Consultants can provide vital support for any manager: drawing on consultants’ expert advice, managers can make strategic decisions that will improve the performance of their company or organization, or implement an action plan. However, when faced with a problem, managers do not always know where to turn, especially if they do not have the necessary skills in-house.
This is why CCI Hérault launched the PrestaConseil platform in 2022, with support from Montpellier Métropole and the Occitanie Chambre Professionnelle du Conseil (CPC).
This digital platform provides managers with a directory that identifies consultants from the area. At the same time, as part of the partnership with Montpellier Métropole and the Hérault Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Occitanie branch of the CPC has introduced a label, called ConsultPro by CPC OCC, to identify qualified consultants who comply with the values and best practices of their profession.
This label was recently added to the PrestaConseil platform. The advantage is that consultants who have been awarded the label appear at the top of the platform’s search engine. This gives managers the assurance that they are contacting a consultant who meets all the criteria expected of professionals.
The platform is the result of an initiative by Montpellier Métropole, which in 2009, in partnership with CPC Occitanie, launched the “PACK Croissance PME” (SME Growth PACK) program, which was designed to support the development of established companies with their new growth projects. At the time, CPC had identified specialists throughout the region, describing consultants and their areas of expertise. This helped CPC refine its directory of regional resources.
Today, this joint effort is reflected in a new partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) through PrestaConseil. Currently, 294 service providers, consultants, and/or coaches are registered on the platform, and only four of them have been awarded the prestigious ConsultPro logo at this time. It’s a start, since the label was launched in November 2024. “As it represents a real guarantee of quality and a reassuring factor for clients, consultants will increasingly want to obtain the label,” points out Sabine Boyé Gonçalves, President of CPC Occitanie.
To obtain the label, consultants must be registered on PrestaConseil, then apply for the label after completing an audit of their firm, consisting of a self-assessment based on seven key pillars: project management, contractual commitments and compliance, personal development, business approach, firm management, concrete results relative to the resources used, and their CSR approach. Candidates then present themselves to a panel of three specialists, who assess their qualifications based on their application. The label is valid for two years and can be renewed.
“About a dozen consultants have already applied. By 2025, we expect a total of around twenty to have been awarded the label. For us, ConsultPro is a good way to position ourselves as experts who can support companies and institutions in their issues and projects,” concludes Sabine Boyé.
For any inquiries, please contact Nicolas Planchenault by e-mail at consultpro@cpc-occitanie.org
