The Professional Contractors Group (PCG) hosted its first event dedicated to friends of PCG and the freelance contracting and consulting community last week, attracting delegates from a diverse range of organisations.
David Morriss, chief executive of the British Computer Society, chaired the seminar and shared his assessment of the freelance marketplace. Increased competition had created a need to focus on core strategies, develop new business models and build partnerships and alliances, in his view, and the requirement for adaptability and flexibility favoured the use of freelance expertise.
Chairman Dr Simon Juden delivered an update about PCG’s latest initiatives before inviting three guest speakers to outline their respective perspectives of the freelancing market.
The increase of preferred supplier status and vendor management systems, and the evolving battle between HR and purchasing, were highlighted by Alan Horn, the chief executive of Albemarle Interim Management plc. Compensating for these developments was an increasing recognition of the value of interim managers, and Alan cited a 48% growth in his company’s turnover during 2004. “We are seeing an increasing emphasis on quality and the importance of change management,” he said, “and we know that clients now expect the interim managers that we supply to be as good as, if not better, than their best people. The landscape is changing fast, and our clients judge our interims by the same quality standards as the top consultancies.”
According to Simon Juden, the Labour Market Trends report published in October 2004 indicated that self-employment in the UK had increased markedly in recent year, and since mid-2002 had been growing faster than at any time since the late 1980s. Around 13% of the working population is now self-employed on a full-time or part-time basis, compared with 22% part-time employees and 64% full-time employees.
Building on the quality theme, PCG director Richard Robson and Jack Tsouramanis of Bureau Veritas presented PCG’s new quality scheme for members, PCG (QS), which comprises a UKAS accredited ISO9001:2000 certification process, a stringent code of conduct and ethics relevant to freelance consulting businesses, and a comprehensive support environment.
Richard also presented PCG’s new Approved Contract scheme, which has been developed for the benefit of PCG members, participating agencies and the wider freelance consulting and contracting community, to facilitate the availability of standard, commercially sound, business-to-business contracts suitable for freelance businesses operating outside IR35.
“This has been an extremely worthwhile event,” said Simon Juden. “Our relationships with complementary organisations and key stakeholders in the freelance marketplace are very important, and help ensure that PCG continues to be recognised as the representative voice of the professional consultant and contractor. We believe that we have much of value to offer, not only in terms of up-to-date information and expertise, but also in terms of a range of innovative services and initiatives, such as the new Quality Scheme (QS) and Approved Contract scheme.
“Furthermore, our commitment to case law strategy benefits the whole freelance and small business community, and on this note I’d like to repeat an urgent call for support to help fund an appeal of the Arctic Systems case at the High Court. This is not just about Geoff and Diana Jones; it clearly has implications for an enormous number of family businesses and small businesses owners.”