There is no doubt that businesses across South Australia have borne the financial brunt of COVID-19, particularly since the borders reopened back in November last year. Businesses in the CBD have undeniably struggled due to the public sector and corporates working from home as a protection measure to stop the spread. Now that we see the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, we know that vibrancy is returning to the city.
To support these city businesses, the South Australian Business Chamber has teamed up with the City of Adelaide and the State Government of South of Australia. We have a comprehensive suite of professional services and learning opportunities to assist businesses located in the City of Adelaide local government area, North Adelaide of course included.
I am promoting this package right now to all businesses eligible for this support. The team from the South Australian Business Chamber are ‘hitting the streets’ every Tuesday, so look out for them and welcome them in for a conversation. It will not take long before you can see something in this package for you and your business.
It might be specific advice that you need. Suppose you have struggled with some leasing issues. In that case, we have a partnership with the team at Commercial and Legal, who can provide a complimentary one-hour consultation. Or, if the challenges have been too significant for your workplace, then Workplace Wellbeing is available for a confidential conversation about strategies for you and your staff.
After months of ‘just getting by’, you may now be ready to grow your business. To support you, we have a three-hour Business Growth Consulting package available. In addition, if you are a budding entrepreneur or own an established small to medium sized business, our Encore Program for 35+ year olds has complimentary places available for mentoring and support to develop your business idea.
A staple of the South Australian Business Chamber service offering is our HR/IR/WHS advice, so we have two-hour complimentary consultations available to support your business with employment contracts, interpreting Awards, providing advice on employee payment calculations, unfair dismissal response and representation, and more.
The final part of this package enables you to support and protect your employees with training. It has been particularly challenging for those in customer service, so we have a course in customer service and conflict management. We have another available in sales fundamentals, and a third focused on creating highly effective managers.
With the recent changes to close contact rules, businesses have even more opportunities to get back on track after this global pandemic. Our current the South Australian Business Chamber William Buck Survey of Business Expectations shows that business confidence improved in the March quarter, with the confidence index increasing 18pts. With the direct impacts of COVID-19 becoming issues of the past and the election of a new State Government, there is confidence emanating from businesses. However, with rising inflation and interest rates, there are headwinds. Our city business support package is here to help.
