12.03.2020

Business Continuity during the Coronavirus pandemic – A message from our CEO

This week the World Health Organisation declared the Coronavirus a pandemic, with the situation evolving rapidly.  There is emerging information that schools, universities and businesses will be required to go into lockdown throughout Australia over the coming weeks.  We have no certainty if, or when this will occur, however I owe it to my incredible team and we owe it to our valued members to be prepared.

Currently, the number of notifications we receive daily titled “Event cancelled due to Coronavirus” from major industry players are rising.  This situation is extraordinarily difficult to navigate for our organisation as a whole, and is posing a great challenge for my unrelenting membership team who carefully craft and plan events twelve months in advance to provide a range of opportunities for all of our members to network, learn, socialise and showcase their incredible skills.

Due to this time of uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus, we too must take responsible action and alter all events that would usually require our members and team to physically attend.  By the use of technology, this ‘Social Distancing’, (a term that has gone viral since the Coronavirus outbreak) will not affect the schedule or delivery of educational, CPD and information sessions.  These events will continue to be provided by a range of industry experts, in real-time by the use of web conferencing technology.  Details and times for these online events are currently being scheduled, and will follow shortly, together with instructions of how you can join.  Members who have already registered for upcoming events will be contacted directly regarding rescheduling.

On a closing note, I would like to share the three key business continuity strategies we have put in place to minimise disruption to our operations should our team be required to work from home, which may also be useful for our members and their businesses.

  1. Ensure all files and programs located on computers in the office can be accessed remotely (an IT technician can easily set this up).

 

  1. Download web conferencing software with video and screenshare to enable continued face to face meetings with your clients. This also enables sharing of documents should you need to collaborate on sketches or plans.  Below is a list of free web conferencing software available from the internet:-
    1. GoToMeeting
    2. Skype
    3. Zoom
    4. TeamViewer

 

  1. Divert the office phone to a mobile.

Of course, as information comes to hand, we will continue to keep our members updated on all changes that may affect their business continuity during these challenging times.

Design Matters is absolutely committed to supporting our members and their businesses, and we encourage you to call us with your questions.  My email address is p.anderson@designmatters.org.au or telephone (03) 9416 0227 if you would like to contact me directly.

Peta Anderson

CEO