VistaPrint, the design and marketing partner to millions of small businesses around the world, announced a major brand evolution: the launch of Vista. This new parent brand encompasses VistaPrint, 99designs by Vista, Vista x Wix and the company’s most recent acquisition. That acquisition included Crello, a rapidly-growing, global leader in do-it-yourself (DIY) digital design. Crello, now rebranded under Vista as VistaCreate, offers a platform that makes it easy for small businesses to bring their social media and digital design to life, no matter their design experience.
“For more than 20 years we have helped small businesses look and feel credible, and as their needs have changed, we have evolved with them,”said Robert Keane, founder and chief executive of Vista and its parent company Cimpress. “We’re excited to announce our new parent brand Vista, which reflects our ongoing transformation into the expert design and marketing partner for small businesses around the world. The launch of VistaCreate is a critical part of this journey, providing small businesses with access to a world-class social media creative design solution.”
During the last two years, Vista has made multiple strategic moves and major investments to serve small business owners’ evolving needs and to drive customer value. The pandemic has changed the world for small businesses and made it more important than ever for them to have end-to-end solutions that support them online, offline, on the go, and at any point in their entrepreneurial journey. Vista’s research shows that 82 percent of small business marketing needs now span print, design and digital.
In October 2020, Vista acquired 99designs to provide small businesses access to world-class designers to craft their perfect logo, website, packaging and more. In August of this year, Vista announced a partnership with the leading cloud-based web development platform Wix to power the creation and management of Vista x Wix websites and related digital solutions for small businesses.
Vista has taken another integral step toward providing a compelling, full-spectrum design offering. Through the acquisition of Crello and its rebranding as VistaCreate, Vista now provides small business customers with a vast library of professionally designed, user-friendly templates that enable them to create first-rate social media and digital marketing assets within minutes utilising the VistaCreate website and mobile apps available for both iOS and Android devices. The platform already has millions of registered users across more than 150 countries who create well over a million projects each month.
As part of the acquisition, Vista has also acquired Depositphotos, a stock content marketplace with more than 200 million royalty-free images, videos, and music options for striking designs. Depositphotos is a thriving platform for the creative community with more than 100,000 content contributors.
Vadim Nekhai, Vice President, VistaCreate and Depositphotos said,“Over twenty years ago, VistaPrint invented online design and publishing tools for print marketing materials to empower small businesses to create attractive designs without having to learn complex software. VistaCreate brings the same simplicity to social media and other forms of digital design and Depositphotos brings a vast library of high-quality imagery, videos and music. We look forward to being part of the Vista team as we continue to innovate together to help small businesses look and feel professional both online and offline.”
Nekhai, the former CEO of Depositphotos, joins the team and will continue to lead VistaCreate and Depositphotos reporting to EVP and President of International, Florian Baumgartner.
Increasing numbers of consumers expect businesses to exercise corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporations worldwide are taking note. With so many options to practice corporate social responsibility, businesses of all sizes from all industries can make their own unique contribution to their communities and lift their profile simultaneously. Here’s everything you need to know about CSR for small businesses.
What is CSR?
From improving supply chains to diverse hiring practices, CSR has proven profitable for the community and boosts the business bottom line. According to one study of small businesses in Malaysia, investing in CSR not only enhances the business’s reputation it can also lead to financial rewards. Corporate social responsibility has come a long way since its inception in 1953 by American economist Howard Bowen. More businesses of today are finding mutually beneficial ways to include CSR in their overall business strategy.
CSR is far from irrelevant to smaller operations. It doesn’t have to match the costly big-ticket activities of multinational corporations to be effective either. With small and medium businesses making up 98.45% of all Australian businesses, smaller operations’ aggregate social and environmental impact on society and the environment is considerable.
One of the core functions of PR is to help businesses understand the environment it exists in and identify what issues and opportunities there are to enhance the business’ reputation. As a strategic PR tool, CSR can be aligned with the business’ goals and core values and is a point of differentiation for brand building.
While it’s not as easy for small businesses to engage in CSR in the same way larger corporations do, small business has the advantage of being closer to community roots (72% of people believed locally-owned businesses were more likely to be involved in improving their communities than large companies). It can adapt CSR in line with local community issues and strategic priorities. Research shows that CSR creates trust in stakeholders, facilitates business growth and is crucial to long-term competitiveness. Socially responsible businesses also have the added upside of attracting more investment dollars and increasing employee morale and productivity. With so many advantages, the case for including CSR is a given in today’s competitive business environment.
CSR tactics for small business
So how should businesses engage in CSR without a huge budget?
Before businesses even begin to contemplate a foray into CSR, Forbes business expert Beth Monaghan recommends they ask themselves the following questions:
Who are my stakeholders and what do they care about? Is it aligned with our initiatives?
What are my guiding principles and values and how are they reflected in these programs?
What is the change we are trying to effect?
Who are the naysayers and how will we handle their dissonance?
What is the impact on my bottom line?
How will we measure and report on success?
This will help determine the direction and scope of the CSR activity you intend to undertake. Small businesses have the advantage of being able to build strong relationships with their local community. Your business can undertake several community-friendly initiatives including fundraisers or donate your time and expertise to a local community project. Sharing skills or mentoring is another easy way to give back.
Other popular ways to incorporate CSR include sourcing sustainable or environmentally friendly materials, reducing single-use materials, recycling, shopping locally, sponsoring local school and sporting groups and supporting diversity when deciding to hire new staff.
Last of all being open and communicative with your local community and customers is fundamental to building trust. CSR is a way to demonstrate that your business is a community leader and that part of your business’s value proposition is ensuring the welfare of the community. By using every opportunity to be upfront with all stakeholders including employees, suppliers, distributors and customers your business can enjoy an upstanding reputation and community support that will get you through good times and bad.
CSR is often talked about as though it were a new concept, but the reality is what’s good for the community has always been good for business. As marketing professor Philip Kotler noted in 2004: “A good company offers excellent products and services. A great company also offers excellent products and services but also strives to make the world a better place.” Evidence shows that more than ever consumers want to believe that businesses big and small care about doing right by society and are willing to lend support to the ones that do.
Cisco’s Webex Hologram is unlikely to be a solution for small businesses but it is pretty cool technology and if you do nothing else check out this one minute video.
Webex Hologram is a real-time meeting solution that uses augmented reality headsets to combine Webex meetings with 3D holograms.
With 64% of employees agreeing that the ability to work remotely directly affects whether they stay or leave a job (source: Cisco Hybrid Work Index), organizations will increasingly offer flexible work arrangements. Yet this poses a challenge for teams that require hands-on collaboration, such as design or training with a physical object. With Webex Hologram’s holographic capabilities, participants can now interact in ways previously possible only in person.
“Our mission at Cisco is to empower the 3 billion digital workers on the planet to participate equally from anywhere in the world,” said Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager, Cisco Security and Collaboration. “Webex Hologram represents a large step toward our mission of delivering a delivering a work experience so seamless that there is no gap between virtual and in-person collaboration.”
Additional capabilities of Webex Hologram include:
· Immersive technology in use today: Unlike 2D and virtual meeting experiences in the market today, only Webex Hologram enables a feeling of co-presence by delivering photorealistic, real-time holograms of actual people. For participants, this means an experience that’s more engaging and realistic, as opposed to using avatars. This can make all the difference when it comes to training and problem-solving.
· Ability to share physical and digital content: The presenter can share both physical content and digital content that allows users to co-create and truly collaborate. Take an auto manufacturer, for instance. Participants can interact with a physical prototype of a vehicle that’s shared in the AR experience to examine and provide feedback on the vehicle’s engine and undercarriage. Design renderings of the car and other digital content can also be shared during the immersive experience.
· Multi-dimensional experience for multiple users: Support for a “1:many” presenter experience that enables remote participation from multiple users. Each user simultaneously receives a multi-dimensional experience, as opposed to other offerings that limit usage to single angle views.
· Headset agnostic: Webex Hologram is compatible with industry-leading AR headsets, such as Magic Leap and Microsoft HoloLens.
To learn more about Webex Hologram or request to be part of the pilot, visit webex.com/hologram.
Research from the IT solutions company Unisys in the 2021 Unisys Security Index has found most Australians overlook key steps to protect sensitive data while working from home, putting their employer at risk.
Interestingly the 2021 USI revealed: • 40% of Aussies say it is not their responsibility to protect sensitive data while working from home • Almost half (46%) say it is their employer’s responsibility to protect their data • 43% admit they have downloaded or installed software, mobile apps, or programs for work purposes, which their IT department had not authorised or approved • 32% admitted to downloading apps for entertainment or personal use
Gergana Winzer, Industry Director of Cybersecurity, Unisys Asia Pacific, warns while Australians say they are responsible for keeping their own data safe and secure while working from home, many are not aware of common cyber security risks.
The same research showed 4 in 10 Aussies would still click on a suspicious link in a text message, email or social app, and a whopping 73 per cent don’t know where to report a scam if they were to fall, victim.
Gergana suggests employers should take a proactive approach with their employees to understand what unauthorised apps are installed and why.
“Is it a gap in tools required to perform a job? Or is it because employees aren’t aware of the functionality of approved apps, or are they simply reluctant to change from what they are familiar with? Measure the adoption of approved tools – including usability and experience – to work out how to make them irresistible, to negate the temptation or need for individuals to install unauthorised software,” advised Ms Winzer.
As almost 90 per cent of Australian businesses are SMBs, Gergana believes organisations should not be focusing only on employee education.
“Education is only part of the solution – it must be repeated and continually updated to ensure people are alert to new sophisticated threats. Humans will still make bad decisions – accidentally or intentionally. Organisations also need a holistic approach to security that also includes processes, policies and technologies to make it extra hard for people to do the wrong thing,” says Gergana.
Steve Orenstein, founder of Zoom2u shares his delivery services tips.
The initial 2020 lockdowns saw many businesses simply closing their doors, not even attempting a door to door offering for fear of large commission fees, stressful logistics, lack of quality control, and potentially damaging relationships with their existing client base.
However, as complications with deliveries and delays through major delivery partners continue to wreak havoc and threaten Christmas sales, businesses of all sizes are waking up to the reality that in order to make their deliveries successful, they may need to take matters into their own hands. Not only must delivery be flawless for their customers, but they need to find unique ways of making it profitable.
While fast and accurate online delivery is most closely associated with hospitality businesses, which can deliver food and drinks while their doors are closed, other sectors can also look to delivery to help strengthen their offering. The truth is, any store with a product to sell can offer delivery: from florists to gyms, gift stores to bottle shops.
Delivery services tips:
Make it profitable
There has been a huge and growing market of people looking to buy everything online. Habits that have been instilled amid lockdowns are here to stay, and businesses are scrambling to keep up with online demands. But, to what cost?
When switching to online delivery for the first time, it’s important to ensure that your pricing makes sense and remains profitable, after delivery costs such as vehicles, fuel, and driver salaries and any unexpected costs.
Back-office smarts are the answer here. For businesses receiving multiple orders, smart software such as Locate2u can help to batch your orders which reduces the cost per delivery. Nespresso, for example, offers time windows to consumers to receive the delivery, which allows drivers to pick up multiple shipments at any one time.
Make it quick and easy
Nothing impresses a consumer more these days than speed and efficiency. By implementing faster deliveries, companies are speeding up the order cycle from their most loyal customers who will then continue to use the service, and recommend it to others.
Online sales in Australia have risen rapidly as a result of the pandemic, with data from the ABS showing an annual rise of 65.5% from March 2020 to January 2021.
In short, people are ordering online more than ever before. For those who are busy at work, coordinating and receiving an increasing number of packages can be a lot to manage.
Offering small delivery windows, fast services and a commitment to transparent communication throughout this process will guarantee a repeat booking, which drives profitability.
Zoom2u’s technology identifies the closest drivers to each recipient, ensuring a competitive delivery speed that can even rival click and collect, and a price that makes it worth it.
Keep up the quality
If your business is known for its high-quality products or sparkling customer service, it’s important to figure out how to translate the same high standards with your online deliveries.
Aside from the obvious – on time and in the right location – there are a number of other ‘must-haves’ that consumers are starting to demand from their deliveries. GPS tracking is a great way to let your customers know when to expect a package, and the ability to offer short delivery windows is another useful and much-appreciated feature. But in order to offer truly world-class deliveries, it pays to think carefully about customer service.
If you own a cafe or bricks and mortar store, many of your customers will be used to engaging with you in some manner, and this is something that you should try to emulate with your delivery drivers. Friendly service, clear communication, and manners will stand out from the crowd – especially since most customers have grown used to careless delivery people who almost throw their packages at their customers.
You can guarantee that your customer is likely to pay a little more for fast, accurate delivery than pay the basic rate and risk chasing their package down for weeks on end, or worse, not receiving it at all.
A recent survey done by Zoom2u found that 86% of people said a bad delivery would negatively impact whether they would make another purchase from that retailer, 71% of people would be more likely to buy online if they knew that their delivery would arrive on the same day, and 84% of online shoppers would like the option of tracking their order in real-time.
It is one thing to offer delivery, but it’s another thing altogether to do it well. With so many businesses looking to extend their online offering, small businesses need to find ways to make their delivery experience stand out from the rest.
Author of top delivery services tips: Steve Orenstein, founder Zoom2u
Zoom2u is an Australia-wide marketplace that connects businesses and individuals with fast, reliable and local delivery drivers, tailored to individual recipient needs. Zoom2u offers one hour, three hours, same day, next day, and interstate deliveries options and customers are able to view their parcel location in real-time, from pick up to drop off.
PodSpot Studios, the first network of purpose-built podcast studios founded by content creator and former breakfast radio host Dave Matthews, has today launched in two new locations as it gears up for further national expansion amid Australia’s podcasting boom. PodSpot Studios is a collaboration between Matthews’ podcast production company PodSpot and the ASX-listed WOTSO Property (ASX:WOT), which owns and operates a portfolio of flexible coworking spaces at near to home locations Australia wide. The new PodSpot Studios, located in WOTSO Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast and WOTSO Neutral Bay in Sydney, are available to WOTSO members, content creators, thought-leaders, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to hire from today. Matthews, who doubled down on podcasting after leaving his post in commercial radio earlier this year, said he plans to open at least 10 more PodSpot Studios by the end of next year. “As remote and agile working became the norm during COVID, podcasting has also enjoyed a boom with 37% of Australians over the age of 12 now listening to podcasts every month, and major players like Spotify investing heavily in the medium,” PodSpot CEO, Matthews, said. “The power of podcasting is immense for sharing stories and opening opportunities to drive sales. PodSpot is helping organisations of all shapes and sizes to add a podcast to their toolkit as we expand PodSpot Studios with WOTSO to even more locations over the next 12 months.” The new studios, which are purpose-built for podcasting, are equipped with the latest technology including a RODECaster Pro mixing console, microphones and headphones for hosts and guests, as well as flat-screen TVs for remote guests, video content or static branding.
PodSpot Studios first launched at WOTSO Sunshine Coast earlier this year, with more sites across Australia – including one in Brisbane’s WOTSO Fortitude Valley – to follow in 2022.
Jessie Glew, Joint Managing Director & COO of WOTSO, welcomed PodSpot Studios to its bustling Sydney and Gold Coast sites today.
“We are not experts at podcasting and we don’t claim to be, that’s why we have partnered with PodSpot to deliver WOTSO with some great podcasting suites,” Glew said.
“We think having a podcasting suite in our space provides another service to our members, and who knows, we also might have a WOTSO podcast very soon.”
PodSpot also offers workshops, training, marketing and end-to-end production services to podcasters at all levels, at each of the locations where you find PodSpot Studios.
PodSpot Studios on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and in Sydney can be booked here.
To understand more about Digital Marketing read the Small Business Answers guide.
Anticipating a strong return to business travel with the theme ‘Time to Fly’, this year’s Illuminate conference attracted some of Australia’s top business leaders and nearly 1400 business guests, who shared the view of a promising travel and economic recovery in 2022.
Hosted by Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) corporate brands FCM, Corporate Traveller, Flight Centre Business Travel and Stage and Screen, this year’s virtual event featured insights from Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, Virgin Virgin Australia CEO and Managing Director Jayne Hrdlicka, Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans, Impossible Institute CEO and specialist in human behaviour Dan Gregory, swimming gold medallist Cate Campbell OAM, and Flight Centre CEO Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner – as well as panel discussions with ANZ and Accor Hotels.
Alan Joyce gave a promising outlook for Australia’s travel and economic recovery now that most states are learning to live with COVID and there are domestic and international reopening plans, apart from WA which Mr Joyce said the airline was planning for it to reopen its borders in February.
NSW scrapping hotel quarantine was needed to get businesses travelling again, Mr Joyce said. He anticipates Qantas will return to 100 per cent of pre-COVID domestic travel by early 2022. Specifically, flights between Sydney and Melbourne will return to Qantas’s pre-COVID schedule of 55 flights per day by February 2022. “We will progressively, from the first week in November, go back to nearly 15 flights a day and by Christmas get back to closer to 30-40 flights per day. In February, when the business comes back, we will be close to the pre-COVID schedule.”
Mr Joyce forecasts a positive return to international travel for Australia, and he is planning for almost all Qantas aircraft to be in the air by July 2022. Transatlantic travel is opening, travel in Europe is at 70 per cent of pre-COVID levels, and domestic travel in the US is back bigger than pre-COVID levels.
Qantas is seeing high levels of consumer confidence in relation to travel, with more than 2.5 billion Frequent Flyer points redeemed since the start of this month.
Mr Joyce reassured businesses that, as we open, travel will be a very similar experience to pre-COVID, with the only difference being the retention of some of the protections that are currently in place such as masks, social distancing, and hand sanitiser.
Bill Evans shared his growth outlook for the next 12 months. His analysis of credit card data revealed that spending in NSW and Victoria has started to pick up. The recovery of these two states will help Australia start to see a turnaround in GDP this December quarter. However, the real momentum will build from the first half of 2022 and through the year as Australia reopens. Mr Evans said the growth will be driven mostly by household spending, which have accumulated savings, opening the possibility to spend at a much faster pace than income growth.
Mr Evans revealed that a turnaround in credit card activity among airlines and travel agents has commenced and will mostly be forward bookings. Credit card transactions for car rentals and hotels, however, are yet to begin rebounding.
He predicts that Australia will look very good internationally in 2022 after its vaccination program reaches very high levels, just as we were world leaders in our containment of the virus in 2020. This “will stand us in good stead to ensure no more snap lockdowns and much more freedom of movement around the country,” he said.
Mr Evans shared a unique forecast about interest rates: the RBA will raise the cash rate in the first quarter of 2023 and continue raising it to 1.25 per cent by the end of 2024. This is largely due to an expected fall in the unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent by the end of 2022, and it will see house prices fall in 2023. Rising employment and wages will drive healthy income growth.
He is optimistic about the Aussie dollar: “The Australian dollar is already at $0.74, and we are expecting at least $0.75 by the end of this year, and $0.78 in 2022 and $0.80 by the end of 2023. By the time we get to the end of next year, the RBA will have achieved its objective of 2.5 per cent inflation, full employment, and wages growth getting up to around three per cent.”
Mr Evans says all these factors combined will drive spending in the travel sector.
Dan Gregory shared illuminating insights into the critical role face-to-face communication plays in business. He highlighted the three key behavioural areas that face-to-face communications support in helping businesses operate successfully: trust, culture, and engagement. He said: “Face-to-face meetings are critical to building trust, as a lot of communication is behavioural or non-verbal. We make non-verbal assessments of others, particularly when meeting for the first time, and it’s those silent cues that are critical to building a rapport and trust.”
Mr Gregory said a return to face-to-face communication will strengthen organisational culture, as it has been a critical component in building connections and a sense of community for centuries. “Pre-pandemic, teams could have organic, incidental conversations and collaborate easily. The lack of physical communication and organic conversations has impacted company culture, for both existing teams and new hires that would have struggled to form connections due to isolation.”
Mr Gregory explained that engagement was a key problem that many organisations, particularly large ones, faced even pre-pandemic and was exacerbated during the pandemic. “Disengagement from work is a growing issue and unfortunately isolation and remote working during the pandemic has led to what has now been coined as The Great Resignation and organisations globally are risking losing vital employees. People are now taking the time to re-evaluate their values and consider what is most important to them, leaving the workplaces they believe no longer align with those values.”
When Australia opens, Mr Gregory believes companies will have an opportunity to increase engagement by focussing on reconnecting with their employees in a real way. “The more you are able to create those face-to-face connections, the more people re-establish trust … it increases engagement because we are connecting with people in a real way.”
Jayne Hrdlicka reflected on her first year as the head of the airline, exploring the company’s ability to become agile and adaptable based on ever-changing circumstances. What Virgin has done really well as a company is “listen and adapt and adjust based on what is happening around us. We have been good at being responsible when borders are open and when closed, and hibernating and protecting the business and driving aggressive transformation behind the scenes. You will have seen us adding lots of flights in markets that are open, so we are flying between South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. We have added 12 new routes to make that possible.”
As the country reopens and transitions into a new normal of living with COVID, Virgin will continue to maintain its agility and flexibility. “Even though we will move back to seasonal planning at a macro level, at a micro level we will continue to move schedules around where we see demand build up. . Our strong Sydney-Melbourne and Brisbane-Melbourne-Sydney schedules will remain, while we’ll also consider where demand has shifted. Now that people are used to working differently, I predict a larger demand pool for adding leisure to corporate travel.”
Ms Hrdlicka also said the company is ramping up its travel offerings to businesses and consumers in the lead up to Christmas, both domestic and international. “Promisingly, we’ve accelerated our thinking regarding international travel. We plan to resume flights to Fiji from mid-December, with the possibility to add Bali to the mix.” Ms Hrdlicka sees travel to New Zealand on the horizon soon, while Virgin will consider broader, long haul international travel in the coming months.
Charlene Leiss, President of FCTG, The Americas, shared insights on the return to travel in the US, where nearly all aspects of life are back to normal, including schools, road traffic, events such as the Boston Marathon, domestic travel, and an increasing proportion of people are back at workplaces.
She said: “In the US, domestic travel is back to normal except for mask-wearing. Airports are busy, flights are full, and airlines are upping their capacity across all routes. There are more restrictions and complexities in international travel, but that is also starting to pick up.”
Ms Leiss says the proactive focusses that will most help businesses resume travelling is great communication with their teams and a framework for returning to travel. Being armed with knowledge about restrictions, accessing the latest updates and receiving support will also be important – that is why an increasing number of US businesses need a travel management company more than ever to navigate travel complexities.
Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner shared Flight Centre’s journey through the pandemic in a discussion with Corporate Traveller General Manager and Illuminate MC Tom Walley. Flight Centre focused on keeping as many people on as possible and protecting the key assets it couldn’t afford to lose, particularly the team members who always deal with customers and suppliers.
During the last 18 months, the company focused on transforming its technology offerings and its systems. Mt Turner forecasted a return to profit globally in six to nine months. He was honest about the impact the pandemic has had on the travel industry and forecasted it may be two to three years for the industry to return to pre-COVID sales.
Mr Turner shared a positive domestic travel outlook: “As we open up, I am confident we will come out of this stronger than when we went in. We will have a reasonable level of normality in travel by Christmas and I think even Queensland will bring forward their overseas travellers being allowed in without quarantine.”
Mr Turner also forecasted the higher value businesses will place on travel agents after Australia opens, particularly in the next 12-18 months. He also forecasted that automation and duty of care will become more important and is the reason why FCTG made technology a focus in 2020 and 2021.
FCTG asked attendees at Illuminate for their views on travel and travel preparedness. Below are the aggregated responses from 400-500 guests:
Q. Where in the responsible travel journey are you and your organisation at?
% of respondents
We are just starting the process.
45
The plans are being made and the organisation is committed.
37
We have rolled out the plan and the culture shift is underway.
12
We are seeing real results from our Responsible Travel policy.
6
Q. Which of the following international destination do you think Flight Centre is seeing the most enquiry about?
% of respondents
London.
57
Fiji.
30
Hawaii.
7
Los Angeles.
5
Q. Which of these do you think would lead to a stronger economic recovery in 2022?
As the Eastern States continue to progress on their paths to re-opening, small businesses are often left confused and in the dark about constant COVID compliance changes in rules and regulations.
With all the continued uncertainty for small businesses, they can do a few things to help manage some of the new operations and staffing needs that need to be considered.
From managing compliance and documentation needs to staffing considerations, here are my tips for small business owners on using HR management tools to help them navigate the complexities of re-opening.
Speeding up COVID compliance checks
The introduction of mandatory vaccinations in certain industries and the population more broadly means lockdowns are a thing of the past. Since case numbers will now come down to businesses and individuals complying with regulations and mandates, we’re going to see governments paying a lot more attention to the COVID compliance from businesses. They won’t be afraid to shut down sites and give out fines as a deterrent.
Small business owners need to communicate their compliance with ease and make sure there’s no margin for error. Particularly for customer-facing businesses, we don’t want compliance checks taking longer than they need to, or being shut down for simple mistakes, so reviewing your processes to make these checks a breeze is key for continuity and to take advantage of the increase in consumer spending post-lockdown. HR software that holds all documentation & staff records (including vaccinations) is a great way to just hand over to compliance personnel and make the process simple.
Adapting to staffing trends
Small business owners need to consider how they can increase their staffing flexibility and create efficiencies. As uncertainty continues to loom, a flexible and scalable workforce is going to be key. What many refer to as the ‘uber-isation’ of the workforce could be beneficial to certain sectors, particularly those undergoing staffing shortages and that are also vulnerable to frequent shutdowns like child care, aged care, or construction.
For example, leveraging rostering technology can allow business owners to allow workers to seamlessly pick up shifts across multiple locations to suit their schedules or fill compliance needs at facilities without waiting for all the checks and balances to come through. Not only is this critical whilst we continue to see self-isolation requirements during COVID, but also changing working habits that demand greater flexibility and convenience from employers.
In addition to flexibility comes retention. It’s no secret that finding staff is hard, which puts the power in the employees’ hands when it comes to retention. We’ve heard multiple stories, particularly from the hospitality industry, where poor management has led to staff walking out because they know there are endless jobs available. The skilled workforce now has leverage.
The onus is on employers to make sure staff members are happy at work, particularly when we’re just coming out of lockdown. Staff wellbeing is something that you can monitor in HR software. It gives managers and owners insight into what they could be doing to improve staff wellbeing and ultimately retention and performance.
Keeping up the communication
As we open back up, the need for increased flexibility means communication across the business is essential. Some people think that workforce management software is only made to cover admin tasks. Still, a truly all-in-one platform allows fast communication through private messages and collaboration boards. Hence, people are up to date from wherever they are, which is imperative to lead a team in changing times.
Ultimately, we’re going back into a very different world than the one we knew before the most recent lockdowns. Vaccine mandates, rapidly changing staffing needs and new ways of working will demand more from small business owners than ever. That’s why it’s important to carefully consider the HR software you’re using and ensure you prioritise compliance, realise efficiencies, and take care of your staff as we take steps to re-open the country.
According to a recent report by BCG (Sept 2021), 77% of cyber attacks are due to human failure with negligence or phishing accounting for three quarters of attacks and only a quarter caused by technology. This can be a major issue for small businesses that don’t have the resources to properly invest in cyber security training for their staff.
The pandemic has seen a large increase in the number of people working from home which has given hackers new opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities in unsecured technologies and prey on unprepared workplaces.
Cybercrime is a huge issue in Australia, currently costing the Australian economy around $3.5 billion a year. Globally the cost is set to rise to $2Trillion by the end of the year, up from $400B in 2015. Any business, big or small, is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. But for small businesses, even small-scale cyber attacks can be incredibly damaging. They can severely impact how a business is run, wreaking irreparable financial and reputational damage.
Misinformation and ignorance around cyber security are a big part of the problem. A report from the government’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) found almost half of SMBs rated their cyber security understanding as ‘average’ or ‘below average and had poor cyber security practices. One in five SMBs did not know the term ‘phishing’. Many businesses were unaware of the threats they face, with SMBs who outsource their IT security believing they are better protected than they really are.
Small businesses should not and cannot treat cyber security as a “wait and see” situation. It needs to be planned and implemented well in advance of an attack, and shouldn’t merely be put in place to tick a box.
In order to better protect themselves from an attack, small businesses must understand what they’re up against. There is a huge range of ways that a business can be attacked including trojan, typosquatting, keystroke logging, insider threats, malware, phishing, ransomware, and spear phishing.
Take the time to learn the techniques and best practices for each form of attack. For example, typosquatting is a technique where the perpetrator uses a lookalike name: Google.com might become Goog1e.com or Gooogle.com. The victim can easily miss the spelling mistake and assume the email or website is legitimate, and potentially reveal sensitive payment information.
For phishing, be cautious about all communications your small business receives, don’t open any attachments contained in a suspicious email, and never enter any personal information on a pop-up screen.
In order to deeply ingrain these lessons into your team, share examples and scenarios based on the roles and responsibilities of individual staff members. If you’re training an accounting team, for example, share examples of what can go wrong if an email account becomes compromised. Run scenarios where staff inadvertently transfer funds to hackers who are impersonating their vendors, partners, or clients.
Managed security monitoring, detection and response services, annual security penetration testing, multi-factor authentication and passwordless technologies are all great ways to fight cybercrime. Rotate passwords at the very least every 60 days, although every 30 days is even better.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by using two or more pieces of evidence to log in to a single location. Examples include an SMS message, phone call, or authenticator app to verify a browser login.
MFA isn’t a failsafe security method, but it does add another layer of protection against online identity theft and other online fraud since a password alone is no longer enough to give the attacker access to their information.
In order for small businesses to protect themselves, the weak spots must be identified and eradicated before an attack occurs. This is especially true for online businesses that store a lot of and customer data digitally.
With a strong cyber security model in place, your business should find itself in a much stronger position to protect itself from predators when an attack finally happens. Because in the world of cybercrime, it’s not a matter of if, but when.
About the author:
Ajay Unni has over 30+ years’ IT industry experience, with over 15 years as a cybersecurity specialist. He is the founder of StickmanCyber, a business that helps companies mitigate their cybersecurity risks. Ajay named the company after the countless stick figures he used in flow charts, throughout his years in the software and cybersecurity industry.
Ajay was selected to join the 2020 NSW Government’s Cyber Security Task Force, a carefully curated group of experts tasked with accelerating the adoption of industry standards for cybersecurity across Australia and also contributed to the 2021 NSW Government Cyber Security Strategy. He also sits on the board of CREST ANZ, a non-profit that provides cyber security accreditation for companies, individuals and corporate entities and promotes best practice information security services.
Samsung Australia has announced the expansion of its QLED commercial display range with the introduction of the Neo QLED 8K Display.
As businesses increasingly need larger displays to create unique brand moments, promote collaborations or require content to be viewed with accuracy, Neo QLED 8K Display provides the clarity required for when detail matters.
“The release of our Neo QLED 8K signals a new era in premium display design and is set to completely transform how business can take advantage of digital displays, from creating wow moments for their teams and customers to viewing information and content with clear precision up and close to the detail,” says Phil Gaut, Senior Director Display and Memory Solutions, Samsung Australia.
“Given the considerable changes in recent times, the way we use visual displays in a commercial setting has evolved, and the need to create exceptional experiences has never been more prevalent as businesses look to win and retain customers as we move into a post COVID world. Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K Display is a way for businesses to ensure they stay aligned with what stakeholders are now looking for and future-proof their business.” Gaut concludes.
Display Brilliance
Picture quality continues to be essential for businesses across a range of industries. Whether it is in the boardroom, shopping centre, medical practice or control room, the same objective to deliver outstanding picture quality remains at the core. The introduction of Neo QLED 8K Commercial Display not only future proofs businesses but also delivers a next-generation display experience thanks to AI Upscaling technology that enhances content to be displayed in a crisp 8K picture quality.
To deliver a high level of detail, Neo QLED 8K Display are packed with more light sources than previous Samsung Professional Displays. The improved backlight provides enhanced detail and bold contrast with precise dimming which is powered by Quantum Matrix Technology Pro that controls the Quantum Mini LEDs with optimum precision.
This new range of displays is powered by more than 33 million pixels to ensure that the visual output is ideally suited for large screens whether showcased at work or in customer-facing engagements. Neo QLED 8K Display allows for a high level of detail to be captured and images to be presented with real-life accuracy.
Neo QLED 8K Display also features DICOM Simulation Mode, this allows the display to meet 100 percent of grayscale which is required by DICOM standard to help to simulate medical images such as X-rays
Fit to Match Any Room
Neo QLED 8K Commercial Display features a slim silhouette and minimal bezel that almost disappears providing clear screen real estate with no distractions. Samsung has made significant enhancements to its portfolio of digital signage, streamlining its design and minimising clutter. Businesses now have the tools to be creative in how exactly they want their message displayed – whether hanging on a wall or hanging vertically.
Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K Display has been designed to match the lighting conditions of its surroundings to deliver a consistently clear picture quality. Adaptive Picture Mode and Anti-Reflection Technology reduces distraction in brightly lit areas, while Adaptive Picture Mode delivers real-time optimisation of content brightness and picture quality in varying lighting conditions.
Availability
Samsung Neo QLED 8K Display is available now in a range of sizing’s to accommodate for differing business needs including models sized from 65”, 75”, to 85”.
