Consulting Services in Saudi Arabia: Abdulrahman Al-Dayel Gives an Overview of First Access’ Solutions

Interview with Abdulrahman Al-Dayel, Chairman of the Board at First Access

How is the consulting sector performing both in KSA and in the region? Have there been any challenges or changes since COVID?

The consulting sector became more in demand. First Access is quite unique because of the services that we offer like ODNA, which stands for Organizational DNA, and focuses on organizational excellence. Organizational DNA has ten framework dimensions. The first dimension is executive coaching, leadership coaching, and business coaching. The second dimension is called strategic directions and includes change management as well as corporate communication. Currently, there are huge organizations that spend millions for the strategic aspect, even though it has not aligned with change management and corporate communication. Therefore, First Access comes with a unique solution. The third part is governance which includes IT governance including policy, procedures, and other functions. Based on the Vision 2030, our aim is to move the family businesses to IPOs or listed companies. These dimensions help make the organization more prepared concerning the policies and procedures, the metrics, the stats, etc.. The next dimension is P&L, or profit and loss where we have to measure the organization’s costs, especially in the private sector. This shows the market shares of the business itself. It also helps us to increase their productivity and their engagement with their clients. The sixth dimension is the OPM, or Organization Performance Measurement. Usually, most organizations around the world try to measure data itself. ODNA helps measure the organization as a whole. The CEO can have access to various dashboards including a KPI dashboard that includes all the job functions, including HR, marketing, supply chain, and all the functions in the organization. The seventh dimension is HR. We measure the maturity level of HR to make sure the company has a clear human resource vision and a strategic mission vision. There is a clear job analysis and scope of services that has to be measured for all the functions for HR. We are spending a lot of time on covering the gaps based on human capital. ODNA is a journey for us, a long-term organization development, where we spend a lot of energy to empower organizations, from the CEO to others, and to make sure we get clear strategic directions. The next function is very important. It is called business continuity as sustainability. Without business continuity as sustainability, the business is going to be at risk. The remaining function is inflation management. When any of the other nine functions have a challenge, inflation management can help fix that gap and can create a potential for development. We at First Access try to empower our clients to be more certified and more engaged with all the business processes.

What services does First Access offer?

At First Access, we broke even one month after establishing the company. Now, the business is huge. We have 26 active projects and clients.

We offer a solution called maturity level assessment. Maturity level assessment measures the baseline for our clients. Most of our clients come to us saying that they just want to do the transformations. But we cannot provide the proposal, technical proposal, or financial proposal without knowing exactly what we have on the ground. Maturity level assessment measures all ten dimensions and allows us to measure the performance in relation to each dimension. We measure all the functions by doing smart surveys, focus groups, meetings, and by observing. The best thing about the maturity level assessment is that we can share the technical proposal with the decision maker. To increase awareness, we need awareness sessions during the maturity level assessment to share the knowledge, the benchmark, and the best practice about the business. Coaching, maturity level assessment, including smart surveys and focus groups, shows the results, for example, three out of ten. After that, we go back to the decision maker to tell him that his organization is good, but now, it is not enough. For example, he has three out of ten because he does not have a clear vision or objectives, and these are the areas where we are going to create initiatives for each function. We ask the client where they see themselves in two years. If they tell us that they are looking to become an eight out of ten, we can provide them with a technical proposal.

What is your competitive advantage?

Our competitive advantage is that we see our client not just as client, but as a partner. We spend a lot of time doing the research for our partners. We focus on our partners to make them progress. The main point that we believe in is increasing awareness. Consulting firms usually focus on profit only. We believe that profit comes no matter what we are doing but increasing the client’s awareness is important. The transformation of the project can make it easier and more efficient. The unique thing we are doing is coaching because coaching and monitoring before doing the project ensures that the project is going to survive. Before taking on any project, including coaching, we have an assessment called a psychometric test. We also have communication questionnaires that have been in development since 2008. I have been coaching for more than fifteen years. This is what makes First Access different than our competitors.

In the next three to five years, what is your vision for the company?

Our plan next is that we are going to choose ODNA as one of the best solutions. We are going to focus on the Middle East in the next three years. In 2022, we need to have platforms. The platform is going to include more than 1000 courses around the world. It is going to help provide organizational excellence as well as empowering people. We are going to be launching in November. Other things we are working on are an agreement or partnership with a bank in Japan, three organizations in the United States, two organizations in the United Kingdom, and one organization in Australia. This shows that we are expanding around the world. With the Vision 2030, everything became very clear. We have three dimensions that cover Saudi Arabia and we have 96 objectives for 2030. We have set our goals as an aspiring local and international company in the Middle East.

What is your inspiration? What drives you to do what you do?

I started as an HR specialist in 1999. I left to work with my father in his businesses and I learned a lot of things. Since then, I have not stopped learning until even today. I have been working with more than 39 organizations in government, private, and entrepreneurial capacities. I have started 5 businesses. My mindset is to always give. Whatever I am doing, I try to give and whatever what I give I usually get back. Moreover, one of the subjects I am teaching is entrepreneurship and small business. I think everyone should learn, keep learning, and share your knowledge with others. This is what makes you different as an entrepreneur. In the case of Saudi Arabia, the government spent a lot of money to support entrepreneurs. The government tries to empower them and allow them to do a lot of things. At First Access, we broke even one month after establishing the company. Now, the business is huge. We have 26 active projects and clients. We are working in a very productive and dynamic way. We are passionate to help ourselves and our community. We are open to the world.

For more information, please visit: https://firstaccess.sa.

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