Transparency is the key to gaining trust
The debate about the use of food service consultants in the tendering process for new catering contracts was given fresh impetus last week at a mini conference held at Hotelympia. A panel of consultants lined up against a phalanx of operators to discuss the old chestnut: what role do consultants play?
The argument has raged for years, with many operators complaining that they would be better off negotiating new contracts directly with the client, instead of competing for the business through a third party. Consultants say they improve competitiveness and introduce a structure to the process. Clients say they get a better price. Operators say they often get shafted (or whatever word you want to use). The problem is there are many good consultants and there are a few bad consultants, but it's always easy to judge the majority by the standards of the few.
British Hospitality Association chief executive Bob Cotton, who chaired the conference, said the key to making the consultancy process work was "trust". Well, yes, trust should be an ingredient in all business transactions. What's worrying is that someone like Bob Cotton has to state the obvious in this case. If it still needs saying after so long, then something is wrong - too many issues remain unresolved.
The Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) - the professional association for consultants - launched a code of conduct in 1998. At the time there was talk of taking this one stage further by introducing professional certification for consultants, which would restrict the activities of unregistered (ie, non-FCSI members). This sounds like a good idea, but it does go against the ethos of hospitality where anyone can set up in business and make a success of it without formal qualifications.
So what needs to be done to take the for-and-against argument about consultancies out of the current impasse?
The FCSI needs to start flexing some muscle and doing more to engage not just its members in the debate, but clients as well. This would appear to be the missing link, as clients often use consultancies to their advantage without accepting any responsibility for the lack of transparency that muddies the waters.
As one consultant commented after the conference: "We all need to get together and decide to adhere to a way of business." The key here is in the "all". Getting consultancies and caterers together is a start but, if a real sense of trust is to be established, then a greater all-round understanding of the tendering process needs to be taken on board by clients as well.
