Orchan Consulting | Asia Sdn Bhd

Are University Degrees Still Relevant? I recently came across an interesting article: Is a traditional university degree the equivalent of getting trained for the typing pool? The article itself didn’t give me much in the way of answers, but the TITLE certainly sparked the right question. I think back to when I was at high school, last millennium; graduating university with a degree was a guarantee for a job. Yet, for my dad’s generation, having High School Certificate (Fifth Form) was a guarantee. Boy, how things change. Now (a generation or so later), as paradigms continue to shift, a degree is no longer a guarantee. A Masters degree is no longer a guarantee. Perhaps, a PhD? The globalisation and McDonaldisation of tertiary education has created some unique paradigm shifts: first, degrees are more accessible, both offline and on, thus generating many more graduates. The once-prized piece of parchment is now somewhat more ubiquitous, thus making its holder...

Preparing for the Worst Imagine if a reputation-destroying crisis comes calling at your company, are you prepared to handle it confidently? Do you have an existing Crisis Communications Plan, or a well-trained crisis management team to help tackle the crisis effectively? Like any other business in the world, every organisation, big or small, is prone to experience a crisis at anytime, anywhere. Therefore, advanced planning and deliberate preparation are the keys to survival in the event of crisis. Check out our recent interview with Craig J Selby, Orchan’s Managing Director, who provides his expert insights on crafting a crisis communications plan. 1.     What are the types of crises that may occur? That said, can you really plan for a crisis? A crisis is anything that brings negative attention towards your business or your business outcomes. It may be the result of an internal fault, eg; issues with Samsung or Volkswagen; or it may be th...

A golden oldie from a far gone era and state of technology; yet it's more applicable now than it has ever been!  

Improving Client Experience Craig J Selby The old adage “the customer is always right” has been drummed into marketer’s (and customer’s / client’s) minds for as long as most of us reading can remember. But, does that make it right? The truth to this answer is “yes and no”. I apologise for giving such strictly clear foresight on this issue – but our reality is that this line is a tightrope that customers and marketers walk every day of their existence. Yes, “the customer is always right” because they are paying the money – each service provider (including products too) should be giving the customer what they want – but at the right price of course. But then, there is also the “no” side of this coin – encompassing customers who seek guidance and look towards outside professionals for counsel; or those restaurant patrons who want their double cheese burger without cheese, with chicken patties instead of beef, oh, and could you make the buns wholemeal too. As I sa...

Managing Clients Commentary by Craig J Selby Clients are both a necessary and an evil. Whilst on the whole, most are great people, there are a few who fit into other categories. And, that’s ok! After all, we are there to do a job (we don’t have to be the best man or bridesmaid at their wedding), and as such, our level of professionalism towards the client must always be at its highest. What we say behind closed doors in our office however, well, I’ll let you leave that to the imagination. Managing clients is a tough tightrope to walk. On one end of the spectrum, you can have a very free-and-easy client-supplier relationship, bordering towards friendship, in which the lines of professionalism can become blurred. This, although a positive client-supplier experience, can lead to problems, as deadlines shift when a favour is needed, a little extra work is done here or there and not adequately billed, or one does not know how to say ‘no’ to a request which is outside of the ...