The bISME issue 15

bISME Volume 1 Issue 15

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WINTER 2021

THE BUSINESS OF IRISH SMEs

Finding Finance For SMEs

Swoop founder & CEO Andrea Reynolds discusses her business journey and her goal to make finance easier to access for SMEs

Budget 22 ISME CEO Neil McDonnell considers the highs & lows Transport & Supply Chain Challenges Is the GB Landbridge an option?

Cybercrime What does it mean for remote working?

HR Focus Preparing for a new era of work

Save energy and grow your business.

Save your business energy and costs by signing up to the SEAI Energy Academy’s free online energy management tutorials www.seai.ie/energyacademy

Your Energy Matters

bISME

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Contents

Volume 1 Issue 15 Winter 2021

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CONTENTS

Dublin 2, Ireland.

Phone : (01) 662 2755 E-mail: info@isme.ie Web: isme.ie

6. The b News News and updates for business

Published by iSME

Editorial: maeve@isme.ie Design: ciara@isme.ie Advertising: marketing@isme.ie

The bISME is the official publication of ISME. Individual views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily constitute ISME policy.

Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this publication, the publishers assume no responsibility for errors or omissions.

Copyright The bISME 2019. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form without the express written permission of ISME.

10. The b Interview Founder & CEO of Swoop, Andrea Reynolds discusses her business journey and her goal to make finance easier to access for SMEs 12. Budget 2022 Neil McDonnell examines the budget & what it means to SMEs

14. Energy Focus 5 steps to reduce your energy bills.

16. The b Issue SCM Consultant Steve O’Sullivan discusses the GB Landbridge 18. Back to Business ISME Member stories during COVID-19 21. HR Focus Cait Lynch highlights workplace trends & the changes employers are facing 22. Technology Focus Unleashing the potential of broadband in rural Ireland

24. Health and Safety Focus Discover free online tools from the HSA 26. The b Insight Detective Sergeant Paul Johnstone, GNCCB looks at cybercrime for remote working 28. ISME at work for you The latest updates on ISME activity 32. Business Focus Public procurement opportunities for SMEs 34.. Digital Focus Setting up an e-commerce solution has never been easier 36. Another side of…

James McCann, CEO, ClearStory International

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T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

17 Kildare Street,

4. A Message from the Chief Executive Neil McDonnell discusses ISME lobbying, pension equity, rising insurance costs and supporting local businesses

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A Message from the Chief Executive

Business insurance costs continue to rise despite the reduction in awards ...

Hello readers, I won’t dwell on Budget 2022 as I have included a more formal piece in this bISME on page 12, but in summary, there is a great deal left to be done!

Government announced their latest Public Health Measures for return to work on 19th October. As usual, their inconsistencies are evident, but at least Government does seem to be getting the message on antigen testing, 10 months after we wrote to the Tánaiste on the issue last December.

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The Companies (Rescue Process for Small and Micro Companies) Act 2021 has been signed into law, but is not yet commenced. We are promised it will start early in November. We believe a substantial number of small businesses are going to need to avail of this rescue process, so it cannot happen quickly enough for us.

Given the absence of measures to address pensions equity for the self-employed and private sector workers, we will now be taking our Pensions Equity Challenge forward, and we are consulting our lawyers. This will be fluid over the next few months, so keep an eye on the ISME press releases and on our social media.

It is interesting but not surprising that business insurance costs continue to rise despite the reduction in awards earlier this year. There are many factors at play here. Unlike motor insurance, there are very few underwriters for public liability and employer liability insurance. Those who remain have no competition, and little cause to reduce their premiums.

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Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive, ISME We also need urgent reform on legal costs, occupiers’ liability, PIAB and defamation, for which there appears to be little political appetite. We will keep the pressure on, and we urge you to stay in regular contact with your local TDs - the issue is very far from sorted.

The run-up to Christmas this year will be very interesting for a lot of small businesses. On the one hand, there is already a consumer splurge benefitting many in retail. On the other hand, other businesses, particularly in hospitality and entertainment, have gone through two Christmases without an economic level of trade.

We will be asking businesses and consumers to support each other this Christmas in our Shop Local campaign but we also recognise that this may be the last Christmas in trade for a minority. If that is your business, remember there are people to talk to - do not carry a burden like that on your own, please share and talk to colleagues and friends about it. Remember - there is no problem you or your business will face this year that someone else has not endured before. There is always help and advice out there for you - just ask!

Stay Safe - we’re almost there!

Neill McDonnell ISME CEO

Are you a company director or company secretary?

If so, you have statutory obligations under the Companies Act

To help you meet your statutory obligations, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE):

provides accurate and reliable information in a simplified format;

promotes effective compliance and best practice;

assists you make informed decisions by providing a FAQ section on our website with over 90 questions and answers;

assists companies and their officers understand their duties under company law by providing; • •

a suite of 7 detailed Information Books a suite of 12 ‘Quick Guides’ written in Plain English

Visit our website for our publications, FAQs and activities

www.odce.ie

Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement 16 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Ireland, D01 W5C2 | 01 858 5800 | info@odce.ie

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bISME USEFUL EVENTS FOR SMES InterTradeIreland Funding Advisory Workshops 8th & 17th November, 10.00am11.00am Go-2-Tender Cyber Workshop 10th & 11th November, 9.30am1:00pm

The b News

COVID 19 Government Guidelines Update The Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) published an updated Guidance note on 20th October designed to assist employers and workers to plan for the phased return to the workplace. A technical update of the Work Safely Protocol has been prepared with some minor changes to reflect both the most up-to-date Public Health advice as well as the LEEF Guidance note. This updated Protocol remains applicable to all sectors of the economy. It sets out the minimum Public Health infection prevention and control measures required in every place of work to prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 following temporary closures and in the ongoing safe operation of workplaces

Seed Finance Workshops 16th, 23rd, 30th November, 10.am-12.00pm Go to Tender Supplies & Services Workshop 17th & 18th November, 8th & 9th December 9.30am - 1:00pm Equity Advice Clinics 9th, 14th, 16th December, 8.30am3.30pm

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Book events from InterTradeIreland here.

National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Exhibition and Conference 2021 23rd – 24th November, 9.00am-4.30pm RDS, Dublin Register here.

EU Cyber Summit 30th November, 10.00am-4.00pm Dublin Convention Centre. Book here.

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The Shed Distillery Experience On 8th October, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar officially opened The Shed Distillery Of PJ Rigney, a €3.5m investment by the makers of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin. The Shed Distillery Experience in Drumshanbo is expected to attract 30,000 visitors by 2023 and would be creating a further 25 new jobs this year, bringing the total employed in the visitor centre and Jackalope Café to 75. To find out more click here.

Upcoming events from InterTradeIreland Through their Go-2-Tender Workshops, InterTradeIreland is offering a series of practical, sector specific workshops to give firms across Ireland the edge when it comes to applying for public tenders.

Workshops will take place in November and December. Find out more about tendering opportunities for SMEs on page 32.

In association with Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland is hosting Seed Finance Workshops in November offering free advice to earlystage companies seeking to raise business angel or venture capital advice.

Delivered by Grant Thornton, their Funding Advisory Workshops can help SMEs who are looking for new or alternative sources of funding to grow their business. These are taking place on 8th and 17th November.

The Equity Advisory Clinics are one-to-one clinic aimed at companies seeking Equity Investment. Companies can receive advice on their fund-raising activities including a business plan review and investment pitch practice. These take place in December.

For all events please see here.

The b News

From 30th September, the suspension of the right of employees to claim redundancy during lay off or short time as legislated for by the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid 19) Act 2020, section 29 has been lifted.

Prior to March 2020, employees placed on lay off or short time for in excess of four consecutive weeks or for six weeks in the previous 13 weeks, had a right to serve a notice on their employer claiming a right to be made redundant and consequently claim a redundancy lump sum payment.

This rule was suspended in March 2020 in response to the COVID pandemic so that employees on lay off or short time could not claim a right to be made redundant. This was designed to avoid high numbers of redundancy pay-outs during the pandemic.

Once lifted, this means that employees who are still on lay off when the suspension is lifted will be able to serve written notice on their employer claiming redundancy.

Read full details here.

ASA Marketing rebrands to ASA Ireland’s leading promotional gift company, ASA Marketing, has rebranded to ASA with an iconic new look that reflects its position as industry leaders committed to sustainably sourced corporate gifts.

The newly branded ASA (A Simple Answer) offers seamless gift solutions to its clients both locally in Ireland, as well as globally, through its formal co-operative partnership. As the sole Irish partner within IGC Global Promotions, ASA has access to an exclusive network across 46 countries worldwide.

There is a strong drive to source and supply recycled materials such as RPET, mix recycled fabrics and recycled paper and to use materials (i.e. types of plastics, glass, stainless steel, aluminium) and finished products which lend themselves to a recycling process. To this end, ASA provides sustainable products and branding techniques to clients seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.

To l e a r n m o re about ASA and their sustainable products see www.asabrands.ie

HR QUERIES FROM SMES WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHRISTMAS FALLS ON A SATURDAY OR SUNDAY? Many members think that when a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is treated as a public holiday. However, this is not the case. This year Christmas falls on a Saturday and St. Stephens day is on a Sunday.

If a public holiday falls on a weekend, employees do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work.

When this happens – some employers might treat the following Monday as a public holiday but an employer can require employees to attend work on that day.

If a public holiday falls on a day that is not a normal working day for a business, employees are still entitled to the benefit for that public holiday.

When this happens, employees are entitled to one of the following: • A paid day off within a month of the public holiday • An additional day of annual leave • An additional day’s pay The benefit given is at the discretion of the employer.

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Lifting of suspension of employees right to claim redundancy

The b News

Sligo to welcome a new Digital Gaming Hub A new Digital Gaming Hub is planned at Strand Campus in Strandhill, Co. Sligo. It received €1.9m in funding under the Regional Enterprise Development Fund. A new c1,200m2 building is to be constructed adjacent to the existing Strand Campus Enterprise Hub. It will provide a flexible workspace for companies working in the digital gaming sector.

Ambitious targets are in place which will see the creation of 100 new jobs on site in 20 companies and a further 40 companies supported through the establishment of a digital games cluster in the North West, created around Strand Campus. Find out more here.

Your Business Waste – Easily Sorted!

A new government-funded initiative designed to take the uncertainty out of waste segregation for businesses has been launched by MyWaste, Ireland’s official guide to waste.

Podcasts for business – want to be featured?

For great guests and interviews with Conall O Móráin, tune into That Great Business Show. In a recent show ISME Vice Chair, Marc O’Dwyer, Big Red Cloud was interviewed and you can listen back to him on show 58 here.

If you would like to have your business featured, contact producer@thatgreatbusinessshow.com.

For regular updates you can sign up to their mailing list here.

Be My Guest with Dr Mary Honan is available on LiR Media TV’s YouTube channel. If you would like to be interviewed you can contact Mary on dr.mhonan@ gmail.com or mobile 083 3002695.

Have your say about COVID-19

This new toolkit will assist Irish businesses achieve greater Circular Economy Please take a few minutes to complete our last COVID - 19 performance through increased recycling flash survey of 2021 here. This survey has been vital to our and composting. A waste characterisation lobbying activity on your behalf during the pandemic. study in 2018 by the Environmental Protection Agency (report available here.) found that almost 70% of materials going into general commercial waste bins is recyclable or compostable. Materials suitable for recyclable Each year the SEAI Energy Awards showcase accounted for only 60% of the contents of mixed excellence in sustainable energy across all sectors dry recycling bins, with food waste among the of the economy. This online ceremony displayed contaminants. The study found that by improving the incredible work and inspiring energy action waste segregation practices, businesses could being achieved in Ireland right now. together divert up to 350,000 tonnes of waste from the general waste stream annually.

MC Andrea Gilligan presented 10 awards, with

SEAI Awards

Speaking on behalf of the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices, Kevin Swift, Connacht Ulster Region Waste Office, said, “With clear language and visuals, the materials will make it easy for businesses to quickly understand what waste goes in what bin. This should help significantly increase the amount of recyclables and food waste diverted from the general bin and correctly placed in the recycling and food waste bins.”

The toolkit is free to download or order from www.mywaste.ie/business.

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addresses from William Walsh, CEO of SEAI, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, and Duncan Stewart, who won the Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Energy Award. You can watch the ceremony here.

Skills to Advance

Category

Make skills work for you

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

Developing Leaders for Hospitality and Tourism Boost the retention and development of key talent Avail of highly subsidised training for enterprise Contact your local Education and Training Board or visit skillstoadvance.ie

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The b Interview

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Finding finance for SMEs Andrea Reynolds, Founder & CEO, Swoop

Tell us about Swoop and how it came to fruition?

I had a corporate finance firm but because of the nature of my clients I needed to focus on all areas of the funding lifecycle. I quickly realised how fragmented and time consuming it was to understand what finance was available, let alone manually building applications for that funding, and working out the eligibility criteria. Sourcing funding felt like it was a job in itself and a high proportion of business owners were not as financially literate as they needed to be, or too disconnected from their numbers to make the right funding decisions.

I started out with two excel spreadsheets. The first one I called “The FitBit for your business” where I created colour-coded performance metrics for the business owner. I would tell them to move something from amber to green by the time I saw them next, such as cutting costs or increasing prices. It always worked and they didn’t have to understand the accounting terms so long as they followed the indicators.

Talk us through your career and what has led you to this point?

I began my professional career as a chartered accountant with KPMG Dublin and then moved to the London office with my main focus on financial services. I had a longing to do something more entrepreneurial so I set up my own Corporate Finance firm. My first clients were from the McLaren F1 team Spin Out programme, which meant raising finance for innovative pre-revenue businesses. McLaren drove me to learn about how to navigate the entire funding landscape for a business, from pre-revenue, start-up to exit. I discovered the world of grants, R&D credits and lending, as well as equity investment; in short, this was the embryo of what was to become Swoop.

What do you enjoy about your current role?

The best part of my role is seeing and hearing from business owners that we have helped survive and grow – whether it’s finding a way to help them through a cash crunch to make payroll, or to get the capital they need to execute their expansion plans. I walk into stores and see products on shelves where we helped those businesses get their start-up funding. It is so rewarding.

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The second sheet was for me to list all of the eligibility criteria and document the requirements of funders. That became ridiculously unwieldy, so I decided it was time to convert these two spreadsheets into a piece of tech that I could make available as a free-to-use platform for all SMEs and their advisors. I always thought that if SMEs could have the same level of service when it comes to finance as larger enterprises then we would have a lot more success stories and greater economic growth.

If SMEs could have the same level of service when it comes to finance....a lot more success stories and greater economic growth.

What can we expect from Swoop over the next few years?

Our vision is for every small and medium business owner to easily access the right finance products at the right price. We want to help them make the best money decisions every day. We will continue to build on our current offering, where businesses can bring all of their accounts into one place, including accounting, banking, CRO filings, online revenue data and more.

We give customers insights and show them what funding they can get so that they can focus on building their business while we do the work of making the application. As we continue to develop our customer experience, our offering will become even more efficient and intelligent.

The b Interview

We are also originating our own loans where we see gaps in the market. And we are going global as SMEs are global and trading in different currencies. SME finance is becoming borderless as data becomes the main driver of credit decisions which will lead to much greater choice for Irish businesses.

Going international does not have to be such an expensive step now, as we found when Swoop launched in Australia and Canada during lockdown.

We were on a level playing field to competitors because everyone was virtual. Before COVID, we would have been flying out to in-person meetings before we had made a single cent. Now we can launch and test market appetite before making large investments of time and money.

SME finance is becoming borderless as data becomes the main driver of credit decisions…

Other changes are hybrid working, which is here to stay. For business leaders, we need to figure out how to lead our teams in this new world and ensure that culture does not get lost along the way.

How can Swoop support SMEs to source finance and what are the benefits?

Access to finance and access to skills are the two most cited challenges SMEs face when it comes to growth. Swoop solves access to finance. It eliminates time wasted on searching and applying to lenders for products that an underwriter couldn’t approve even if they wanted to, due to the SME not meeting pre-requisites. It also empowers business owners to see the metrics that lenders see when they are evaluating an application. Swoop opens up access to the UK investment market too, where Irish SMEs are eligible to raise under the UK version of EIIS, with far greater ease and success than the Irish equivalent.

The biggest challenge is how businesses trade their way out of the pandemic and how do they access the finance they need, not only to overcome their period of survival but to be able to recover.

Swoop’s reason for being has been magnified since COVID.

Every crisis brings opportunities and challenges.

From you experience, what are the major business challenges you have overcome?

There are so many, I don’t know where to begin!

I think it is like that for all entrepreneurs as they scale. If I was to pick one, it was overcoming my lack of tech experience when I started out. I would consider myself a domain expert when it comes to raising finance for SMEs but I had to learn how to evaluate good versus bad tech, and how to speak the language of engineers. So, I went down quite a few expensive dead ends until I got that right.

The Swoop Team The financial sector is very competitive, in your opinion what makes a brand/product stand out in this busy space?

It’s very simple. Ask if you are adding value to your customer’s life. If the answer is a resounding yes, then your customer will not only return but they will tell others. Brand is how others talk about you when you’re not in the room.

I don’t have a specific mentor but I do have people that I admire and learn from in business who are always so generous with their time. In addition to Swoop I’m also on the board of Berkshire Hathaway European Insurance and the best advice hands down was from Warren Buffet on hiring decisions. He said that you should look for three things: intelligence, initiative and integrity. He says if a candidate doesn’t have the latter the first two will kill you. As Swoop has grown to a team of 75, I fully appreciate that advice. People will always be your differentiator and it is also the hardest nut to crack.

What do you think will be the long-lasting impact of COVID for Irish business?

Passion, planning and people are the three ‘Ps’ that many business owners attribute their success to. Would you agree with this mantra and/or what else makes a business successful?

Every crisis brings opportunities and challenges.

On the opportunity side, there has been an acceleration to online, opening up new sales channels and ways of doing business.

I agree 100%. If there was one more I would add, it is without doubt integrity. You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and know that you’ve done the right thing.

To find our more about Swoop, visit swoopfunding.ie

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Do you have a business mentor? What business advice was crucial to your success?

Budget 2022

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Budget 2022: The Highs & Lows Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive, ISME We welcomed one of the most-leaked budgets ever on 12th October. It’s hard to believe a Minister was dismissed some years ago for leaking budget details; this year politicians were apologising to journalists for having no more information to leak.

As in previous years, we had a significant number of “asks” on the table for the budget. It wasn’t all bad, so let’s look at what’s welcome, what’s understandable, and what’s yet to be done.

WELCOME The phased withdrawal of the EWSS; partial maintenance of the commercial rates waiver; the additional capital expenditure on infrastructure and housing; the (limited) measures for start-ups and entrepreneurs; and additional measures for green business and the digital economy are all welcome.

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

The widening of the standard rate tax band by €1,500, and the €50 addition to the earned income credit are as welcome as they are long overdue.

Our marginal rate entry point at €36,800 is still €4,133 below the current average industrial wage.

The childcare package announced is similarly longoverdue. However, we are concerned at the “fees freeze” condition in the Department’s proposal, which is worrying in a sector where payments have already been frozen for many years. The Federation of Early Childhood Providers wants to pay workers the higher “Mercer” scale, and will also have to pay yearly adjustments to their staff.

Government proposals must allow the indexation to achieve this.

Lastly, we welcome the fact, as set out in the Fiscal Advisory Council Flash Report on the budget, that Government did not use the additional tax revenues identified this year to finance additional expenditure. Ireland is already a highly indebted country, and this would have made our problems worse.

UNDERSTANDABLE There was a significant focus in the budget on managing cost-of-living issues for the low paid, particularly now as inflation is back.

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September’s inflation level was 3.8% annualised, a level we have not seen for years. And inflation in energy costs is even higher.

Therefore, it was no surprise that old-age pensions and fuel allowances were increased. We understand why Government won’t embark on major tax reform with a Commission on Taxation and Welfare in the pipeline. But in truth we don’t need a Commission to tell us that significant reform is required. In our Jobs Kill Zone Report, we set out four simple, vital reforms that Government could make to encourage the low-paid to seek better pay, promotion, and upskilling: 1. Fix PRSI to eliminate the high marginal rate on additional income in the income Transition Zone from €18k to €22k.

2. Set the basic rate for qualifying for the medical card at more than 30% above the comparable Jobseeker’s assistance rate.

3. Replacing the child element in Jobseeker’s payments and all other welfare schemes by increasing Child Benefit, phasing out Working Family Benefit, and at the same time making the Child Benefit taxable 4. Significantly increasing the income thresholds for access to social housing. Reform or remove the link between income and local authority rent.

Increasing what is already the second-highest National Minimum Wage in Europe to €10.50 will do nothing materially useful for the low paid.

Government needs to focus on the cost of living for workers, and must stop taking actions that increase the cost of rent or property. We are losing our international competitiveness.

YET TO BE DONE Budget 2022 included spending measures that permanently increase our State spending by 5% per annum. This has to be paid for. In order to do so, ISME proposed a “Solidarity Tax” for PAYE workers earning over €100,000, by extending the 3% USC surcharge levied on the self-employed to them (or introducing a 43% marginal tax rate for PAYE workers earning over €100,000). This didn’t happen.

The 9% VAT rate needs to be retained into the long term, and the “temporary” 23% VAT rate should be permanently lowered to its original 21%.

The Employment and Investment Incentive (EII) scheme, R&D credit, Knowledge Development Box (KDB) and the Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP) all need substantial amendment to make them relevant and usable for the small enterprise sector.

In order to address the skills shortage among owners and managers in the SME sector, Government needs to roll out ISME’s Blue Cert basic business qualification, and to encourage uptake via tax incentives.

As we advised Minister Donohoe last month in our demand for Pensions Equity, we need to see meaningful movement to end the tax discrimination against the self-employed and private sector workers who are trying to save for a pension, otherwise we will be taking the Revenue and the State to court.

While there has been some reform of property tax, ISME also wants: •

A site value tax to replace the open-market valuation basis for LPT (and commercial rates) purposes.

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A levy on road frontage (or a load factor on an LPT valuation).

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Government should complete a national review of LPT valuations by end of 2022. Thereafter, LPT revaluations should recur every five years, perhaps in Census year.

There is a real concern about value for money in public spending. If Sláintecare is to be continued, then the Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council (SIAC) needs to include a Lean Sigma Black Belt with knowledge of the healthcare sector, and it needs to recruit a health economist.

It also requires board-level senior management experience from the services sector.

Finally, it is important to make some realistic observations about the lack of direction in the Government’s small enterprise policy. We acknowledge that Ireland is just emerging from a pandemic that has imposed a global man-made recession.

This makes it doubly harder to generate the political consensus needed for major reform. But it was not always so. Within seven years of the end of the War of Independence and the Civil War, the Irish State had diverted one seventh of its total income to the Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme and electrification.

We need a similar level of determination now as we face structural issues on multiple fronts: climate change and the need to move from fossil energy; a health system that has proved resistant to all efforts at reform; an aging population coupled with a social insurance system unable to bear the weight of old age pensions; a fragility in the European and global political order with which our cosy, naïve national introspection is incapable of coping; an education system increasingly lagging our OECD peers; and an industrial policy which is driving our two-track economy - multinational and domestic - even further apart. Our political system struggles to recognise the existence of these problems, let alone address them.

Worse than political apathy however has been the indifference of large enterprises to the need for change. While there was no love lost between Ibec and ISME members who broke away to form our Association back in 1993, there was quiet consensus on many things such as the macro economy, taxation, employment, etc. It was actually Ibec which pulled the plug on the “partnership process” at the end of 2009 when, even in the teeth of the Great Recession, the trade unions would not agree a halt to scheduled pay rises under “Towards 2016.”

Since then, however, the conversation has changed.

Whether it reflects indifference by its multinational members, or an increasing influence of its semistate and academic members, the messaging is consistently one of endorsing the “Big State,” with no mention of inconveniences such as efficiency, effectiveness or value for money.

Despite our differences, our membership would have appreciated the support of big business in issues where we thought we had common cause through the last decade: in insurance reform; in tackling white-collar crime via perjury and defamation reform; in tackling legal costs; accessing affordable finance; reforming commercial rates; and latterly during the pandemic, in setting up an affordable examinership regime and advocating for small business with our friends in the Local Jobs Alliance and with the SME Recovery Plan.

But when we looked over the shoulder for support, there was no one from big business there.

We don’t know why this lurch to the left has taken place in Ibec. It may be the amount of subscription income coming from the semi-state sector? But as the business representative on the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) it needs to speak up for the needs of the small enterprise sector. Failing that, the voice of the employers of the largest number of workers in the productive sector of the Irish economy needs to be heard on LEEF.

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A decrease in CGT from its current 33% would have generated extra yield, but there appears to be ideological objection to lowering it.

Energy Focus

Guiding SMEs on their energy saving journey

Helen Williams, SME Support - Business and Industry Team, SEAI

More and more of us are concerned about climate change, and as an SME you have probably found yourself at some point wondering what you can do to help. Despite all the information currently out there, it isn’t always obvious where to start.

At SEAI we keep it simple by focusing on energy: the energy that you use in your business for lighting, heating, transport, and more. Using energy more efficiently is one of the most effective ways of reducing your business’s greenhouse gas emissions, and by following our 5 Simple Steps to Energy Efficiency you will be joining the thousands of businesses all over Ireland that are helping in the fight against climate change.

STEP 1. LEARN Learning more about energy has multiple benefits for SMEs: •

Approach energy efficiency confidently, with an understanding of some of the key terms and technologies

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Identify simple no-cost and low-cost solutions to energy efficiency for your business

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Publicly demonstrate your commitment to energy efficiency by getting a certificate of completion

How? The SEAI Energy Academy offers an accessible, easy way to learn about energy use and efficiency for businesses. Find out more and sign up here.

STEP 2. PLAN

An energy action plan will help you to improve your business’s energy performance through basic techniques and steps. SEAI runs online workshops to teach you how to develop and implement an effective energy action plan. These workshops, run by experienced trainers, will help you: •

Understand and commit to energy management

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Create an energy action plan outlining your business’s energy targets

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Take action and start reducing your energy use

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Review your performance and results

How? Find out more about SEAI’s Introduction to Energy Management workshop and sign up here

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STEP 3. AUDIT Getting an energy audit will allow you to make informed decisions about energy, especially where investments or upgrades are involved. An energy audit is most beneficial for businesses spending at least €10,000 on energy per year; if you spend less than that then the energy action plan will probably be more appropriate.

How? SEAI’s Support Scheme for Energy Audits (SSEA) offers a €2,000 voucher towards the cost of a high-quality energy audit for qualifying businesses with an annual energy spend of over €10,000. Find out more and apply here

STEP 4. INVEST Your energy audit or action plan will highlight potential opportunities for investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy. These can be very beneficial for your business, once you have good energy management practices in place.

How? Before you commit to purchasing, check to see if there is a grant available. Find out more about the supports available from SEAI here.

STEP 5. MONITOR To understand the impact of the actions you have taken, ensure you continue to: •

monitor your energy use regularly

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track improvements to understand which actions are the most effective

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consider documenting the improvements to understand the benefits over the longer term

How? The skills and techniques you picked up during energy management training will enable you to monitor your progress. This will not only allow you to see which actions are the most effective, but you will also have energy and emissions-saving data to present to your staff, customers, and clients.

To find out more visit the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland on www.seai.ie and look at the supports for SMEs here.

Your Business Waste - Easily Sorted!

Go to mywaste.ie/business to download a FREE toolkit designed to help you better manage your business waste.

This toolkit includes posters, bin labels and a step-by-step guide to better business waste management.

The b Issue

Bridging the Resilience Gap

When you need to be sure of your road shipments to and from the EU

The global economy has been operating in an age of turbulence for decades, compounded by forces of globalisation along the dimensions of replenishment, time, sea-borne distance, technology and climate change, that are accelerating beyond organisational adaptability. A resilience gap has arisen, where such turbulence is increasing faster than organisations are becoming resilient. A reported 80% of companies are concerned with the resilience of their supply chains and an estimated 75% of companies experience a supply chain disruption annually. Accumulating costs and other negative consequences have been demonstrably more severe than actual disturbances due to a disproportionate effect on demand, through panic.

Nevertheless, the invisible profession of Supply Chain Management (SCM) has performed a critical function in the shadows to minimise the impact on consumers. It is now supply chains that compete, not companies, and our trust is SCM has always been rewarded.

The recent catastrophic and tangible events of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world in a precipitous way, and elevated SCM to public awareness like never before. A perception emerged that somehow the SCM and Logistics sector was suddenly broken. Panic had a significant impact on bathroom products and pasta, and this extended to Irish SMEs trading with the EU through road movements, who were strongly advised by the Department of Transport to avoid ‘at all costs’ the GB Landbridge and the post-Brexit Customs regime implemented on 1st January 2021, and transition instead to direct shipping routes.

It is challenging to argue that there was not a political agenda behind the Government’s “ACT and Prepare to Switch” campaign that warned of the unimaginable disruption caused to SMEs by continued GB Landbridge use. The Ferry industry promptly responded with 12 direct EU RoRo services now in operation, compared to 5 in 2019, and according to the Irish Maritime Development

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Steve O’Sullivan, SCM Consultant with SGS Ireland

Office (IMDO), in the first 6 months of 2021, ROI to GB RoRo units declined 29% compared to the same period in 2019.

So where is the trust in SCM gone? Are SMEs solely guided by the narrative in the mainstream media, driven by both politics and port authorities that grow significantly from an increase in direct services? The GB Landbridge remains a safe alternative and is available to SMEs ‘when you need to be sure’, here’s why: •

The IMDO reported decline in RoRo movements to GB is largely due to COVID-19, and year to date (with a total of 122715 ‘transits’), a steady month on month increase in volumes has been recorded as restrictions are eased

•

The Landbridge offers a faster and more cost-effective option for SMEs, critical to time-sensitive sectors, such as Food and Live Animals. A 13-hour transit enables greater driver productivity when compared to direct routes that can take 24-28 hours

•

SMEs concerned with pre-requisite financial guarantees, can transit goods via SGS Ireland who guarantee up to, and in excess of 28% of the total value of the goods being transported. SGS Ireland also has Authorised Consignor Status, enabling transits to be commenced at the SME’s premises, a further time-saving measure. To find our more visit www.sgs.ie.

•

Be Winter Ready: Expected storms in the Bay of Biscay and Celtic Sea over the next 4 months will put direct ferries under pressure with cancellations and capacity issues. Before this impacts your business, speak to your Logistics agent and suppliers about sending test shipments through the Landbridge

Trust SCM and trust the superior expertise of the Irish Customs sector. Use the Landbridge.

To find out more you can email Steve@tiwto.com or visit SGS Ireland on www.sgs.ie.

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Back to Business

Member stories during COIVID-19 Mosaic

Office Assist

Office Assist started in 2021 and are based in Cork.

They offer a virtual office service that takes the pain away from the mundane tasks that are attached to being a business owner such answering the telephone, bookkeeping, payroll and other office tasks.

Maria O’Donoghue, Director describes their experience over the last year. “COVID hit the week after my daughter turned 18. We were lucky we got to have her party but nothing has been the same since. That week we were wondering how would this affect us and what impact it would have on the business and our clients – then LOCKDOWN. The reception door was locked and remained closed for nearly 12 months. As we are not a frontline business we didn’t know if we could remain trading, so Geraldine, another director in the business, got on the phone to the office of the Taoiseach and was told yes as we provide services that help other businesses remain buoyant.

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

Phew, we could work, but we were badly hit as many of our clients are physiotherapists, chiropractors and restaurants, these ceased trading immediately so our volume of work decreased.

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As the COVID numbers grew, we decided that it might be a good idea to prepare ourselves to work from home. We invested in a soft phone system and bought laptops for all the office staff. Just as these were put in place, three of our staff had to self-isolate, two continued to work from home, answering phones for our telephone answering clients and doing the bookkeeping for the others.

Since reopening our doors we have found that a lot of people liked being undisturbed by bookkeeping at the weekend and now have outsourced it, so our business has grown. All our pre-COVID clients have thankfully returned and we have added a few more.

While my now 19-year-old daughter hasn’t had a proper night out since her 18th birthday, business is steady and growing. Outsourcing is the way of the future.”

Visit www.officeassist.ie or call 087 3666939 or 06332466

Mosaic.ie is one of Ireland’s top development agencies and saw an upsurge in business after quickly adapting when the pandemic first hit in 2020. Their team of 42 employees, who were previously based solely in their office on Baggot Street, shifted to remote working without issue. “We already communicated through online channels with clients. Internally, we also already split into project teams and had daily stand-ups to identify any issues or learnings on projects, so it was just a matter of bringing these meetings over to video calling” comments Senan Cronin, COO of Mosaic.

Mosaic worked with a range of companies availing of the Trading Online Voucher Scheme during the initial months. “We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to support a range of businesses who needed to transition to an online offering. We not only got to help them from a technical perspective, but also in coming up with ideas of where new business opportunities online might be found. It was great to see some companies that you might be worried about, thrive. For example, we helped a number of restaurants switch to offering home cooking kits and this went very well. We worked with several fintech businesses - the aim being to reduce the need for cash through mobile apps; along with some online learning platforms that were built on both web and mobile” notes Senan.

Transitioning back to an office does look likely to happen for Mosaic, but it will be different than 2019.

“We have a close-knit team and have had one or two meetups (when it was allowed) this year. All of the team are looking forward to coming back to the office for one or two days a week but we will definitely be doing at least half the week remotely.

A number of our staff are located in Kildare and Wicklow and less commuting time is very appealing to them”.

To find out more visit mosaic.ie or call 01 9108958

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T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

THE

bISME

HR Focus

THE

bISME

Preparing for a New Era of Work Cait Lynch, ISME HR Advisor

Many businesses are looking towards new working models that include flexible and hybrid working practices, however these terms are often used quite interchangeably. The terms are actually quite different, and employers need to be very clear in their communication as to what working arrangements they are introducing. They also need to be up-to-date and aware of the Health and Safety implications of these new working models. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has published helpful checklists for employers on their website here.

There are also other issues that need serious consideration in any flexible arrangement, such as data protection, cyber security and obligations under the Organisation of Working Time Act. Employers are noticing that management is becoming increasingly complex, as they work to build processes to handle these new ways of working. It is important for those managing staff to begin putting frameworks in place to support remote management, performance, training and even induction. Policies and procedures for these areas will need to be reviewed and updated to accommodate any new ways of working that a business is introducing.

Employees are also beginning to change their expectations of the workplace, and employers must adapt to this if they wish to retain and recruit staff going forward. Culture has become a major consideration as employees consider a return to the office, and they are now factoring in what’s important in both their professional and personal lives.

Businesses need to focus on their organisational culture and really think about what is going to attract employees and encourage them to remain with the company. However, it will be important to maintain a fluid approach over the next while and carefully consider what way of working is going to be best not only for employees, but also the wider organisation in the long term.

Many companies are also looking to fill gaps or reorganise their workforce, and the war for talent is becoming ever present in employers’ minds. There are increasingly long wait times for work permit and visa applications which need to be factored into recruitment strategies. Employees may also be seeking to work from abroad, and employers need to be very aware of all legal and tax implications. They should seek specialist advice before making any decisions as to allow remote working from another jurisdiction long term, as it is legally complicated and can be costly.

Businesses are also considering redesigning physical workplaces, in order to allow for collaboration, connection and communication that has been lacking in the remote environment. However, they need to ensure that this can be done in a safe manner without placing the health and safety of their employees at risk.

Management now needs to be considering what will work for them as they move out of lockdown, and be preparing to implement positive changes in a manner that will benefit the organisation as a whole.

Visit our HR Advice here and ISME members can contact hr@isme.ie

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T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

As we begin to reopen workplaces and return to the physical workplace, a few trends are starting to emerge that employers should be aware of. These include changes to terms and conditions and ways of working, the roles of management, changes to the physical workspace and to recruitment and retention strategies. All of this transformation can appear overwhelming; however, some may need to be embraced in order for organisations to continue to move forward in the next few years.

Technology Focus

THE

bISME

Unleashing the Enterprising Potential of Rural Ireland

Peter Hendrick, CEO of National Broadband Ireland (NBI)

After work Caitriona drives to the marina, casts off and goes cruising in her boat down one of the world’s most beautiful waterways – the Shannon.

Is she a teacher, hotelier or farmer? No, she’s a highly skilled software developer working for a tech business in Carrick-on-Shannon.

From the supposed depths of County Leitrim, the tech business Caitriona works for has become a world leader in its market, serving huge organisations globally.

What many might perceive as a major drawback – being based in rural Ireland – has been turned into a huge advantage for many businesses, creating fantastic employment opportunities in areas of great natural beauty. It means bold, outward-looking companies can attract and retain staff who want exciting career progression and great quality of life outside the hustle of Dublin and other European cities.

To stand any chance of starting, growing and sustaining a business in rural Ireland with intentions to trade globally, superfast connectivity is imperative to keep winning work against competition.

“We’re living in an ‘always-on’, digital world, where 24-7 connectivity is a necessity.”

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

With low property prices, easy commutes, schools with small class sizes and the ability to work from home, businesses in rural Ireland can compete with any city-based corporation for their talents. Many are keen to return home after stints working in financial and IT centres including Dublin, London and other major metropolitan centres.

FDIs or native entrepreneurs who want to bring jobgenerating, cutting-edge businesses to rural areas need advanced fibre connectivity in their offices and homes. Without it, the promised blossoming of well-paid tech jobs beyond the business parks of Dublin, Cork and Galway will wither.

At National Broadband Ireland, we believe the future is limitless for businesses in rural Ireland once they and their employees are connected to high-speed broadband. As we all search to establish what the ‘new norm’ might be post COVID-19, one thing is for certain, that connectivity is going to empower our future lives and unleash Ireland’s enterprising potential.

Visit www.nbi.ie to find out if your business or home is included in the National Broadband Plan and register for updates specific to your Eircode.

This isn’t just the case for small businesses with grand plans for international trade. Our local coffee shops and independents increasingly rely on connectivity to run their business, with everything from payments to managing supply chains done online.

For employees who increasingly expect to work remotely, home connectivity has to be able to stand up to growing demands if businesses can truly compete in rural Ireland. If your home broadband is down to 1.5Mbps because half the population has gone online to watch Netflix or shop on Amazon in the evening, it’s not going to be fit for the modernday applications we’ve all grown to rely on.

Cynics may argue that tech companies like the one that Caitriona works for should be in Dublin where all the skilled people are. Nonsense. In the last decade, more than 300,000 graduates within a 50-mile radius of Carrick-on-Shannon have qualified with university-level degrees and they need jobs.

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Peter Hendrick, CEO, NBI

How will the National Broadband Plan empower your workforce?

The NBI™ network is Ireland’s new high-speed fibre broadband network, being rolled out as part of the Government’s National Broadband Plan. The NBI™ network will deliver initial speeds of 500Mb and 1Gb for business and residential users and is future-proofed, so as your data needs grow, our speeds will too.

We believe equal access to better broadband will empower every person, every community and every organisation in Ireland to achieve more, both locally and globally.

For updates on the rollout sign up using your Eircode at nbi.ie

BUILDING A LIMITLESS IRELAND

Health & Safety Focus

Be health and safety compliant with BeSmart.ie

HSA’s free risk assessment and safety statement tool

Joanne Harmon, Business & Education Support Manager, Health & Safety Authority

The past 18 months has seen many small businesses reimagining and reorganising how they work as well as developing new operations and processes, in order to stay in business and help keep their people safe at work. Managing risk at work has become second nature for many small business owners. The Health and Safety Authority’s (HSA) free online safety statement and risk assessment tool, BeSMART.ie can help you to manage health and safety at work and be compliant with health and safety law.

By law, you must have a safety statement based on up-to-date risk assessments for your business along with insurance policy requirements. The safety statement documents your risk assessment and the controls you have in place to reduce risk, as well as outlining health and safety roles and responsibilities at work and emergency procedures.

BeSMART.ie makes the management of health and safety efficient and straightforward.

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

Preventing injuries and ill-health in your workplace will reap rewards for your business. Fewer accidents and less absenteeism can help deliver a more productive workforce and reduce insurance costs (e.g. PIAB Employer Liability average pay-outs: €17,203). Staff morale can improve, when workers know that you have strong safety systems in place, and will contribute to the bottom line.

Developed by the Health and Safety Authority, BeSMART.ie has more than 83,000 users who have used the online tool to generate risk assessments and safety statement specific to their business.

Keeping your safety statement up-to-date, consulting with your employees and checking that workplace practices reflect its contents, can play a crucial role in helping you to prevent workplace injuries and ill-health.

To date over 320 different business types are supported on BeSMART.ie, with over 500 hazards risk assessed. Improvements to the platform are being made all the time.

BeSMART.ie is confidential, free to register and it allows you to prepare your risk assessments and safety statement in a way that is easy and straightforward, using a simple four-step process:

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Step 1: Select your business type Step 2: Work through the presented hazard assessments and answer the questions presented, with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ while considering if the measures needed to prevent an accident or ill-health are in place at your workplace.

Step 3: Walk around your workplace, consult with your employees and make sure all the hazards have been risk assessed. After all, you and your employees know your workplace better than anyone else does.

Step 4: Once complete, you can download your safety statement document. You can edit the document to include additional information specific to your workplace.

BeSMART.ie provides a framework that can be adapted for your own workplace. It uses plain language with no technical jargon and support is available to users via telephone or email.

Remember BeSMART.ie is: •

confidential

•

free of charge

•

easy to navigate and use

•

available 24/7 and at a location convenient to you.

The HSA also provides a range of free awarenessraising online courses at its eLearning portal hsalearning.ie for employers and employees alike.

Browse the portal and take short courses yourself or set up groups of your employees to take a course in their own time and at their own pace.

Queries on BeSMART.ie, hsalearning.ie, or any workplace health and safety related matter, can be directed to the HSA’s contact centre at 1890 289 389.

The b Insight

The Corporate Living Room & Cybercrime Detective Sergeant Paul Johnstone, Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau Computers are an essential part of our everyday lives. They allowed us to stay in touch as we stayed at home, while many businesses were able to find new customer bases and stay open, albeit online. As we emerge from COVID restrictions, the emphasis on remote working is slowly changing but some companies, and employees, will continue to provide a home-work mix to sustain their activities and support their staff.

Low Cost or High Cost

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

Many employees remain out of the cyber secure office and in the remote online world where digital controls and behaviours are less regulated. Sitting behind a computer screen can provide a sense of false security but it can create new potential victims who were previously hidden behind firewalls or malware protections. Home networks are traditionally not as protected as work systems and more vulnerable to attack. Cyber security protocols are relaxed at home with employers and staff tending to take an ‘out of sight’ approach when not in the office environment. Providing secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections or official laptops are not the complete answer. Searches for online products such as tickets or movies are completed on work laptops and vulnerable memory sticks are used to transfer unencrypted data from personal to work computers. Webmail accounts with messages containing insecure links or unsolicited invites are opened on corporate laptops and ‘friend’ requests are accepted over social media Apps using the same phones provided for work.

It’s worth it!

Cybercrime is nothing new. Criminals have long recognised the benefit of attacking and exploiting computers as a source of funds and a secure means of communication. An expanded victim base now exists and emerging new technology is being matched by emerging new offences. Cyberdependant crimes such as computer hacking have increased by over 150% in the first nine months of 2021, while cyber-enabled crimes such as phishing attacks or invoice redirection frauds, have more than doubled. Each cyber-attack brings a cost to victims that is not just limited to the cost of ransom demands. The loss of customer confidence and the effect a successful cyber-attack can have on employees and managers alike, can be equally damaging.

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To report or not to report?

Underreporting continues to be a significant problem with a recent report suggesting that only one in ten employees would report a cyber-attack to their boss. Similar statistics that show only 40% of companies would report attacks to police suggest there is a corporate view these incidents should be kept under wraps. But in doing so, valuable information is lost as each attack is unique in terms of the company involved, the methods used and the vulnerability that has been exploited. Preserved system access logs and recovered malware files can help identify attackers as well as helping victims and law enforcement prepare for future attacks.

Prepare vs Repair It is important that you put in place precautions such as: •

Ensuring remote and current backups of essential corporate networks are available for recovery when an attack takes place are essential.

•

Using updated VPNs and devices with current software and malware protections.

•

Educating staff about current cyber risks and the dangers of mixing work and personal data; or the risks from accessing insecure links and websites.

Plan for a cyber-attack to take place because it probably will and support the fight against cybercrime by reporting any attacks to your local Garda Station.

Paul Johnstone is a Detective Sergeant with the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau and is responsible for cyber forensics and investigations as well as being the Garda representative on the European Judicial Cybercrime Network (EJCN) in the Hague, the European Cyber Training & Education Group (ECTEG) and a trainer with both the Garda Fraud & eCrime Postgraduate Certificate at UCD and the Academy of European Law (ERA).

To find out more visit the GNCCB here.

Credit where it’s due during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Having difficulty getting a new business loan or restructuring your existing debt with your bank?

Established by the Minister for Finance, Credit Review is here to help.

Talk to the credit experts today on 087 1217244 or visit creditreview.ie

ISME at work for you

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Microsoft Excel Intermediate 2016 16th -18th November, 8.00am-11.00am Book here.

Managing Stress videos & Live Q&A

Transform Your Business

Patricia Murray, Senior Work & Organisational Psychologist with the Health and Safety Authority is in conversation our HR Advisor, Cait Lynch on a series of videos to discuss Managing Stress at Work. Cait posed questions and looked at areas of concern based on the queries and experiences ISME members are dealing with on a daily basis.

Starts 16th November with 6 monthly meetings until 8th February 2022 Book here.

The videos focus on three key areas: •

Work-related stress

•

Conflict in the workplace

•

Employer stress

View the videos and other key information here.

As a follow up to these videos we are running a live Q&A, hosted by ISME HR Advisor, Cait Lynch with Patricia Murray who will be joined

by HR specialist, John Barry, MD, MSS on Wednesday 8th December, 1.00pm-2.00pm.

This webinar is free and you can include your questions for the panel when you register here.

Managing Uncertainty: How to Retain Staff and Avoid ‘The Great Resignation’ Friday, 19th November, 8.00am-9.30am Book here.

Pitch my business Thursday, 25th November, 10.30am-11.30am Book here.

Managing Stress at Work Live Q&A

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

Wednesday, 8th December, 1.00pm-2.00pm Book here.

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Back to Business Mentoring & Coaching Programme ISME Skillnet are offering ISME members the opportunity to apply for fully funded business coaching and mentoring in their Back to Business Mentoring & Coaching Programme.

Business coaching and mentoring has long been recognised as a highly effective method to review, improve and grow a business; however, it can prove to be costly and out of reach for many small businesses. We want to change this for ISME members. This fund will allow ISME to engage 60 businesses and develop new ideas and strategies they wish to implement. The six hours with a business coach / mentor will provide an organisation with the right skills, tools, and competencies to develop their business. Read more here.

Meet the mentors - You can view the list of mentors for this programme here. The panel of experienced coaches and business advisors have either sectorial or domain expertise. They have been through ordeals that many businesses are going through themselves. Through sharing their experiences, it allows the development of a trusted partnership between mentor/coach and the business owner, and set a confident path to success. The progression of this relationship will aid a business owner to delve into their true purpose, both personally and professionally. These advisors will cover a range of areas including leadership, HR, strategy, finance, technology, marketing, sales, compliance and more.

ISME at work for you

Final Pitch of 2021 The last Pitch my Business for 2022 will take place on Thursday, 10.30 a.m. ISME’s CEO, Neil McDonnell will say a few words at the start of this session looking back at 2021 and his thoughts for 2022.

It is free and open to all, offering you a platform to network and promote your company. Each attendee will have 2 minutes to pitch and your business details including a special offer will be displayed on screen. You can include as part of this pitch your plans or promotions for 2022.

Please register here.

ISME Webinar on Managing Uncertainty Join us on Friday, 19th November for another in our ISME Business Advisory webinar series - Managing Uncertainty: How to Retain Staff and Avoid ‘The Great Resignation’.

This session will be hosted

by Mary Lou O’Kennedy who is an experienced workplace mediator and conflict management specialist and understands the challenges that both employers and employees face on a daily basis in the new commercial reality.

The webinar will provide advice and guidance on how to create cohesion and engagement in the workplace, in the context of growing uncertainty and challenges. Employers and managers will be provided with practical tips on how to manage the human fall out and stressors as the economy reopens. Find our more and book here.

Watch on Demand

A popular way to reach ISME members and SMEs, with exposure to your brand for 12 months, is through our annual Wall Planner.

They are sent to all members in December.

There is still time to book but limited space is available and bookings will closing in mid-November. Ads rates from €350, you can view the full spec. here or contact marketing@isme.ie

ISME Panel Discussion: Protecting your business from cybercriminals This online panel discussion took place on Thursday 28th October in conjunction with the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána as part of European Cybersecurity Month.

Neil McDonnell, ISME CEO chaired the discussion with panellists Jacky Fox, Accenture Security Ireland; Brian Honan, BH Consulting; Donna O’Shea, Munster Institute of Technology; Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Cleary, Head of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau; and Detective Superintendent Pat Ryan, Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau. You can view this free webinar here.

Return to Work Protocols with Katherine McVeigh B.L. where we answered questions on return-to-work protocols, vaccinations, wearing of PPE at work and much more in August. Find out more here.

Returning to Work Safely Q&A – an Occupational Health Update with Dr. Conor McDonnell, a Specialist Occupational Health Physician who provided advice and guidance on returning to work safely on 28th September. Find out more here.

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

ISME 2022 Wall Planner

You can view our recent webinars on:

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ISME at work for you

Lobbying Update Pension Equality: ISME wrote to Minister Donohoe at the Department of Finance on 29th September on the subject of pension equity. View the letter here.

Submission to the Minister for Health: On the 26th October ISME wrote to the Minister for Health regarding The Medical Practitioners Act. Since our last correspondences, at least one medical doctor has been arrested by An Garda Siochána in an inquiry into 200 false insurance claims. There has also been a number of personal injuries cases thrown out of the Circuit and High Courts where there was a marked and medically inexplicable divergence between the medical reports submitted by plaintiffs in support of their statements of claim, and medical reports subsequently carried out on the same plaintiffs by insurers.

In our view, it is a very serious matter for a regulated profession such as the medical profession that the investigators of first instance into misconduct are An Garda Siochána. The matters complained of in our July 2020 letter are not new, and investigative reporters have found evidence of cartel-like behaviour between some doctors and solicitors in the fabrication of exaggerated or false claims. The fact that there does not appear to be any inquiry by the Medical Council is indicative to us of regulatory failure.

Read in full below or here.

Budget 2022 You can view our budget coverage on the day including our pre-budget submission here and read Neil McDonnell’s commentary on pages 12.

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

Shop Local this Christmas

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ISME Wellness Programme- Members can take care of their team In these unprecedented times of a global pandemic, the health and wellbeing of employees is more important now than ever.

As we support our members and their employees working remotely, we are committed to delivering the best, most appropriate, and most accessible solutions along with our partners, Laya healthcare and their health & wellbeing provider, Spectrum.

Life with our ISME’ Wellness Programme.

This 24/7 Mental Wellbeing Support Programme (EAP) offers unlimited access to employees and their families. For members with up to 30 employees the fixed cost is €500 + VAT and each subject employee is €9 for one year. To find out more go click here.

As we have done all year, ISME will continue to back Shop Local through our B2B and B2C portals for Christmas shopping and looking ahead to 2022 purchasing. We want to ask businesses to support each other - either to purchase or refer business.

Members can advertise for free, please fill out the form here and nonmembers can also advertise, view rates here and contact marketing@isme.ie.

ISME in the news You can view a selection of ISME’s media cover in September here and October here.

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Business Focus

Bidding for busines

SMEs are tendering & winning more contracts in the public sector than ever before – here’s how to join them Martin McBride, Consultant for InterTradeIreland’s Go-2-Tender programme The opportunity for public procurement on the island of Ireland is currently valued in excess of 13bn per annum, with approximately €9bn in Ireland This scale of opportunity should encourage all companies to consider and apply for public sector tendering contracts.

Public contracts can be used as a strategy to buffer against economic cycles, as not only do these provide greater continuity of procurement but also there’s minimal risk of non-payment. Success is already happening for many businesses and if you wish to be a part of it, the pandemic has created a number of major ‘catch-up opportunities’.

Sub-sectors such as health and well-being, cyber security, education, government video communications and conferencing, have all established new models of operation in the postpandemic world. Other sectors like renewables, utilities and construction are all being primed for investment by major firms and government seeking to prioritise economic recovery. These present considerable opportunities for SMEs across the island.

T H E B U S I N E S S O F I R I S H S M Es

Can SMEs win these contracts?

Of course. One issue SMEs face is that they’re not sure where to find contract opportunities, or they’re cautious about tendering. However, this should not prevent them from pursuing public sector opportunities for two reasons. The first being that opportunities are there and data confirms that SMEs are already winning contracts. Secondly, for those who need more guidance on navigating the tendering process, help is readily at hand.

Success is already happening There are close to 200 frameworks in operation on the island of Ireland, with approximately 150 operated by Office of Government Procurement (OGP) across Ireland. Out of these 150, OGP data confirms that SMEs make up 70% of all framework members.

Success for businesses has also been encouraged by public procurement rules in Ireland, making frameworks more accessible by ensuring that public sector contracts are broken into lots.

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These packages mean small firms can deliver and meet the qualification requirements needed. It also facilitates collaboration between companies enabling them to bid for, win and deliver larger, higher value contracts.

Help is at hand Awarding a tender can come down to small scoring differences, it is a competitive market and any advice can make a difference. InterTradeIreland’s Go-2Tender programme helps SMEs to improve tendering capability through practical workshops and one-toone company specific mentoring packages. The Go-2-Tender workshops help businesses to analyse the public sector market and consider appropriate bids to pursue. More importantly – and with the addition of supporting mentoring packages – they support businesses to develop stronger bid content to improve the “win rate.”

Go-2-Tender workshops can help SMEs to: 1. Develop the right bid strategy; companies should prioritise and focus on tenders that offer the best chance of success, whether in terms of sub-sector, size, geography or technical requirements. Go-2-Tender workshops can help firms to decide when not to pursue a bid too.

2. Gain a greater level of awareness of the public procurement market and where to find upcoming pipelines. This enables firms to identify contract opportunities and prepare in advance.

3. Develop a bid library and write bid content in an engaging and clear way - improving case studies, capability and method statements.

Win a share of the market For businesses in Ireland, there has never been a better time to access the public procurement market. Opportunities for SMEs are at an all-time high and frameworks are more accessible than ever before. Previous participants of the Go-2-Tender programme have reported winning tenders valued at €100m so you do not want to miss out!

To find out more visit here.

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Digital Focus

The case for embracing e-commerce for SMEs David MacNicholas Relationship Director, Deventure Established SMEs have traditionally shied away from trading online, preferring to leverage both their bricks and mortar and their strong customer relationships which have been developed using the personal touch. For a long time, there was a perception that there was no need for many SMEs to consider an online channel for both B2C and B2B.

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However, the pandemic changed this perception.

For the first time ever business owners became abruptly disconnected from their customers during extended lockdowns. Equally they noticed changes in their customers’ behaviour as they themselves were forced to grapple with technology to buy what they needed for their home life or businesses.

During this time, customers became comfortable with transacting online. Many observers believe this change was happening slowly anyway and was due to accelerate as younger, tech savvy people become spenders and progressed to decision making positions in companies. As we emerge from the pandemic, most people in the different age cohorts now have an expectation that they will have an option to trade online and be at least digitally connected to the places they do business 24-7. This means they can always interact with a business at their convenience even if the response is not until the next day.

A recent survey conducted by the Microsoft Corporation found that the accelerated digital transformation in response to the pandemic has strengthened business resiliency in the SME sector.

The findings indicated that many small and mediumsized businesses now feel more confident that they can weather future storms. Spurred on by the pandemic they took steps to digitally improve their customer experience. Smaller companies need a direct line of communication with their audience just like the large companies who were early adopters. A digital connection with customers is not hampered by range or time constraints like the way things used to be. It also gives SMEs the chance to connect with customers on a wider level than before, increasing possibilities for expanding sales reach.

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Businesses who have embraced this have increased their customer retention and acquired new customers from competitors who do not offer online sales.

For many SMEs the large marketplace trading platforms like Amazon, eBay or others are not suitable as these businesses do not just compete on price alone. Small and medium-sized companies tend to differentiate themselves based on reputation and level of service, so having their products listed with price comparisons beside similar products will not necessarily present the company or product story in the best possible way. A dedicated online store with a user-friendly website allows products to be showcased and made available for promotion and purchase. Where repeat purchases are normal, a company app downloadable from Google Play or the App Store can further strengthen the connection with the customer.

To survive in the digital age most SMEs need to adopt an online channel. What used to be a complicated process has now become simple and low cost. It is very easy to add an online shop to an existing website and transact for “click and collect” or delivery, for B2C and B2B companies. There is no need for the business to have internal technical expertise as many solutions are now not only easy to integrate but are even easier to use.

Now is the time for smaller companies to take advantage of recent innovation and future proof their businesses. Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprises Offices recognise how important it is for Irish businesses coming out of the pandemic and offer incentives and grants to enable the building or improvement of websites, online stores and internal digital process improvements if certain criteria are filled. The reality is that setting up an e-commerce solution has never been easier or cheaper.

To find out more visit here or email david.macnicholas@deventure.ie or you can also call +353 (0) 87 2401 092.

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Another side of

James McCann,

Founder & MD, ClearStory International A series that highlights the lives and interests of ISME members.

In this edition, The bISME talks to James McCann, Founder & MD, ClearStory International about his interests and business.

How has the last 19 months been for you and your team?

What hobby do you have outside of work?

I picked up genealogy as a hobby since lockdown. I managed to track my father’s family line back to 1750. You uncover quite a lot about the past when you get digging. I have a great grandfather who fought at Gallipoli in World War 1; a 2nd great grandmother who was shot by strikebreakers in the 1913 lockout; a 3rd great grandfather who saved the Mansion House from being attacked by Trinity College students in 1900; and a 4th great grandfather who was implicated in a train robbery around 1880.

Why does genealogy interest you?

I enjoy connecting the dots and discovering personal details about those long gone. Contrasting those stories against the social norms and historical characters of the time serves as a reminder about how quickly Ireland has changed but also, how much has not changed.

Do you have an interesting story about your family genealogy?

The level of change and initial uncertainty was a challenge but we embraced it. We are now a fully remote company which has enabled us to hire outside of Dublin for the first time. We are learning new lessons now about rebuilding company culture in a new environment so we are off to Lisbon for a week as a team building exercise in November for the Web Summit.

Tell us about setting up a COVID-19 community response team to help vulnerable people in south Dublin?

In my twenties I set up and ran a Neighbourhood Watch group in Sallynoggin. We would work with the Gardai, Community Nurses and other key workers to identify vulnerable people in the community, so when COVID happened we just needed to reactivate that network. It made such a difference in the initial few weeks with so much uncertainty. We would take turns shopping, ringing around to alleviate loneliness or have chats through windows.

After I discovered my 2nd great grandfather’s connection with the Mansion House, I got in touch with the Lord Mayor’s office to explore if they knew anything about it. They invited the family in for an evening reception and I was presented with a certificate by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul McAuliffe, now TD, in recognition of his bravery in defending the Mansion House. He died in 1924 but it was great to see his actions recognised.

I’m combining two of my ambitions - uncovering the family history and writing a book. So many characters and events have crossed over during my research that I’ve decided to use them to tell the story of ordinary Dubliners from 1650 to 1930. We don’t realise how much the history of a city is tied to the history of its people. I’m hoping to tell the story of Dublin’s history through the experience of one of its families who lived at its heart for hundreds of years.

Talk to us about the work you do and your business, ClearStory International?

ClearStory was established four years ago as a PR agency to help emerging and expanding companies in technology tell their stories anywhere in the world.

We work with clients from Singapore to San Francisco to help them build their reputations and establish credibility, enabling them to grow.

James McCann at The Mansion House with his mother Carol McCann and Lord Major, Paul McAuliffe How important do you think it is to have an interest outside work?

I think it’s crucial. You need something to take your mind off your business sometimes especially during stressful times.

Do you think a work life balance is something individuals and particularly employers need in their life to have a successful business?

It can be very difficult as an employer to maintain a work life balance. The responsibility of keeping the machine moving doesn’t end at 5.30 p.m. especially when you are still building a business. That said, it’s important to build a business while maintaining a work life for yourself in mind which is why a strong team is so important. You can’t do it all yourself.

Visit ClearStory International here

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Are there any other hobbies or challenges you would you like to try?