Management Certification Programme APR- MAY 2015 | 01

MANAGEMENT MESSAGE

Apr - May

CONTENTS 03

announcement

04

NEED TO KNOW

05

MAXIMIZING YOUR VALUE THROUGH PMCS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME Find out more about the benefits of becoming a PMC-FM

06

PMC SAYS Q&A: New HR Trends and Strategies

08

SME STORY Champions with MindChamps

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PAST EVENT: NETWORKING SESSION- OVERVIEW OF THE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY INDUSTRY UPCOMING EVENT: SINGAPORE BUSINESS MISSION TO INDIA NEW PMCS COLUMN

ISO/IEC 17024 Cert No. PC-2015-01

First Ever Management Consulting Awards will be launched this year On e of the b i g g es t hi g hli g hts thi s ye ar will be the launch of the first ever Singapore Management Consulting Awards (SMC Awards). The Singapore Business Advisors & Consultants Council (SBACC) is very excited about this as the Awards presents an excellent platform to profile outstanding management consultants in Singapore.

The objectives of the Awards are in line with SBACC’s mission to promote the management consultancy sector in Singapore, and to continuously advance and drive high standards of professionalism and conduct among management consultants. Indeed, the SMC Awards will not only showcase best practices, but will also highlight the role management consultants play as change agents that help organisations transform to better contribute to Singapore’s economy.

We encourage our Practising Management Consultants (PMCs) to participate in this Awards, as we believe that our PMCs who have been rigorously assessed by the PMC Certification Board wear a badge of quality that testifies to the standard of management consulting services.

There are three categories in the Awards: Management Consultancy Project of the Year, Management Consultant of the Year and Promising Management Consultant of the Year. More details can be found at www.sbacc.org.sg/smca.

SBACC has appointed The Chartered Management Institute Singapore (CMI) to be the Administrator of the Awards. The SMC Awards will be presented towards the later part of 2015, at a date to be announced soon.

2015 will be an exciting year with several initiatives in the pipeline.

We look forward for your continued support and participation as we work together to be the instruments of transformation.

Sin g apore Bus i ness Advi s o rs a n d Con sultants Co u nc i l 2 Bukit Merah Central #18-03 , Singapore 159835 Tel: +65 6272 3238 Fax: +65 6273 3023 www.sbacc.org.sg | secretariat@sbacc.org.sg | marketing@sbacc.org.sg | www.facebook.com/sbaccsg editorial SBACC MARKETING DEPARTMENT design UNIT ONE STUDIO

Lau Chuen Wei Executive Director

APR- MAY 2015 | 02

announcement

Inaugural Singapore Management Consulting (SMC) Awards With the introduction of the SMC Awards, SBACC aims to make a difference by highlighting outstanding Management Consultants.

Awards Categories

There are three categories of Awards up for grabs:

Management Consultancy Project of the Year

Management Consultant of the Year

Promising Management Consultant of the Year

The Management Consultancy Project of the Year recognises the consultancy project by honouring and publicising it. The Awards acknowledges the concepts, practices and strategies applied in the project which resulted in a transforming and sustainable solution for the business.

The Management Consultant of the Year Award recognises the individual who possesses a consistent and excellent track record with efforts that went above and beyond the project deliverables. The individual will be assessed on his strong depth of consulting experience, up-todate domain knowledge and skills, as well as world class customer service in his field of work.

The Promising Management Consultant of the Year Award is an accolade that recognises management consultants who are in the initial stages of their consultancy careers. It is intended to identify and celebrate the future consultants of the consulting sector.

The shortlisted candidates have already shown enthusiasm and dedication to their careers, and have the qualities that should see them reach the pinnacle of the industry as their careers progress.

Criteria: • Certified as a management consultant by a nationally recognised certification body in Singapore • Insured in Singapore against potential professional liabilities arising from his/ her consulting work • Showed adherence to a code of ethics or conduct which is enforceable by disciplinary procedures in Singapore • The project which must be completed in 2014, has to carry the endorsement of the client.

Criteria: • Minimum diploma holder • Certified as a management consultant by a nationally recognised certification body in Singapore • At least 10 years of experience in consultancy function • Clocked at least 1000 consulting hours in the last 3 years • Showed adherence to a code of ethics or conduct which is enforceable by disciplinary procedures in Singapore.

• Insured in Singapore against potential professional liabilities in his/her consulting work To apply, nominee is required to seek endorsement from one of their previous clients in 2014.

For more information, visit www.sbacc.org.sg/smca Closing Date: 31 May 2015

Criteria: • Minimum diploma holder • Certified as a management consultant by a nationally recognised certification body in Singapore • At least 3 years of experience in consultancy function • Clocked at least 500 consulting hours in the last 3 years • Showed adherence to a code of ethics or conduct which is enforceable by disciplinary procedures in Singapore.

• Insured in Singapore against potential professional liabilities in his/her consulting work To apply, nominee is required to seek endorsement from one of their previous clients in 2014.

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NEED TO KNOW

1) Continuing Professional Development SBACC has revamped and renamed its Continuing Professional Education (CPE) to Continuing Professional Development (CPD). In a bid to help PMCs stay abreast of current and new developments and to continually upskill themselves, the new CPD is an expanded framework that goes beyond structured learning.

SBACC encourages its PMCs to take advantage of the different opportunities for learning and development that come their way. These could include, but not be limited to, classroom learning, attendance at conferences, researching and contributing articles to professional journals and making presentations at seminars.

New Recertification Criteria With effect from 1 July 2015, the Recertification Criteria for PMCs will be changed to reflect the higher benchmarks in the marketplace today:

Core Subjects

Non-core Subjects Total

Structured Learning (Current)

Structured Learning (with effect from 1 July 2015)

Unstructured Learning (Current)

Unstructured Learning (with effect from 1 July 2015)

4 2 Hours

60 H ou rs

12 H ou rs

20 H o u rs

18 Hours

10 H ou rs

8 H ou rs

10 H ours

60 hours

70 H ou rs

20 h ou rs

3 0 H ou rs

In today’s economy, upskilling is a fundamental strategy for professional growth to stay current, competitive and nimble. Do make sure that you are chalking up your CPD hours in readiness for recertification.

You may already know this, but we would like to remind you to take advantage of the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme that can be applied to upskilling courses and examination fees. To find out more about the applicability of the PIC scheme, please contact IRAS directly at email piccredit@iras.gov.sg.

Beneficial for PMCs at all skill levels, training programmes have been exclusively developed to help PMCs improve their performance with industryled knowledge.

2) SBACC and SNEF sign MOU on Training Activities for Human Resources Management

3) Bundled Certification Promotion for New PMC Application

SBACC is continually on the lookout for opportunities to provide our PMCs with an ever-increasing stable of upskilling programmes.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was officially signed between Singapore Business Advisors & Consultants Council (SBACC) and Singapore National Employers Federations (SNEF) on 23th February 2015 to reaffirm the commitment of both SBACC and SNEF to promote training and outreach activities in the field of Human Resources Management.

Beneficial for PMCs at all skill levels, these programmes have been exclusively developed to help PMCs improve their performance with industry-led knowledge.

The MOU was signed by MS Lau Chuen Wei, Executive Director, SBACC, and Mr Koh Juan Kiat, Executive Director, SNEF.

SBACC is pleased to announce the introduction of certification for 3 new Domain Area Specialisations in line with industry needs. These are in the areas of Productivity (PD), Financial Management (FM) and Human Resources Management (HR).

SBACC is now offering special bundled price packages that include the generic PMC certification together with any one of the Domain Area Specialisation Certifications.

New applicants can expect savings of close to 20% on these bundled certification fees.

For further information on the PMC Certification Scheme and Domain Area Specialisations, please email SBACC at secretariat@sbacc.org.sg, or visit www.sbacc.org.sg .

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F E AT U R E

Maximizing your value through

PMC Financial Management Certification Programme

A

s the financial industry becomes increasingly competitive and concerned about managing risks, it is important to distinguish yourself and your capabilities to add value to your clients. A PMC-FM certification will prove to companies that you are truly a financial expert and that your knowledge has been validated against professional standards.

What is the main difference between a PMC and a PMC-FM? A Practising Management Consultant (PMC) is a certified management consultant who helps companies to be productive and competitive by introducing new technologies, improving systems and processes, restructuring enterprises and extending the range of abilities and knowledge to enterprises. A PMC-FM is a certified PMC who has all the capabilities of a PMC, plus the additional financial management expertise to help companies establish and implement strategic financial processes, programmes and practices.

expert. You will receive the designation of PMC-FM and a certificate to recognise your achievement. Your name will also be added to the list of qualified PMC-FM consultants on the SBACC website for business referral.

PMC-FM Framework SBACC PMC-FM Framework will complement the PMC (Generic) Framework to facilitate a more robust certification for the specialisation in financial management. The framework will cover the six areas of financial management under the ICV (FM) programme. These six areas are sufficient to cover the broad scope of financial management required by most of our SMEs.

PMC-FM FrameworK Fin an cial Pl an n in g & Con trol Fin an cial An alysis M an agem en t Accou n tin g Fin an cial Accou n tin g Wor k in g C apital M an agem en t

What are the benefits of becoming PMC-FM? You will have added another credential to your portfolio. Clients will see you as a true financial

C apital Bu d getin g

Look out for details coming your way soon.

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P M C S AYS

PMC Says

Q&New A HR Trends and Strategies

Benjamin Chan

Senior Practising Management Consultant (SPMC)

B Peter Lee

Domain Area Committee (DAC-HR) member and review panel member

usinesses operate in a dynamic environment with constant changes and new challenges, not least of which are those that come with an everevolving workforce. Hear Senior Practising Management Consultant (SPMC), Benjamin Chan (B) and Domain Area Committee (DAC-HR) member and review panel member, Peter Lee (P) share their thoughts on the latest human resources strategies.

What are some of the new trends in HR? P: There will be greater use of behavioural science findings to improve employee engagement, work culture and productivity.

B: Mobile revolution in recruiting is an important trend. Job candidates are increasingly mobile looking at career pages of companies from their smartphones or tablets. SMEs need to embrace mobile recruiting. Career sites and job postings must be mobileoptimised and user-friendly to make access easier. Smartphone and tablet landing pages should be more than just the miniature versions of career page on websites. Attract the candidates by simplifying the application process. An easy one-button application may attract highly qualified and passive candidates with relevant experience who may put in an application on impulse.

Another trend will be the entry of Gen Z (age 16 to 19 years) into the job market.

SMEs need to know the characteristic traits and values of this new generation of techno-savvy job seeker. SMEs would

benefit if they adapt their leadership and management styles accordingly. Managers of Gen Z workers need to be authentic and lead by example or adopt a servant leadership style rather than one which is directive or commanding. The Gen Z worker is more comfortable with a highly engaging and interactive style of management that is complemented with open communication.

Many CEOs still regard people management as an intangible measure, and it is difficult for them to gauge the success of good people management. says Peter Lee.

What are the key challenges that HR management consultants face today?

P: Convincing top management that people management and the trust gained from workers are just as important, if not more important, than hard business numbers.

Many CEOs still regard people management as an intangible measure, and it is difficult for them to gauge the success of good people management. HR needs to continually justify and prove itself to be worthy business partners in the sense that it can fully contribute towards key business issues.

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P M C S AYS

B: Gaining the trust of SME owners that the qualified PMC has the domain expertise and experience to diagnose and solve the problems to their complete satisfaction. An ensuing challenge is that when the trust is gained, SMEs will pile their issues and problems onto the PMC 24/7 and expect the issues to be resolved in yhe shortest possible time.

What is your advice to PMCs trying to cope with today’s HR challenges?

P: The PMC must learn to understand and work through line management and business issues in order to better relate to business managers. As a consultant, they must be experienced and credible about actual organisational and business issues - rather than just rely on HR best practices – so that they can recommend customized and best-fit, rather than best practice, solutions.

B: Try not to take on more projects than you can manage at any one time otherwise you may compromise on your work quality and delivery.

Focus on your strengths and passion to help SMEs shape their future. Be versatile with multifaceted skills and yet be specialised in your core domain areas. SME entrepreneurs are looking for professionals with relevant expertise and experience to partner them for the long haul, to strategically grow their businesses locally, regionally and globally.

SME entrepreneurs are looking for professionals with relevant expertise and experience to partner them for the long haul, to strategically grow their businesses locally, regionally and globally. says Benjamin Chan.

What are the best ways to recruit talents?

P: There is no best way, but employers should pay more attention to recruiting for attitude.

Use the first six months of probationary period to test the true capability, potential and adaptability of the new recruit.

B: Business owners may try advertising job vacancies in newspapers, on the company’s website, through employment agencies, on WDA’s Jobs Bank, on university and polytechnic job portals - whichever they deem appropriate. They can also implement an employee referral scheme.

Social media is another tool to be considered as a complement to, and not a substitution for the traditional recruitment avenues.

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SME Stories

Champions with MindChamps In less than seven years, MindChamps PreSchool has cornered the premium preschool market with its 25th centre targeted for opening in West Coast Plaza by mid -2015.

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RI G HT Group photos with MindChamps’ team. Left to right: Mr Ben Ang, Chief Business Development Officer, Ms Michelle Peh, Chief Marketing Officer, Mr David Chiem, Founder & Group CEO, Mr Albert Kong, SPMC, Ms Christine Rovina Cheung, SPMC, Mr Clarence Nah, SPMC.

n 2008, 20 MindChamps PreSchool licences valued at over a million dollars were sold even when there were no existing centres to showcase. This groundbreaking achievement came on the heels of years of research that delved into the four domains that are embedded in the unique MindChamps PreSchool curriculum: Early Childhood Education, Neuroscience, Child Psychology and Theatre. More notably, the Champion Mindset concept is also incorporated into its pedagogy for preschoolers from as young as 18 months of age.

The foray into the preschool franchise industry in Singapore began in 2008 when MindChamps appointed Senior Management Practising Management Consultant (SPMC) Albert Kong from Asiawide Franchise Consultants, to strategize and develop the necessary franchise package, including the framework, plans, financial numbers, operating manual, and franchisee selection to ensure key considerations are factored into the legal agreements. Together with the management team at MindChamps, led by Mr David Chiem, Founder, Chairman and

Group CEO, the team spent six months culling best practices in franchise management, ranging from site selection advice, renovation guidelines, financial processes, marketing plans to quality assurance and effective operations support for franchisees.

Apart from the franchise development work, Albert also carried out franchise feasibility studies and pre-entry studies of the preschool sector in Singapore. The business potential was thoroughly evaluated, and strategies and tactics were meticulously developed to create a channel that was calculated to maximise the returns for all stakeholders.

Albert and his teammembers, Clarence Nah and

Christine Cheung - all three of them amongst the first batch of Senior Practicing Management Consultants certified by SBACC - stressed the importance of continuous improvements to the franchise system even after they have completed the franchise development project. He says, “Due to MindChamps’ rapid growth, David and his team vigilantly upgraded their system to respond to the evolving needs of their expansion. They are aware that besides R&D and quality control, they must continually fine-tune the various support services given to franchisees, so that both the franchisor and the franchisees continue to be competitive, and achieve greater results together.”

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SME Stories

Other than providing their professional know-how in the development of a solid franchise system, Asiawide Franchise Consultants also acted as a catalyst for improvements and innovative thinking within MindChamps so that it can continue to be competitive and meet the expectations of its franchisees.

As a neutral thirdparty, Asiawide Franchise Consultants’ advice and suggestions were also perceived as being objective by MindChamps’ franchise team.

Last but not least, the project was carried out on a timely basis in spite of the heavy

daily responsibilities of each of MindChamps’ staff involved with the project.

The team’s hard work came to fruition when MindChamps clinched the Most Promising Franchisor of the Year award presented by the Franchising and Licensing Association (FLA) in 2009, just a year after launching its preschool licenses.

In 2013, MindChamps became the Franchisor of the Year, and the following year, MindChamps was ranked in the top 1.5% of the Singapore Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) 1000.

The MindChamps franchise system and procedures have proven to be resoundingly

successful in imparting to the business owners a framework that supported them on the set up of their schools, training of top quality teachers to provide quality education to the preschoolers and at the same time maximise the centre’s sales and profits. This robust franchise model has also been cascaded to MindChamps’ other education businesses, including MindChamps Reading and Writing and MindChamps P5 & 6 Success. Riding on the efficacy of the franchise formula, MindChamps also scored headlines last October with news of its tie-up with the listed Singapore Medical Group (SMG) to open a medical centre offering GP services.

The franchised MindChampsSMG Medical, first of its kind, will be opening at the new One KM mall in eastern Singapore

by June 2015.

Indeed, the management believes that franchising is a strategic model that has allowed the brand and business to expand exponentially and regionally. Today, MindChamps has sold 36 preschool licenses and 16 enrichment licenses in Singapore. It has also recently appointed master franchisees in China, Malaysia and Philippines.

Call i n g a l l PM C s !

We encourage and welcome PMCs to contribute articles on management consultancy and SME success stories. Each article should be about 2 A4-pages in length and SBACC reserves the right to select and edit the articles. By contributing these articles, free of charge to SBACC, the author agrees to give SBACC the right to use, archive or reproduce them in any way and in any medium.

To thank you for the time and effort put into these articles, your contribution will be accorded Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours required for your re-certification.

E-mail us at marketing@sbacc.org.sg.

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PA S T & U P CO M I N G E V E N TS

SBACC congratulates 9 newly certified PMCs (Jan to Feb 2015) 9 new PMCs were recently certified by SBACC in January and February 2015.

Networking Session

Overview of the Management Consultancy Industry 27 FEBRUARY 2015

SBACC wishes them a successful and fruitful future in their careers as Practising Management Consultants.

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BACC collaborated with Caliberlink (set up by the Workforce Development Agency to assist local professionals to be more career resilient) to organize a Networking Session on 27 February 2015, during which an overview of the management consultancy industry was presented to the attendees.

The objective of the event was to create an opportunity for midcareer PMEs (Professionals, Managers and Executives) who might be exploring a career switch, to find out more about management consultancy. The 60 PMEs who attended were largely above 35 years of age, with at least 10 years of working experience.

Three of SBACC’s PMCs, Mr Ian Ng from Fairworth Associates Pte Ltd, Ms Nicole Lim from One Ocean Consulting and Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmed (speaking on behalf of Mr Suhaimi Salleh from SSA Consulting Group), participated in the event to share how they got started in their management consulting journey and also to recruit potential Consulting Associates. The PMCs said that key attributes such as resilience, adaptability, all-round thinking and empathy would help one to excel in management consulting. Apart from these, one should also be confident and proud of being a Singaporean because the Singapore brand name commands high respect especially in the region. This is a key strength to note when one is trying to secure consulting business outside Singapore.

SBACC provided the attendees with more information on the PMC Scheme. Seven companies (including our three PMCs) offered entry-level job openings at the event.

The PMEs listened attentively to the personal, heart-felt testimonies from the three PMCs and several came to the SBACC booth to enquire about the PMC Scheme as well as to the PMCs’ booths to enquire about consulting job opportunities. Some even submitted their resumes on the spot.

SBACC thanks Caliberlink and the participating PMCs for their support of this event, and looks forward to more of such collaboration in future.

SBACC congratulates Mr Benety Liew Shu-Wei, PMC Mr John Tan Wee Siong, PMC Ms Loke Yiing Ching, PMC Mr Loo Eng Hock, PMC Mr Martin Rainer Gabriel Schweiger, PMC Mr Mohd Rashid Bin Mohd Yunus, PMC Ms Melanie Chan Ching Li, PMC Mr Ser Kang Wei, PMC Mr Vincent Phang Beng Huat, PMC Ms Karen Lur Seok Leng, APMC

Upcoming Event

17 May to 24 May 2015

Singapore Business Mission to India – Ahmedabad, Hyderabad & Chennai

ABOVE Group photo of the 3 PMCs, SBACC and Caliberlink staff.

BELOW PMC, Mr Ian Lim shared how he got started in his management consulting journey.

Is India your next business destination?

PMCs are invited to join this Singapore Business Mission to India – Ahmedabad, Hyderabad & Chennai, from 17 to 24 May 2015 (Sun-Sun).

This business mission is organised

by Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) & the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It will focus on the Precision Engineering, Machinery Components, Electrical, Biomedical, Infrastructure and Construction industries.

SBACC PMCs are accorded a special member price of S$4,300. To enjoy this privileged rate, just quote your PMC number when you register.

Contact Person

Mr Gabriel Tan at (65) 6826 3085 or email at gabriel.tan@smfederation.org.sg for enquiries. Please register here.

Closing Date

1 May 2015

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