CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IRISH SME’S

Hearing from Áine Collin of Blueprint Consulting, from the board of BITA Dublin board

Covid-19 has had an enormous impact on our businesses, especially SME’s which are the life blood of the economy and account for 99.8% of total business in Ireland employing 1.06 million people.

As an accountant and business advisor to SME’s for over 20 years, I am always impressed by their resilience and again in this time of a global pandemic l see this resilience presenting across all sectors and business sizes.

While there was initially shock, financial and operational worries, thanks to government support and SMEs embracing technology even more, businesses have survived, many have thrived and adjusted quickly.

In particular over the last month l have observed a change in mindset to looking at this time as an opportunity to create and innovate and evaluate how business is done – from the hotel or restaurant who is looking at different scenarios - open in September 2020 (at a cost of €1 million) or stay closed till March 2021 (at a cost of €250k) to a training consultancy who has to digitalise overnight, or the small independent retailer who now sells online; to the construction company who now has to manage onsite social distancing (with a possibility of more construction moving to more off-site fabrication).

Every business has had to really look at their strategy and the impact on finances, with liquidity being the number one short-term focus and the mediumterm strategy is around innovation and creating new ways of doing business.

Somebody famous – and wise - once said you should never waste a good crisis – and for many businesses, this is an ideal opportunity to really look under the bonnet of their business and “recalibrate” the “engine”. Businesses of the future will require to be more agile which means finding the right balance between operations and innovation.

The mindset of the SME CEO can sometimes be the biggest challenge in trying to balance operations and innovation, this mindset is being tested in the current climate and those who will succeed will embrace agility with resilience and a more open mindset.

One of the opportunities for Irish SME’s will be the ability to do business globally, especially with the UK. As Brexit continues many UK SME’s will look to Ireland for opportunities to collaborate. Key to these opportunities is developing new relationships and being part the BITA is a great place to start.

The pandemic has been a great leveller, with all businesses facing challenges and this brings the opportunity to work together more, adapt and innovate together. Networks like BITA can help us connect and work with likeminded businesspeople.

Another wise saying is “In times of a storm, there are two types of people – those who hide behind walls and those who build windmills”. So, my last piece of advice would be to engage with your fellow BITA members and let’s build some “windmills” together!

MOMENTUM SUPPORT CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ MEMORIAL DAY

We are so proud that Suzanne Hales was invited to represent Momentum Support at the International Workers’ Memorial Day on the 28th April 2020. Suzanne is a cleaning operative at St. James’s Hospital Dublin, and we spoke to her about how she felt to be involved in this amazing event.

How did you feel when you were invited by SIPTU to represent Momentum Support at the International Workers’ Memorial Day in Áras an Uachtaráin?

I felt privileged that I was invited to not only represent Momentum Support but also every frontline worker.

What was the highlight of the day?

I felt privileged to meet President Michael D Higgins and Mrs. Higgins. Especially as the location included the Plough and the Stars. This had been unveiled by President Michael D Higgins on Tuesday 1st May 2018 where he had given a speech “In remembering the 1913 Lockout, we recall the endurance, and historical human rights significance that lay at its vey heart. The event we honour and commemorate today was about struggle for the right to join a trade union”

What emotions were you experiencing in the lead up to and during the International Workers’ Memorial Day in Áras an Uachtaráin?

I was excited to attend but also very sad to be remembering people who had lost their life during the pandemic to COVID 19. I felt emotional from my own personal experience working daily in St James’s Hospital on the frontline. That many people have passed without having a family member at their bedside.

What are you most proud of?

I was one of four people chosen out of thousands of workers to attend the Memorial Day. I stood on my star point respecting social distancing of two meters apart from my four frontline colleagues. They represented the Post Office, Supervalu, Fire Services Paramedic and a Nurse. It was both a reflective and sombre occasion and one that I will remember for the rest of my life.