Worried about their future, consulting engineers and consulting engineers call for a strengthening of support measures

While the return to a level of activity comparable to that of 2019 should not take place before mid-2022, the CINOV Federation is making several proposals to support these small and medium-sized enterprises.

The main lessons of the study:

• Only 43% of companies with less than 10 employees used partial activity, compared to 78% of companies with more than 250 employees
• For VSE SMEs in the branch, the return to an activity comparable to that of 2019 should not take place before - at best - mid-2022
• 55% of small businesses in digital, engineering, consulting and events identify managing their cash flow as a major difficulty
• 36% of the VSE SMEs in the branch have used the EMP
• 30% of the companies in the sector have or will set up training courses to respond to the health crisis

The recommendations of the CINOV Federation:

• Sustain information on existing support mechanisms and support for the transformation of VSEs SMEs in the branch
• Set up strategic diagnostics and HR support services, expanding them to other themes (digital transition and ecological transition in particular)
• Focus on very small and medium-sized enterprises in the BETIC branch for better support for companies in other sectors that need the branch's expertise to get through the crisis and promote economic recovery.

The OPIIEC study reveals in particular that, if the VSE SMEs in the sector are those who suffer the most from the health crisis, and that they should return to normal activity later than large companies, they are also those who do the least call for support mechanisms set up by the State. Thus, only 43% of companies with less than 10 employees have resorted to partial activity, against 78% of companies with more than 250 employees. Also, while large companies should return to a level of activity comparable to that of 2019 by the end of 2021, this will probably not be the case for VSE SMEs in the branch for which a return to status. quo ante is not expected to take place until - at best - mid-2022.

Even more worrying: small businesses in digital, engineering, consulting and events identify managing their cash flow as a major difficulty. This is the case for 55% of them, against only 29% of companies with more than 250 employees.

Measured use of support systems and training

Although weakened by the crisis and worried about their future, the very small and medium-sized enterprises of the branch have shown resilience and request a support mechanism in particular: the loan guaranteed by the State (PGE). 36% have used it, compared to only 16% of companies with more than 250 employees. This recourse to the EMP, if it is not massive, however concerns more than a third of VSE SMEs in the branch, and is not without risk for these companies. They sometimes lack visibility in their activity, and some doubt their ability to repay their debt.

In addition to the use of the loan guaranteed by the State, small businesses in digital, engineering, consulting and events have also developed resilient and innovative strategies to face the crisis they are facing. In particular, they have stepped up the training of their workforce, in order to develop the technical expertise of their employees to support them in their transformation, both digital and organizational. Nearly 30% of the companies in the branch have set up or will set up training courses to respond to the health crisis.

The CINOV Federation therefore calls for strengthening support for the transformation of VSEs and SMEs in the branch. According to Frédéric LAFAGE, President of CINOV, "if small and medium-sized enterprises are not supported in this transformation, only companies with the necessary cash will take this more than essential turn", at the risk of putting all the others in difficulty. sectors for which these very small businesses provide intellectual delivery services.

The urgent need to strengthen business support systems and provide better information about them

Faced with these alarming findings and the still fragmentary use of existing support mechanisms, CINOV calls first to strengthen information on these. "The federation has already set up a legal information platform related to the health crisis that can be consulted by all companies," specifies Frédéric LAFAGE, who recalls that many thematic webinars related to the health crisis are provided regularly by the Federation.

CINOV also offers to set up strategic diagnostics and HR support services, expanding them to other themes (digital transition and ecological transition in particular). "Such devices would have the effect of considerably accelerating the recovery of the economy", considers Frédéric LAFAGE, for whom small and medium-sized enterprises in digital, engineering, consulting and events have many assets to support these transformations: “The consulting sector is rich in skills, particularly in the commercial and financial management of a crisis. "

Finally, the CINOV Federation would like to recall its societal role in this difficult period by committing to support its members in their activity, but also to be thinkers and actors in current and future transitions. "This is the heart of our ambition", specifies Frédéric LAFAGE, who considers that the promotion of the know-how of the companies of the branch is essential to the revival of the global economic activity. “Indeed, a wider use of the services of the branch would allow on the one hand a revival of the activity of companies offering such services and, on the other hand, better support for companies in other sectors that need expertise. of the branch to get through the crisis ”, among which those of professional coaches and management consulting.