How Can We Help Consulting Firms Gain More Business? Share Your Insights!

We understand that a lot of our members are consultants, and we are now going to focus on helping them gain more business. To do this, we would first need to gain the confidence of corporates by highlighting the specialties of the consultants and consulting firms.

The Core of Our Knowledge Base

From the beginning, we always knew that the core of this knowledge base would be the information that our consulting members share. In the initial days, we had a feature called the CBOX, which highlighted users' special interests and areas of work. That feature was discontinued when we moved to different software and was never redeveloped.

Market Threads and Member Insights

The segregation of "Market threads" is a start and will allow people to stay updated on various requests. However, we do not have a deep understanding of how this consulting market works, so I request all members to share their thoughts. For example, what information do corporates look for when they are searching for independent or small consulting firms? What criteria help them choose? How do they find these firms? How do consultants secure work?

Regards,
Sid

Dear Sid,

CiteHR - Push to Create More Business for Consulting Firms/Consultants

However, my eight years of association with this forum show that two types of consultants use this forum. The vast majority use this forum only to promote their business and nothing else. In return, they do not share any knowledge or experience for the benefit of the members of this forum. Though they boast a lot about their knowledge or achievements, they think that the members of this forum do not deserve an iota of their knowledge.

Opposite to this category are the few consultants who form a minuscule percentage. They help the members of this forum selflessly. There are a large number of HR professionals who work alone and do not have anyone to guide or help them. Consultants of this second category come forward and try to solve their problems. Obviously, this is done without any pecuniary gains in mind. Not that consultants from this category do not promote their business. They do, but their altruistic side cannot be overlooked. Occasionally, there were healthy debates because of the divergent views. Through their quality replies, they have left intellectual imprints on CiteHR's sands of time!

Now, whether to put both categories at par with each other or give a push only to those who enriched this forum with their replies is your call. I request you to take this call judiciously.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

We have always been very strict with users who just promote without providing any value. Entire accounts are removed; at least 3-4 accounts are removed almost every day. The concept has always been that people who add valuable replies gather more inquiries and, as a result, more business. Many don't seem to understand that and go about posting their profile text everywhere. We are hoping that if we are able to streamline the process of gathering business, the incidents of user accounts making repeated promotions will reduce. So, in effect, this will be more about bringing the rogue users into this concept of getting noticed by virtue of actual useful conversations, which the nicer consultants are already doing.

I feel there are a lot of small companies that need consulting but are wary of getting into any sort of agreement with anyone. Maybe the cost is prohibitive. Maybe they are not even sure about the costs involved.

There may be so many things we aren't even considering right now, and maybe we are just completely wrong about our assumption that this, in fact, is a requirement.

Consulting Costs and Segregations

So, do share your views on how the consulting area works when people inquire about the costs. What are the general segregations of consulting work? Do consultants carry rate charts of things they offer? How do they decide these rates?

Creating an Appealing Platform

If we were to create a platform to allow users to showcase what they offer, what would be the best way to make it appealing to the buyer of these services?

Regards,
Sid

Sharing Knowledge for Collective Growth

One must share their knowledge with a view to being helpful. The more you share, the more you learn. I have learned a lot from the erudite postings of some members who liberally quote case law, sections of various acts, and their own knowledge. The forum has an extensive database of knowledge that should be enriched and added to for the benefit of the users.

However, I also note some members are posting threads to earn 95,000 PM if they join Amigosoutsourcing. There are multiple posters about the same company. I really wonder whether such threads have value or how genuine they are. As for those who try to promote only their business, I am sure users will be able to notice them and take appropriate cognizance of their posts.

Regards

I am currently working on a script to weed out repeat posts in one go. The script will also monitor for such repeat postings in the future and take immediate action.

We have identified about 18,000 accounts that have engaged in this behavior, and you'll find the community much cleaner very soon. That said, we do want to develop an interface that will allow consulting companies/consultants to push their profiles to users who request such information. Please comment on the previously raised questions to help us understand how things work.

Regards,
Sid

Many small businesses are unaware of all the legal and regulatory requirements, as well as other obligations to various government entities such as municipalities, IT, ESIC, PF, etc. Good consultants are available to help in managing their businesses. There could possibly be a drop-down menu for users where they can post their consultation requirements, and the website can provide access to consultants who are members of this reputable forum. Suitable disclaimers should be formulated so that users can verify the appropriateness and rates before deciding whom to consult. Random posts, such as data entry for making easy money, should be avoided or rejected if the content is not appropriately worded.

Platform for HR Professionals

This forum should serve as a platform for HR professionals to browse and learn from others' experiences, as well as receive advice from members. HR staff should always consider Citehr as the primary source for HR-related information.

How Does the Consulting Business Work?

It is not a very structured field in terms of accreditation, certification, and fraternity. First of all, there is no central agency that has become a must for consultants. We do have CDC (Consultancy Development Center) and ISTD, but not many consultants are linked with them. It is all about who does good work and business development to get clients. The market is also very different in terms of working from region to region. Delhi NCR is 90% relationship selling, whereas Bangalore and Mumbai are very different.

What Information Do Corporates Look for When They Are Looking for Independent or Small Consulting Firms?

Corporate companies ask for a consultant’s profile or company profile to begin with. This is followed by a meeting, rate negotiation, and then a presentation of the Approach Note before the contract is signed.

What Helps Them Choose?

There are a lot of factors:
- Experience of the consultant in the domain
- Certifications
- Place of operation
- Word of mouth or some reference
- The solution the consultant proposes

How Do Corporates Find Them?

Some of the sources could be:
- Job sites
- Social media
- CiteHR
- References

How Do Consultants Find Work?

- Personal contacts
- Business development via emails, calls, meetings
- Cold calling
- Job sites
- Social media
- CiteHR
- Association with an agency like CDC (Consultancy Development Center)
- Membership in organizations like ISTD

What Are the General Segregations of Consulting Work?

- Training consulting
- HR consulting
- Management Consulting (Strategic, Ops, Business)
- Engineering Consulting
- Technical Consulting (IT, Hardware, Technology-based)

Do Consultants Carry Rate Charts for Their Services? How Do They Decide These Rates?

Yes, they have a range of rates. They decide based on their experience, the type of client, scope of work, and duration of work. For example, a fresh trainer might charge 3-5 K per day for facilitation, while an experienced trainer might charge 12-15 K per day.

If We Were to Create a Platform to Allow Users to Showcase What They Offer, What Would Be the Best Way to Make It Appealing to Buyers?

Based on my personal observation, a portal or features like Naukri.com would be great. We can also have different categories like experience, certification, and competencies for corporates to choose from.

In the virtual world, let me give my heartiest and pleasant greetings. All the issues, when clubbed together, lead us to a beautiful solution, with one more agenda for discussion. Like that, I entered Cite HR some time ago and shared some comments. Yet, Cite HR should evolve to a higher grade in a particular way of moving forward.

1) A lot of questions are employee-based, such as PF, ESI, wrong submission of accounts, service problems (related to HR, retirement, pension, etc.) – really pathetic and poor. It is alarming that a doctor did not know about service rules and exploited the real world.

2) Our employer is also a cause for concern. Without giving proper appointment orders, confirmations, PF deductions/undeductions, some highly rich cases have problems of employers recruiting without proper knowledge of recruitment rules. This is not only a concern but also reflects the bad elements in society. What is CiteHR going to do about this?

3) Will Cite HR help scholars with employer/employee-related problems in society during their Ph.D., etc.?

4) Regarding consultants, there can be various categories segregated, such as motivators for employees, financial consultants, establishing organizations in a particular field, helping entrepreneurs, and others as deemed fit.

5) Advising and questions raised by the members are diligently replied to.

In all the above, Cite HR is a fantastic place and beautiful to be. It is a good thing that in the present-day situation, all other sites interested in employee-based matters, this site is certainly ahead in providing the right person to any organization by its insights. A panel will draw the chart where the recruiting agents can visit here for the right candidate, and the selected candidate can be supported at all points. Consultants of various categories can pool together to segregate the right way of getting the work done/services rendered in a cost-effective manner. Consultant fees can be fixed as a pool in one place. This is the site that can make impressions in all places. So, consultants of varied natures stay here for better opportunities.

Best of luck.

Wonderful suggestions have come up in this forum. At this stage, I am also fumbling with ideas. One thing I would like to suggest, if appropriate, is for the admin to select randomly any client from the list provided by the consultant to verify the association and level of sophistication of the consultant's work.

Regards

A great discussion over this topic. Every consultancy uses different strategies to grow in their business. Some consultants use paid services, while others leverage their contacts to find the best candidates for their clients. Some of the giant job portals provide services to access uploaded profiles of candidates. By paying them, you can refine the actual candidates from it.

T 7A Solution: A Job Consultancy in Bangalore

T 7A Solution is a job consultancy in Bangalore that offers commendable services to explore the right job opportunities.

Continuing with this discussion, we need to now be more specific about the design of such a platform.

Key Components of a Consulting Company/Individual Profile

- What are the key components of a "consulting company/individual profile"? We need to divide this into "must have" (client list, reference) and "good additions" (like YouTube videos) in terms of info provided by the consultant in their profile.

Negotiation and Factors in Rate Setting

- Negotiation of rates based on multiple consultants quoting for the job and then weighing the cost, budget, and experience of the consultant. Are there any other factors which come into play? Like commission, relationship, or anything else?

Place of Operation and Cost Considerations

- Since the place of operation is so crucial—as getting consultants from other cities would add to cost—should we limit application for a job to consultants based in that city?

Public Bidding Process

- Should the bidding process be public where everyone can see who is quoting what?

We can showcase "word of mouth" using the appreciations received on the forums—this would also help gauge the consultant’s way of dealing with things. Should ratings be based on the appreciations received?

We would like to keep the consultant section open to all areas of consulting. And the section would be created on Cite.Co.

Promotions of listed consultants will be done throughout the network based on the level of appreciations and tags where they are most prominent.

Please do share your inputs in these areas.

Regards,
Sid [CHR]

My replies are given in italics:

Key Components of a Consulting Company/Individual Profile

- What are the key components of a "consulting company/individual profile"? We need to divide this into "must have" (client list, reference) and "good additions" (like YouTube videos) in terms of info provided by the consultant in their profile.

Comment: - There are consultants of all hues like recruitment consultants, consultants who provide accounting or audit services, and so on. How to present one's services is better left to the consultant.

Negotiation of Rates

- Negotiation of rates based on multiple consultants quoting for the job and then weighing cost, budget, and experience of the consultant. Are there any other factors that come into play? Like commission, relationship, or anything else?

Comment: - Parameters of selection like cost, budget, and experience of the consultant are a matter between two parties. If they handle it in their personal capacity, the better. If we look at the newspaper, we find that tenders are published by the companies. However, the newspaper just publishes the ad and nothing more. Further dealings are left between the parties.

Place of Operation

- Since the place of operation is so crucial—as getting consultants from other cities would add to cost—should we limit applications for a job to consultants based in that city?

Comment: - Rather than the place of operation, the quality of the consulting services is crucial. Whether to select a local consultant or one of national or international stature is an individual's choice. The choice depends on the client's perception and objectives of hiring the consultants.

Public Bidding Process

- Should the bidding process be public where everyone can see who is quoting what?

Comment: - Consulting services are designed based on the requirements of the client. These are "Made to Order" and cannot have a "Maximum Retail Price" (MRP). Secondly, who would like to make a public disclosure on who has bid for what amount? Which client would like to publicly disclose what is their capacity to pay?

Showcasing Word of Mouth

- We can showcase "word of mouth" using the appreciations received on the forums—this would also help gauge the consultant's way of dealing with things. Should ratings be based on the appreciations received?

Comment: - A consultant might receive appreciation on the forum for which he/she might not provide service(s). Should such appreciation be included? If not, then what means do we have to segregate such appreciations? However, consultants may showcase their appreciations.

Consultant Section on Cite.Co

- We would like to keep the consultant section open to all areas of consulting. And the section would be created on Cite.Co. Promotions of listed consultants will be done throughout the network based on the level of appreciations and tags where they are most prominent.

Comment: - Alike citehr, citesales, citeops, etc., how to make the consultant section is Citeman's internal matter.

Final Comment: - While creating any forum, it is important to maintain neutrality. Let us take the example of Google. They have created software for mobile phones called Android. However, they did not get into who uses this software for manufacturing mobile phones, who uses this software for the development of applications, and who are the end users of the software. They have just created and maintained the stability and security, and that is all. How to derive benefits from Android is left to the users of various categories. Citeman can also do the same thing. No need to vouch for any consultant's quality or price of the services.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear CHR, It is really a discussion of need. Shri Dinesh Divekar enlightened in his well-spoken way, yet, I do suggest some things for consideration:

1. It would be better to create a pool where the members with the best or the most advanced analysis/subject skills become advisor cum consultants, with each team having members separately.

2. When selecting members who have received appreciation, let them be associated with the pool based on their interests.

3. Zones need to be created among members who have associations with industry-academia relations for immediate familiarity with the subject and the business needs.

4. Regarding fees, let the members decide; certainly, there will be differences that need to be focused on for relatively better solutions.

5. If the CHR is interested in fees, members who are interested should reiterate their interest to become members and be included in the pool. The CHR should decide on this either after due consultation or based on the pool's interest. For example, Shri Dinesh Divekar, as seen from his profile, is a good and reliable advisor for many issues; however, for all the problems he advises on, the members have not been charged. Some members with authentic and extensive knowledge in labor laws also do not seem to charge, which is greatly appreciated. Let those members create a pool and membership be promoted to generate revenue and explore business opportunities.

Best of luck...

Great thought, great insights. Largely to my understanding, consulting companies create a niche for themselves based on their area of expertise and the industry segment they work with. Additionally, it depends on how well they can comprehend the needs of the client and thereby design custom-made solutions for them with perfect deliverability. The icing on the cake would be if consultants take extra effort to be a part of the implementation too.

Continuing with this conversation, I am currently in the process of structuring what information will be collected from the consultants and how it'll be displayed.

Independent or Organization

(If Organization)

Consulting Firm Name:
Address:
City of Operation: (Add All Applicable)
YouTube Sample Video:
Website:

Add Consultant (+button)

(Multiple consultants if organization / single if independent)

Name:
One-line description: (shown on posts below username)
Age:
Email (registered on cite.co):
Allow people to email you: Yes / No (will show contact form on display if yes)
Experience in years:
Specialty: Choose from tags or add new
City of Operation: (if independent)
Industries: (choose single or multiple from dropdown or "non-industry specific")
Certifications: (+button)
Certification Name
People References: (+button)
Name (Company name)
Project References: (+button)
Short Project Description
YouTube Sample Video: (if available)

The data collected will form a directory based on location and industry. A link next to the user's username on posts will open a box underneath to reveal all details about the consultant (no page refresh). The user can then review all information and contact the consultant or send a copy of details to their email for future reference.

Please let me know if something else should be added or something here should be removed.

Regards,
Sid

Building Trust Among CiteHR Users

The more I review the content on CiteHR, the more I realize that we need to do a lot more to build trust among users. We need to be seen as a place where organizations can find trustworthy consultants.

Here's an example: we are working on figuring out who has posted their company URLs here and whether they are still active. A total of over 4,000 domain links exist on CiteHR that no longer exist. We are working on removing this content and all other page links that are no longer active. If any senior member wants to talk to me about how to tackle this issue and ensure that trust is built over the years to come, please private message me.

Kargaokarji, the post from learningnovo still exists and is an old post in this thread—it just got featured because it received a few appreciations.

Regards,
Sid [CHR]

This thread has received plenty of useful inputs. I am glad that you have even carved out a draft format. There was a time when consultancy was thought to be a domain only for the silver-streaked and shining moon personalities. Age and experience were considered essential in selecting a consultant. This is no longer true in the same vein. With scores of start-ups entering the fray in various fields, the consultancy field becomes no exception. The clients' needs vary. They look for training or spreading awareness from 'fresh recruits' to "CEOs."

So accordingly, the level of expertise and experience of consultants also varies. It is not a story of "one size" fits all. We may consider some grading of consultants - can be self-declared or as determined from their client lists and programs. This will leave us with a spectrum, consisting of "couple of years experienced" to 'sought-after high fliers.'

Expert opinions may be solicited in determining the different grades. One simple grading that comes to my mind is consultants who can work for entry-level, middle-level, and top management. Learned members, I am sure, will come out with better suggestions.

Regards, V. Raghunathan

Freelancers in Recruitment and HR: A Growing Need

I would like to add that these days we come across many freelancers operating in areas such as recruitment, training, payroll, compliance, and temp staffing. I think they are the target group in need of such help. Their only access to clients is often through personal contacts.

There are many websites that provide platforms enabling such professionals to find work assignments. Along with providing work opportunities, they also offer an economical, faster, and dedicated source that can handle their odd, unique, or small-volume requirements. Thus, it is a win-win situation for all.

There have been no sites so far that cater exclusively to HR requirements or business/managerial needs. I think CiteHR and other CiteCo sites can fulfill this need by allowing freelancers, independent professionals, and small firms to showcase their skills and competencies to solicit business.

A home page for members that is detailed and elaborate, capable of accepting uploaded videos and other files with additional functionalities, can prove to be very handy.

However, the cost factor needs to be addressed while adding more functionalities and ensuring fast, easier access to all features, making the pages more attractive and appealing.

I expect more participation and brainstorming on all these aspects from our members, to whom CiteHR actually belongs.

Warm regards.

Initially, we were considering making this a paid feature. However, since building a profile isn't charged on any professional site, it makes sense to keep that feature free. It would be almost the same as it is now, just with more ways for consultants to showcase their achievements, such as certificates, articles, videos, and collecting testimonials from past employers. All of this should help build more trust. However, to ensure that the consultant listing is fresh and the display of the extended profile on posts is valid, we will probably need to do a monthly check to see if the consultant is still providing the service via an email confirmation.

Regards,
Sid

I would like to put forth my views on the essence of Citehr vis-a-vis the publicity for the consultants. Very shortly, I will complete ten years of uninterrupted association with Citehr. Nevertheless, the following emerges from a cursory look at the discussions at Citehr:

a) Members approach Citehr to seek advice or opinions. Those who are not members become members in order to seek advice from the seniors.

b) By and large, members raise their queries on non-payment of wages, payment of PF/ESI, notice periods, on-the-spot termination, etc. All these are basic issues. Therefore, though the title of the forum is "Citehr," the discussions center around erstwhile "Personnel Management." The percentage of threads with hardcore HR issues is minuscule.

In view of this, the real challenge for Citehr is to evolve from personnel management to HR management. Rehabilitation of consultants need not be the focus of Citehr. The brand recall of this forum lies in seeking advice or downloading HR-related material that has been uploaded earlier. Members never approach Citehr thinking that altruistic consultants will help them.

Though Citehr is more than a decade old, what keeps the forum ticking is the contribution by a dozen odd members. They are the fulcrum of this forum, not the consultants. With the risk of sounding uncharitable, may I say that many consultants use this forum just to grind their axe and nothing else. If this were not the case, you would not have deleted the publicity post by a consultant that followed your post dated 15-06-2016.

When Citehr started, it was a very novel idea. Internet penetration was happening in lower/higher middle-class households, and these online forums came in handy. At that time, social media was non-existent. However, the situation has changed now in a significant way. There is an explosion of social media. Alongside, WhatsApp groups are spawning. These groups are well-moderated, and the knowledge sharing that was happening on Citehr 5-6 years ago is now happening on these groups. Incidentally, WhatsApp groups allow sharing of files of all media types like .doc, .xls, .pdf, etc., and members take full advantage of this. Admins in charge of a few WhatsApp groups have taken cues from this forum and started their own forums. Smartly, they have eradicated the shortcomings of Citehr, and these groups are increasing their membership at a galloping speed.

Why are you hell-bent on rehabilitating those whose contribution is minuscule to the growth of this forum? Who has grown this forum? Who has added intellectual vibrancy to this forum?

Your challenge is how to increase inputs from senior HR professionals like GM or VP HR, etc. A few HR Managers do write posts, but this is more to promote their blogs.

Let me reiterate that the rehabilitation of consultants cannot be your priority. You wrote your post on 15-06-2016 (Post Sl No 16). Without understanding the logic of this thread, without understanding what the Chief Administrator wanted to say, one of the consultants wrote a post to promote his business. Is this not temerity of the highest kind? Temerity aside, the post is nothing but a reflection of the psychology of the consultants.

Well, gentleman, you have grown this forum single-handedly. Alas, this has brought a challenge of sustaining the weight of this growth. By diverting your focus, there could be a risk of crumbling under the weight. That is the last wish of any well-wisher of this forum!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Some great thought-provoking points. Yes, the problem of repeated "non-payment of wages," etc., is an issue. And you are right that with the advent of WhatsApp groups, many HR groups have formed. They serve well as micro-communities where a set of people collaborate to help each other and kind of satiate the need for HR-oriented discussions. However, there will be space for a public resource platform. We definitely need more hardcore HR issues to be discussed, but most of the seniors choose the medium of writing articles/books, and asking/expecting them to reply to queries is unlikely to work. The only people who can keep the platform lively are consultants, who have the necessary expertise to comment on industrial or specific HR issues. This should also broaden the scope of the platform itself as more consultants will see this as a medium of promotion and exposure, not through repeated posting of their profile but with proper replies to queries.

Currently, we don't have much focus; this is just one step towards it and doesn't really change much in terms of the core of the community.

Regards, Sid

Concerns About CiteHR's Direction

A number of things bother me about CiteHR, not the least of which is people shamelessly promoting their businesses without contributing anything to the conversation. However, others have broached this subject.

And then there are people like Topjob who answer every post saying they can provide a solution—at a price—for every problem. This person must be a genius if they can solve every single HR problem known to man.

I think, in the main, people come here for "free" advice. At some point, they may need to pay for external advice or help, but initially, they are seeking some general help.

Diversion from HR Topics

My other concerns involve the fact that some days we stray too far from HR. There are too many posts about how to start businesses, etc. This has nothing to do with HR. Maybe we can have a CITEStartup or something to divert all those postings to, and get back to our core business: helping HR professionals with HR information—or am I wrong in assuming that is what CiteHR is about?

I also wonder about the questions regarding being fired, missing PF, joining letters, and all the other minutiae of being an employee, not an HR Practitioner. They are HR issues to be sure, but these sorts of questions I don't see as being within the scope of this site.

Need for Clear Direction

I have been less active on the site recently, not because of time. I am retired and have all the time in the world. But I am tired of the constant repetition of subjects already covered a million times over, or people in trouble expecting us to wave a magic wand and fix it for them.

In my view, the time has come for Sid to lay down some clear statements as to what he wants this site to be, what sort of content, and what sort of users. Clearly, he is seeking to move forward in a new direction. Once we know that, we can decide if it continues to meet our needs and if we want to continue to participate going forward.

Regards

I appreciate the ongoing discussions. These are profound issues, and there can't be handy ready-made solutions. In spite of discussions and brainstorming, we have to understand that there cannot be a perfect way; learning by trial and error is imperative and unavoidable.

Several new issues have come up, or rather, been unearthed. Coming to Dinesh's views, I appreciate his candid opinions, which are almost like a SWOT analysis. I agree with many of his observations, and I would like to add a few more to his:

The Impact of the Internet and Social Media

Indeed, the Internet has changed a lot in the last 10 years. One of the most striking aspects is Social Media, which at one time was looked down upon by serious professionals and nerds, has gained ascendancy and respectability. Now it is the prime mover in the web space.

Another such outrageously disruptive invention was the Smartphone and the Android. What was available a decade back, albeit in a very narrow spectrum compared to today, to only a few cream of the crop Blackberry phone users, is now available to all. Here I agree in totality with Dinesh.

Presence on Social Media and WhatsApp

Presence on Social Media and WhatsApp has changed everything. The first point is Appearance or presentation. For example, pages on FB are so user-friendly, presenting everything at a glance (for which earlier a "dashboard" functionality was required), everything opens or is visible at a click.

The second is Ease of use. Not just the advantage of being on the mobile platform, but as already said, the ease with which one can upload material in any format makes these very handy.

The third is more Openness, as opposed to Privacy and Anonymity. It also points to the Trust factor as well as Friendliness. The people or participants in these new-age forums appear more accessible and real. True, there are valid reasons and compulsion to remain Anonymous at times; but what is meant is, the people on these media appear more real and accessible.

To understand this last point, let us ask ourselves, "How many members in CiteHR do we know personally in real life?"

Yes, one does have hundreds of Followers, and may Follow hundreds; and may have genuine mutual appreciations with many, yet in real terms many are just entities in cyberspace. This was the norm earlier when people chatted on Bulletin Boards and chat sites.

Today, one has to recognize the power of Networking, which these new alternatives are exploiting quite well. We must have a Network of real users and members who can network with each other off the site as well.

On this, I would like to add that several attempts were made in the past to have get-togethers and arrange Meets in malls or public places. However, for some reason or another, these did not turn out to be what was envisaged. In my opinion, one of the main reasons was that the members were unknown among themselves, and thus could not overcome the hesitations or apprehensions that they had about others. In an FB and WhatsApp-like scenario, members would have known each other quite well and would have motivated and built on momentum for such events.

I am sorry if at this point in time, I am not able to offer any solution or a strategy. What I am able to do is to gather my impressions on what I have experienced and observed; and the changes that have taken place since. I am proud of CiteHR, my association with CiteHR, and I am confident that CiteHR will continue to remain a great resource as it keeps evolving over time.

Just a fortnight back, someone shared on WhatsApp a list of the most important and popular HR sites. As usual, CiteHR was listed in it, but what caught my attention was another website, which in the past had been spamming the pages of CiteHR in an attempt to grab eyeballs and popularity; and it has been repeatedly banned. It hardly has any content worth reading and even these are plagiarized from other websites. However, due to its presence on a social site, it has accumulated a large following. The fact that someone in social media likes a page or a site has a lot of influence on others, as the members in social media who use their real profile are known to others. It's a matter of Identity and Trust.

So, I wholeheartedly agree with the basic idea of promoting Consultants, as it will give "face" and Identity to those whose comments the members have read. How to go about it is what needs to be worked upon. On that note, I had put forth the case of Freelancers as well.

Beyond that, I would also like to promote a 'normal' HR professional, why he should not get a chance to promote himself or herself?

These days Recruiters rely a lot on Social Media for Talent Acquisition. CiteHR is just the perfect platform for all HR Professionals. I understand that I have covered just a limited aspect of what is being sought. I think, while thinking of "who needs CiteHR most?" we must also appreciate and think of the needs of the "average" HR professional. A profile in CiteHR, built painstakingly over years, listing the actual contributions of that member, his influence on others and the community at large; these are all very valuable assets for HR professionals.

Observations on CiteHR and Social Media

Coming to Aussiejohn's views, I agree with them. Being my senior, he has seen more happening at CiteHR. The following are especially noteworthy:

- There is no dearth of unscrupulous elements bent on exploiting the needy. I have deleted and banned many who keep on coming with new IDs, who ask for some remittance to their bank accounts to provide solutions to every problem posted by the members.

- Even if the problems posted by members are repetitive, members would not hesitate to give responses if they know the person. As we have seen in Social Media, people do not hesitate in commenting again and again on issues they have a clear opinion about.

I shall be back with more, as I await views and responses.

Warm regards.

Evaluation of Contributing Members

I have gone through this thread this Sunday and found myself confused. A person like me uses this platform as a tool to share and enhance knowledge, and I feel that those who are constantly contributing to various threads may have the same objective in mind. They may not intend to create a business out of it.

I personally feel that proper evaluations or assessments need to be done for the posts by contributing members. On this forum, everyone is a contributing member. Even if someone writes or posts anything in a handful of discussions or threads, they are called a contributing member. A member with more than 2000 qualitative posts, with a good number of appreciations, is also recognized as a contributing member.

I have also seen a member with only 50 posts promoted to a senior member within a span of a few months, and then they disappeared from the forum. The recent evaluations made for the "Most Appreciated Member" do not seem logical to me.

If you give recognition to contributing members with proper evaluation, it will be beneficial for them. Moderators should play a significant role in this, and certain issues need to be referred to experts.

Regards,
Adv. Keshav Korgaonkar

You are absolutely correct in your assessment that the promotion to "most appreciated member" is not regularized. We need to automate it so that senior mentors are marked automatically when they reach a certain threshold of appreciations. While CiteHR has seen steady growth, the biggest jump in usage was during a period when we had the Cbox feature (consultant box).

While most current active members see this as a platform for knowledge sharing (which is the core), I need to look at it from a "platform" point of view. To create a bigger impact in the business world, it needs to be equipped with many kinds of knowledge. Among them would be a list of trustworthy consulting brands. I envision this to become a platform where businesses (startups/established), consultants, and senior mentors can find structured data instead of just conversations. The conversations would be a way for employers to judge validity, expertise, conduct, and trustworthiness. This development does not really change anything about the community at its core.

Regards,

Sid

Introduction of a Platform for Consultants

The primary challenge of CiteHR is to improve the quality of discussions, replies, and even the language used by posters. Sometimes, members upload content that is not up to standard. This low-quality content discourages senior or high-level HR professionals from participating. Without defining and adhering to quality standards, no product can develop effectively. Therefore, if CiteHR is to evolve, the first requirement is to define quality standards and stick to them diligently.

After 12 years of existence, CiteHR does not even have 0.1 percent of the HR content. The other 99.9 percent belongs to non-HR or personnel management topics. Therefore, pertinent questions arise:

a) Will C-Box (a platform for consultants) improve the quality of discussions?

b) Will consultants attract senior HR professionals like GM (HR), VP (HR), etc., to CiteHR? If attracted, will they share actual case studies from their organizations?

c) Will the introduction of consultants be able to compete with the numerous HR forums thriving on social media? While a couple of HR forums on social media may not significantly impact CiteHR, thousands of them surely will.

d) Five years ago, social media, in general, and WhatsApp, in particular, were absent. However, the trend is growing day by day. Will the entry of consultants predict what will be the trend five years from now, i.e., in 2021? Possibly, by that time, WhatsApp may be replaced with something even more advanced. How will CiteHR cope with that?

e) What if consultants grow at the expense of CiteHR? After reaching a higher destination, nobody remembers the ladder that took them there. Will consultants do something similar to CiteHR?

Correction

In your post No. 22, you have written that "The only people who can keep the platform lively are consultants, who have the necessary expertise to comment on industrial or specific HR issues." However, this is a mistaken view. Serving GMs (HR) or VPs (HR) are also perfectly capable of addressing the queries of junior members. However, their presence is few and far between, hence you feel that consultants are the only ones capable of addressing the issues.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Sid,

Just above this post, you will find a post written by a labor law consultant. Without considering the nature of the discussion, the gentleman has uploaded his post to promote his business. However, this is not an isolated case; this has been happening all along. In this very thread, this has occurred for the second time. You deleted an earlier thread that was uploaded by another consultant.

The third paragraph of your first post states that "[From the beginning, we always knew that the core of this knowledge base is going to be the knowledge that our consulting members will share]." I am yet to understand the premises from which you have developed this inference. There is no evidence to support your statement.

Consultants use this forum purely for business promotion and nothing else. Apart from promoting their business, they have little connection with Citehr. Despite this, you aim to support the section of the HR community whose contributions are minimal to the development of Citehr. It would be worth waiting a few more years to see how Citehr has grown because of consultants like the one above.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Dinesh ji,

I failed to understand your first paragraph in the above post #28. Can you please elaborate on which post by a Labor Consultant is related to business promotion?

Those are the kind of consultants we don't want—unfortunately, spam is an issue that requires constant vigilance and is a problem on all platforms. This is not new. There is evidence that some of the best posts have also been posted by consultants (Rajat, Leolingham, yourself, Nashbramhal, Madhu, Learningnovo, Korgaokar, Raj, Saikumar, Umakanthan, and many more) or people who were trying to get into consulting. Many have probably failed, and I think the primary reason is that we haven't been able to portray them properly. It would be so much better if a user could just click a link and get a summary of a user's achievements and expertise. In any case, this is a feature—and it's not becoming the core reason for this platform. If it doesn't work, it's fairly simple to roll it back.

Let's move ahead and help me understand what I could do to get you more business and if at all that is possible on this platform. There is a possibility that it just may not work—but just strutting along this path of repeated discussions is probably not what we should be aiming for. This is just an idea—which I understand you think won't work out well. Your advice that trying to attract consultants would only give rise to more spam posts may be true, but it will also attract some good people and possibly a lot of local opportunities. Without new blood being constructively engaged on this platform, this platform won't last another 10 years.

Regards,

Sid

I've removed the spam post Dinesh mentioned in his post.

While having a somewhat different opinion on certain points, I agree with several issues you have pointed out. What I feel perplexed, dismayed, yet at times very optimistic about is the changing nature of the internet and social media; and in turn, how they affect society and social mores.

The Changing Nature of Social Media

How the changing nature of social media has affected all of us in some way or another, and how this affects CiteHR; I shall try to find a connection from what you have written:

"..... Serving GM (HR) or VP (HR) are also perfectly capable ...... . However, their presence is few and far between..."

In the last decade, this is what has changed!

If you recall, earlier such professionals, especially seniors, would shy away from revealing their real identities or even disclosing the names of companies they have been associated with. This has changed.

In WhatsApp, which is basically a messaging service visible only to the group members, there are no such inhibitions, obviously.

Social Media Openness

What is amazing is, Facebook has made people more open, to the extent of sharing even their personal and private moments (thanks to selfie-culture); and this applies even to head honchos.

Another astounding reality is LinkedIn, which happens to be the premier networking site for professionals, has changed a lot in recent times; and is enabling more social-media-like features of posting articles, pics, comments, reactions, etc.

Even Gmail+ features such functionalities.

In fact, almost on any website, when one posts a comment, one's mail or social site identity is displayed.

Networking Among Users

All sites are now relying heavily on NETWORKING Among Users. This is one feature that needs to be promoted and supplemented with such functionalities. This will benefit consultants and others who need to showcase their contributions, build up associations with other users, and wish to network. Those who wish to stay anonymous or private can continue to remain so.

Therefore, whatever the nature of CHANGE, which will only be visible after it is implemented, and I am all for Change, Learning by trial and error is a great way of going ahead. Let us support Sid in bringing about whatever changes possible. In these times, one has to run, just to stay at one's place.

Strengths and Opportunities of CiteHR

While analyzing the Threats and Weaknesses; I also find a lot of Strength that has gone into the making of CiteHR. It offers not just quick and authentic solutions to day-to-day problems but is also a ready reference and a repository of the latest knowledge, information, guidelines, practices, rules, and regulations; and changing times also present a number of Opportunities.

Looking forward to more ideas and suggestions.

Warm regards.

Dear Sir, your site is very valuable. I kindly request you to flush out the data that is older than six months. As we look for a discussion, some old chats are carried forward. This way, the most relevant information can be available.

In India, the utilization of consultants is limited. Most organizations opt for in-house talent to address their consultancy requirements. The reason being that it is difficult to sue a consultant who may walk out and use the information for a competitor. We are also great followers of the do-it-yourself model of business.

Nevertheless, there is an opportunity to develop this area. One of the activities that can be planned is to have local networking of consultants.

Regards, Pierson

The Strength of Cite HR in the Digital Age

This thread is bubbling with enthusiastic views from various angles. Social media has certainly taken rapid strides in the last decade, providing many ways of interaction. Yet, Cite HR has its own strength. It has become the storehouse for many real-life problems, solutions, expert opinions, quotes, anecdotes, debates, shared information, etc. The topic-wise segregation is somewhat Google-like rather than Facebook or WhatsApp.

Many people have contributed immensely to this forum, and if anyone wants information pertaining to real-life cases, the same can be retrieved instantaneously. I feel this aspect is a strength when compared to Facebook, WhatsApp, or LinkedIn.

What Do Business Houses, Corporates, and Institutions Look For?

They want to see credentials and capability in a consultant to provide the services at the best price. When the platform mooted by Sid comes into action, the corporates would have a large and segment-wise data bank to browse through.

The Interest of Consultants

Consultants aim to get good assignments followed by proper and timely payment. If Cite HR, as the interface, can fix certain contributions to the forum as a necessary criterion to be on the live reference list, then a value chain will get established.

How Will the Cite HR Brand Work in the Long Run?

With a longer association, a consultant will make many contributions over time. The prospective corporate can see these contributions and make a decision (this is apart from the claims made by the consultants themselves). It is also possible that such information exchange can take place on a one-to-one level, as it is currently happening. However, when it is done through Cite HR, such browsing will be private. The prospective client can sift through many consultants' work rather than reading a couple of pages of a conventional profile of every consultant.

As I see this, Cite HR can even create a new category called something like 'Cite HR Certified' for a consultant who is aspiring to make his presence conspicuous in business circles.

Attracting Corporate Attention

Cite HR, in the first step, should take efforts to attract the corporates' attention (including startups and educational institutions) by explaining their proposal from three dimensions: FEATURES, ADVANTAGES, and BENEFITS. Send them newsletters and other relevant information. If possible, convene regional meetings for half a day in metros to start with and get going.

Regards,
V.Raghunathan

Thank you, everyone, for taking this discussion ahead. There are some interesting points that have been added by Raj, Pierson, and Raghunathan.

First, the issue of organizations not trusting consultants because of the difficulties with guidelines or legal action in case of misconduct is a grave concern. Probably the only barrier we could create would be to have the consultant's profile and testimonials at stake. However, the areas where organizations use consultants mostly seem to act as bridges to help them accomplish a certain task—like training, recruitment, business services, real estate, relocation, equipment, etc. We can create a useful location-based list for such services to help organizations identify good people. Certifications from CiteHR would involve a lot of vetting and liability—something that can probably be developed later.

Yes, the strength of CiteHR is in its resources of very contextual material on various business issues. What we need to develop is the network and make sure the people are exposed properly for the goodwill they are creating in the business community.

The primary goal of this feature would be to help people create portals of exposure through their posts—much like blogging but on a larger platform and very contextual. The corporates do know about and use Cite resources—what we need is something more organized so they can identify resources easily. For example, we have a member who has deep knowledge and interest in "Lateral Thinking" and does some brilliant training modules—just that one specific topic should be enough to get him a lot of business if organizations are shown his profile in a proper format to help them decide. And that will perhaps also require the creation of documents that help organizations map out the various things that can be done to improve and grow—and that can only be done through collaboration.

Regards,

Sid

Consultancy Services for Emerging Companies

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