November 28, 2007

Underscoring the “P” in PCO

The European Federation of the Associations of PCOs, EFAPCO, is a comparatively new organization in the industry, but one born out of a long-term demand for a genuine pan-European consistency in professional standards, said President Julio Abreu.

“Our main mission is to put a BIG “P” into the meaning of PCO,” he added.

“The content and standard of presentations at our Annual Congresses has echoed our determination to establish standards that can be easily understood by our clients and by the EU decisionmakers we have begun to press for proper recognition of, and support for, our profession.

“We are well on the way to establishing clearly understood standards that national associations of PCOs must reach in order to qualify for EFAPCO membership. Right down to details like back-up systems, education of staff, languages spoken

“We have also started to conduct detailed research on the professional standards demanded from the national associations when they are vetting PCOs for membership.  It’s sometimes difficult to compare standards because there is still not a level playing field across Europe, particularly in fiscal matters. However, these processes are key features in our development of a pan-European template.

“All of this work will help us to develop a schedule against which all PCOs can be judged by their clients and prospective clients. The challenge is not in finding, say, ten key points, but in establishing how we combine hundreds of factors into a totally transparent and readily understood bullet-point schedule that will save clients lots of time, money and heartache in picking the right experts to help them meet with success – every time.

“Our business is not about production of goods that can be judged analytically. It’s a service sector full of intangibles, most of them related to the way we and our staff relate to our clients. However there is genuine value in having independent examiners assess our performance and professionalism against a set of detailed criteria. That is how we can establish some form of universally-recognised qualification system.

Added Abreu: “In summary, we want to make the EFAPCO logo a genuine kite-mark of quality, keenly sought by every “BIG-P” PCO.

“What, exactly, is a PCO? It’s an organization that takes on the role of co-ordinator and consultant, responsible for logistics, administration, finance and everything technical. In reality a PCO should not be seen as an added cost, but as an additional outsourced resource offering clients real added value, while allowing the clients more time to concentrate on their core business and the message of the meeting involved. A good PCO can always have an impact on the accountant’s bottom line.

“EFAPCO is not in competition with other bodies serving our industry. Indeed, people like IAPCO and MPI have been actively involved in our past Congresses.

“In an increasingly competitive arena, we want meetings clients across the globe to recognize that Europe is, and will continue to be, the world’s leading congress and meetings destination.”

ENDS

For additional information contact: Robin Anderson, Editorial Consultant EFAPCO. Tel: 44 (0)1670 523 568.

Email: info@ra-a.demon.co.uk.