INDEPENDANT RESEARCH 2007/2008: 98% Cofesa members are "delighted" with Cofesa's service!

Dr. Edmund Ferreira, Snr. Lecturer - Business Management, UNISA (Pretoria)

(Left: Dr Ferreira / Right: Adv. Hein van der Walt - Director Cofesa)

Dr. Ferreira's independent research has proven that 98% Cofesa members are “delighted” with Cofesa’s service!!        

The use of consultants ensure business success

In the first of its kind, an academic research project has quantified the effect of professional consultants on business. Dr. Eddie Ferreira, snr. lecturer at the Business Management Department of UNISA, has found that the use of professional consultants is a determining factor for business success.

Assisting employers to comply with labour legislation, which is generally regarded as one of the most inflexible in the world, is the “mission impossible” of Cofesa. Dr. Ferreira found that 98% of his sample group (a large selection of Cofesa members) was “delighted” with the service they had received.

He also found that members are running successful, profitable and growing businesses!

The research findings indicated the following:
My business has grown over the past three years - 85%
The turnover/sales of my business has/have increased over the past two years - 79%
My business has been profitable during the last financial year - 76.5%
I make enough money to live comfortably - 68.5%
My profit has been increasing over the past three years - 64%
My business is employing more people now than two years ago - 59.5%

Dr. Ferreira’s results show that 91.5% of the respondents have successful businesses and the assistance they received from Cofesa played some part in their success.

Businesses that made use of our advisors also grew significantly faster.

The Cofesa team, advisors, sales and administration, are delighted with the results of this study which has proven that compliance with labour legislation, maintaining fair labour relationships, and practicing administrative justice, results in a productive labour force and a healthy and profitable business. It has proven that fairness makes good business sense!

Dr. Ferreira found that the following aspects do not have any significant impact on the success of a business: the type of business, the presenter of the assistance, the length of time of assistance, or  the size of the business.

The qualifications of the business owner did not determine the success of the business.

In the respondents sampled there were 34% graduates, persons with doctorates and masters degrees, and 16 business owners who had been teachers prior to starting their businesses and were therefore probably not business related qualified. The other 66% non-graduates were just as successful having made use of Cofesa’s services.

What do successful businesses do differently?

Dr. Ferreira found that the defining differential, of all the successful businesses, was that they use advisors on an ongoing basis. Many made use of consultants even before they started their businesses and they recommend that all new entrepreneurs do the same.

Dr. Ferreira refers to other studies, which indicate that most businesses are under-utilizing consultants.  The reasons for this might be the lack of awareness regarding the value-adding role of consultants, the inaccessibility of consultants, or the cost of consultants.  Others make use of consultants who, Dr. Ferreira warned, render services that only amount to “band-aids that fail to add long-term value for clients”. 

Dr. Ferreira’s research found that there is huge variability in the expertise of consultants, mainly because of low entry barriers to the consulting profession. Consultants are often ‘failed’ managers who have lost or left their jobs to become consultants, often taking on assignments far outside their experience or expertise.

Dr Ferreira warns: Consultants often leave business owners alone to implement recommendations made by them.  The skill and knowledge transfer between the consultant and business owner is often not sufficient, leaving the client continually dependent on the consultant. He warns that such consultants do not satisfy the real needs of the business. Professional consultants should create on-going added value for the business by transferring skills and implementing systems and by rendering continuous support thereafter.

Note: Cofesa avoids this frustration of employers by addressing the needs of each business with relevant and focused consultations by specifically dedicated consultants, and aims to establish long term relationships and cost effective services with its members.

Dr Ferreira also found that 8.5% of the businesses in the sample group were not reaching their potential growth levels and were classified as “unsuccessful”. Many blamed labour-related issues, including the high cost and low productivity of labour as the reason for their poor performance. They were nonetheless “delighted” with the continuous support rendered by Cofesa’s advisors.

Cofesa has developed a hands-on / hands-off system with a continuous flow of information and support to its members in order to add value to their businesses.

Cofesa provides a 750 page Code for Fairness and Productivity containing a wealth of practical information to its members. This is also available on CD. Cofesa also operates a 24-hour ‘Hotline’ which is manned by a highly trained, experienced and dedicated panel of experts who are supplemented by a countrywide team of equally dedicated advisors, who go out to offices and factories to draw up employment contracts, implement disciplinary codes, do disciplinary hearings and appeals, and help to resolve disputes. Members also have 24-hour free access to the Cofesa Code for Fairness and Productivity on the cofesa website www.cofesa.co.za.

Core business

“This study will surely assist businesses to rethink their approach in terms of the entire consulting process. In managing a business, owners and managers hardly have all the management skills needed to be successful” says Dr Ferreira. He recommends that businesses should not attempt to handle every aspect of and function of the business themselves. They should rather focus on their core business and seek professional advice and assistance in those areas indicated in this study, especially when their business is growing.

If you want to succeed, use (the right) advisors! All the respondents, who had received assistance, suggest that new business owners should make use of assistance before they start their businesses. The need is for continuous financial, human resources, and marketing advise in order to be successful.

What is the normal duration of a consultation? Interventions by a consultant can range from an hour or two, to one day a week or a month. Consultants may also be contracted to be available on a retainer basis.

The Cofesa team is passionate in its endeavours to assist members to reach their full potential and we look forward to being of further service in order to create even greater wealth for our members. We are now striving for 100% member satisfaction!