Due to the current crisis caused by the Corona pandemic, SEC’s main project activity of sending senior experts abroad to support our clients in the partner countries has come to a standstill. However, the project’s main goal of supporting SME and institutions with expert consultancy can continue to be achieved through alternative ways. SEC is therefore developing ways of consulting assignments through digital instruments. It must be noted that a digital consultancy cannot in any way replace the traditional SEC assignment, which often is very technical and hands-on and its success lays in the entrepreneur to entrepreneur relationship, that can only truly be established by being on site. But these extraordinary circumstances call not only for alternative ways of consultancy, but many clients’ needs have also shifted due to this crisis. Expertise in business, management, finance, law and human resources will be more demanded. A company that was looking to diversify its product in order to grow, six months ago, might now be in need of support of a different nature.
In the light of not knowing how the pandemic will develop in Switzerland and its partner countries around the globe, SEC is therefore screening the needs of its clients, checking the possibilities of our experts and developing a concept accordingly.
Support of clients through remote assignments
The goal is to continue supporting our clients with expert consultancy through remote assignments despite the global travel restrictions and adjust the content to their needs.
This way of consulting will also allow SEC to analyze how SMEs in various countries cope and develop in these times. Challenges and innovative solutions might even be shared among companies active in similar businesses located on different continents.
Potential groups of clients and implementation
Clients who are already known to the SEC from a previous assignment can be considered for remote assignments. But also new clients for whom assignments have already been organised and should take place this year.
For all focus groups, the offer is the same. A remote assignment is conducted digitally through the expert, being in direct exchange with the client, and under supervision of the SEC coordinator and the SEC Head Office and lasts 6 – 12 weeks.
Request for SEC experts
If you are still in contact with a client from a past SEC assignment, an official remote assignment could be a way to further support the client. It is important for the SEC to be able to show that the consultancy work of concluded assignments continues in some cases also thereafter. We need to document this relationship and your work in order to be able to measure and evaluate it. Should you still be in exchange with a client from a past assignment, we ask you to contact us so that we can check the possibilities of setting up a SEC remote assignment together with our coordinators. sec@swisscontact.org
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