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. 

By Kheang Ly, CEO and Co-founder at OWNA

Also see Small business Answers guide to Work Health & safety.

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.

Also, see Small Business Answers guide to internet security.

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”. 

For enquiries please contact: https://www.samsung.com/au/business/display-opt-in/  

GBG’s survey of over 1,004 Australians reveals more consumers are shopping online as a result of COVID-19, and three-quarters prefer having an address auto-complete function 

GBG (AIM:GBG), the global expert in digital identity, helping businesses prevent fraud and meet complex compliance requirements, has released statistics revealing three in five Australians are shopping online more due to COVID-19 even though 50% of consumers still prefer shopping in-store. With this shift, customers are notably seeking seamless signup and checkout experiences that optimise efficiency, convenience and accuracy.

The GBG Australian Shopping Experience survey reveals that Australians are influenced by their environment when choosing how to shop, as COVID-19 related factors propelled many consumers to increase their online shopping. Respondents claimed to shop online more when COVID-19 cases are high and they have safety concerns irrespective of whether lockdown restrictions are in place (24%) and lockdown restrictions are imposed (27%). 

Even as states roll out plans to reopen, with NSW to open all retail businesses once vaccination targets are met and Victoria announcing new requirements for the industry, it is likely that online shopping trends will continue as 9% of respondents say they will shop online more for as long as there are active COVID-19 cases, regardless of whether the numbers are large or small.

Carol Chris, Regional General Manager Australia at GBG said, “The pandemic has propelled more Australians to opt for the online channel when they shop for groceries (34%), apparel (31%) as well as health and personal care (28%) products. Retailers in this category especially would be competing to get ahead in obtaining online mindshare and shopping cart conversions in order to maintain or grow their businesses.” 

Retailers and brands have the opportunity to approach customer experience in new ways to resonate with their audience. The survey reveals a growing preference for auto-complete function address functionality at checkout as consumers believe the option makes checkout faster (38%) and more accurate as there’s less chance of typos (30%). Additionally, consumers hold views that merchants with auto-complete functions at checkout are:

• More tech savvy (25%)
• More reliable (25%)
• Better at prioritising the customer experience (22%)
• Better at building customer trust (17%) 

Interestingly, Australian shoppers find that the most painful parts of the online shopping checkout process are when there are too many fields to fill manually (34%), entering card payment details (33%), site malfunction losing all the details entered (31%), the time it takes to load (25%) and authentication steps (22%).

“In the offline world, consumers today enjoy the convenience of contactless payment, where checking out a shopping basket takes just a few seconds to complete. In the online world, consumers are burdened with repetitive data entry as they sign up to buy from a new website and when they complete their purchase. It comes down to the basics that retailers who are able to provide an automated process, such as address auto-completion, to help consumers minimise the tediousness of repetitive manual entry, gain preference with consumers.” says Chris

“It is interesting to note that while it is basic functionality, consumers do remember using it. 63% of consumers reported that they had experienced using an address auto-complete function during cart checkout last year,” she concludes.

More key findings from the survey include:

• 50% of respondents hold themselves responsible for getting parcels sent to the right address, while 30% believe merchants are responsible as they need to have the right technology to ensure delivery addresses are accurate and 20% who believe the duty is with the courier/shipping company.
• 50% of shoppers claim to do the majority of their shopping in-store, while 24% mostly do their shopping online with home delivery and 19% use click and collect options as their main way of shopping.

Read Small Business Answers guide to building an online store.

Most Small Businesses in Australia have only 1 or 2 employees so chances are a home-based printer is doing the job. Epson now sold over 60 million EcoTank printers is officially the number 1 ink tank printer vendor worldwide and occupies over 62% of large ink tank printer sales globally¹ – that’s 45% more than any other printer manufacturer. The company has released its next-generation EcoTank range for the Home and Home Office. Critically, none of the new models uses any ink cartridges at all, replacement ink bottles that provide thousands more printed pages start at just $14.99 and all models come with the new, intuitive and clever Epson Smart Panel™ app.

An innovative interface, the Epson Smart Panel app transforms iOS^® or Android™ mobile devices into an intuitive control centre for select Epson printers and scanners.

To view the Epson Smart Panel app in action click here or go to: https://youtu.be/Cnzn1NVInAw

This powerful tool makes it incredibly easy to set up, monitor, print, scan and more using your Epson product, right from your hand-held device. With quick-configuration features, it offers easy product setup on your wireless network and automatically detects the Epson product you are using.

You can customise the Smart Panel to your own preferences and requirements as it’s been built to offer everything you need including easily accessing troubleshooting tips in one convenient app.

The new EcoTank Home printers launch today (with the Home Office models to follow shortly) and consist of the new ET-1810, ET-2810, ET-2820 and ET-2850 models.

From printing important presentations to endless school assignments and entertainment, families are increasingly dependent on performance printing technology to streamline workflows and stay productive.

Epson’s new EcoTank range uses innovative, heat-free, cartridge-free printing technology which delivers value and convenience for the ideal home printing experience.

Users can save up to 90 percent with replacement ink bottles versus traditional ink cartridges and each “low-cost” replacement ink set for the new EcoTank printers is equivalent to about 145 individual ink cartridges² – and enough ink to literally print many thousands more pages.  

The new EcoTank Home printers include thousands of pages worth of ink straight out of the box³ and with every replacement ink set for fewer out of ink frustrations, all new models utilise EcoFit^® ink bottles for easy, mess-free and worry-free filling.

So just how good, efficient and cost-effective are they?

EcoTank ET-1810

Main function – Printing
Connectivity – Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct

Print speed – 10 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour

Number of printed pages out of the box – 3,600³ Black / 6,500³ Colour

RRP $299

EcoTank ET-2810

Main functions – Print, Copy and Scan

Connectivity – Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct

Print speed – 10 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour

Number of printed pages out of the box – 3,600³ Black / 6,500³ Colour

RRP $399

EcoTank ET-2820

Main functions – Print, Copy and Scan

Connectivity – Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and Apple AirPrint

Print speed – 10 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour

Display screen – 1.44″ Colour LCD

Number of printed pages out of the box – 3,600³ Black / 6,500³ Colour

RRP $479

EcoTank ET-2850

Main functions – Print, Auto 2-sided print, Copy and Scan

Connectivity – Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and Apple AirPrint

Print speed – 10.5 pages per minute black and white, 5 pages in colour

Display screen – 1.44″ Colour LCD

Number of pages out of the box – 6,500³ Black / 5,200³ Colour

RRP $499

All four new Home models come with Epson’s one-year warranty with a bonus second year free upon registration.

The new printers leverage heat-free printhead technology that produces sharp text and impressive colour and graphics on virtually any paper type.

The four new EcoTank for the Home printers are available now at www.epson.com.au and from all authorised Epson resellers and retailers.

Learn more about choosing a printer in Small Business Answers guide.

Making and taking payments becomes a whole lot smarter today, with the launch of Commonwealth Bank’s new payment terminal ‘Smart’, integrating the latest technology and customisable features to transform payments in Australia.

The Smart terminal will see businesses able to customise their payment experience with an ‘App Marketplace’ featuring tailored apps in sectors such as health, hospitality and not-for-profit. It also includes a number of inbuilt features to split payments, add surcharging, tipping, and email receipts – making it more seamless and convenient for consumers to pay and businesses to get paid.

In an Australian first, the CBA’s Smart terminal also features dual sim functionality, plus Wi-Fi, 4G/3G and broadband, to offer improved connectivity to keep business up and running.

CBA Group Executive, Business Banking, Mike Vacy-Lyle said: “These new payment solutions are designed for the businesses of the future. Using the latest technology and customer feedback, we’re making payment solutions that are more intuitive, customisable and secure.”

“The Smart terminal will replace our Albert terminals, and among other things, offer businesses more in-built features to efficiently and seamlessly manage their day-to-day payments operations. This means businesses can spend more time serving their customers and focusing on what matters most to them in their business.”

The Smart terminal can accommodate sim cards from two different network providers, as well as Wi-Fi, and a lite Point-of-Sale inventory system with many businesses not needing a more comprehensive integrated solution.

“The new, smarter features will be particularly useful for hospitality, retail, and healthcare businesses, helping merchants save time with inbuilt surcharging and tipping, and same-day settlements to help manage cash flow,” Mr Vacy Lyle said.

Later this year, CBA will further expand its payment options, launching a mobile Secure Card Reader that can easily pair to a business’s own device (tablet or phone) to take chip and contactless payments. Designed to be lightweight, mobile and pocket-friendly, the Smart Mini Pay will enable merchants to take payments on the go.

The terminal has been developed in partnership with Verifone and features:

• Standalone EFTPOS terminal with sleek touchscreen display 
• Improved connectivity to keep businesses up and running with Dual Sim functionality, in addition to Wi-Fi, 4G/3G, and Broadband
• A customised payments experience with App Marketplace including a hospitality app, donations app and health claiming app
• A simple inventory system (lite POS) in-built and free of charge, for businesses that don’t need a comprehensive integrated solution
• An in-built Surcharging and Tipping features to recover costs and save time
• Ability to go paperless with email receipts​
• Easy cash flow management with Settlements on Terminal, Shift Totals and Same Day Settlement​
• Improved merchant customer experience with terminal installation offered 7 days a week
• Improved accessibility features including a tactile stencil border to orientate the key numbers and functions, enhancements to font size and capitilisation and increased volume of audio cues.

The Smart terminal will be available nationwide from 25 October 2021.

For more information and to register interest for the Smart terminal visit commbank.com.au/smart-terminal or call CommBank Merchant Payment Solutions on 1800 730 554.

Also see Small Business Answers guide to eftpos and accepting credit cards.

From 11:59pm, Thursday, pubs, clubs and entertainment venues in Melbourne can open to 20 fully vaccinated customers indoors and 50 fully vaccinated customers outdoors. As Sydney’s venues reopened for the first time in months last week, we sat down with a couple of hospitality industry experts to share their reopening tips for hospitality in Melbourne venues.

Wholesalers can expect a surge at the last minute

Australia’s largest food and beverage wholesale platform FoodByUs saw orders ramping up quickly within the first week of trading, with a week on week increase in orders that were up by 357% on the Sunday before ‘freedom day’, compared to that of the previous Sunday. FoodByUs has seen continuous growth in orders from Sydney venues, with the first official weekend since reopening closing out orders at 452% higher than the two weeks prior.

Ben Lipschitz, Co-Founder and managing director of FoodByUs says: “We saw orders coming in as late as 10pm Sunday night for Monday’s trading. This was when we first started to see a really strong boost in ordering. Our platform connects restaurants and cafes with all their local wholesalers to find the best possible deals and the best quality produce, so they can compare the market, which provides much-needed savings after a challenging few months for the industry.”

In week one of trading FoodByUs saw a huge increase in orders for particular products such as Goats Curd (up 1685%), mixed berry muffins (up 1467%), Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1385%), cooking cream (up 1314%) and strawberries (up 1062%). Lipschitz attributed the increase in these products to the fact that restaurants were expanding their service now that they are offering dine-in options.

“Many restaurants are now back to offering more desserts and brunch options, compared to when they were just offering takeaway meals and might have been servicing only lunch and dinner times.”

Roster staff ahead of ‘freedom day’

Francesca Bartone-Prodromou, the owner of the North Sydney cafe Charlie & Franks, encourages venues to roster on staff ahead of restrictions easing so they can help prepare.

“In the week leading up to reopening, my staff were able to set up and get ready for the week.”

Francesca’s staff, who are trained to do everything from serving to deliveries to catering, spent the week before restrictions eased streamlining a contactless ordering system.

“Being busy over the weekend meant that having customers place their order and pay on the QR code really helped us to streamline our service.”

Don’t over-schedule shifts

Over-scheduling shifts in anticipation of a surge in customers is easy to do. Particularly for CBD venues that might be reliant on corporate customers who aren’t back in the office yet.

Francesca, who has a team of 30 staff, says she used pre-COVID roster levels as a guide when deciding how many employees to schedule on.

“Look at your numbers pre-COVID and assume that you’re going to be trading similar to your good days to start with. We’re based in North Sydney which means many of our customers are local corporates who work in the area. With many companies still working predominantly from home, we won’t be back to full capacity until early next year. However, we’re already receiving a lot of catering bookings for Christmas parties – be it delivered to people’s homes for virtual events or physical events in the office,” she says.

Retailers seeking to maximise their reopening and cash-in on post-lockdown shopping should review business costs and reduce or remove them where possible. 

Marty Pomeroy, Chief Executive Officer at Smartpay, encourages SME merchants to shop around for better deals as a way of being more efficient with their business when reopening.

1. Review Transaction Fees

“The easiest cost to reduce is often the most overlooked, and card transaction fees can cost some businesses thousands of dollars each year. As Covid-19 hygiene concerns continue to fuel Tap‘n Go and other contactless payment options over cash, the cost of card transaction fees is only going to increase.”

“Card payments in 2021 are up 13.1% on 2020, and digital wallet payments have jumped 90% in the same time period with 68 million monthly transactions.¹ This substantial rise in card transaction volume raises retailers’ fees and bites into much-needed business profits at a time when retailers need to be financially savvy.”

2. Consider new service providers

“There are usually savings to be made by switching to a new electricity, gas, or mobile phone provider, and it’s a good time to do some competitive research. More and more people are switching their mortgage and insurance away from traditional banking providers, searching for a better deal. This path can also be considered for businesses which may use their bank for everything from insurance, loans and including for their EFTPOS terminal. 

More than three quarters (78%) of businesses always stick with the same bank provider, but 63% of them believe they could get a better deal by shopping around.3 Switching to a specialist provider focusing on a particular product or service can not only save money but give retailers more confidence through attentive and streamlined customer service and support. Most businesses will, by default, bundle their EFTPOS terminal and transaction services when they open their business bank account. 

Retailers need to understand they do not need a bank to supply their EFTPOS terminal and complete transactions, but instead, there are EFTPOS specialists in the market to assist and help them save.”

3. Re-Invest the savings into growing your business

“87%² of consumers say they would rather support a local small business and nearly half said they would be willing to pay a bit more for that support. Now is the time to look at innovative ways to save costs and put money back into their business.”

“Many of our small business merchants have reinvested the savings back into their business, allowing them to hire more employees, initiate marketing and promotional activities, and even develop loyalty programs to reward and retain loyal customers. Now more than ever, while businesses are looking to recover post lockdowns, it’s time to put their business first and review their cost efficiencies to ensure long term success.”

For more information, visit Smartpay.

Also see Small Business Answers guide to eftpos and accepting credit cards.

Big business is being urged to get behind a new campaign (bigforsmall) to help Australian small businesses get back on their feet after months of lockdown and reduced patronage.

Launching today, the #bigforsmall campaign is encouraging big businesses to empower their employees to shop and spend at small businesses as workers begin to return to commercial districts and Government funded support is tapered off.

After months of nearly non-existent foot traffic in commercial districts, many small businesses are desperately hoping that they’ll have customers return in sufficient numbers when they reopen. 

The organisation behind the campaign, Breathe HR, will be giving its employees $20 per person per day to spend at small businesses near the company’s offices in Sydney and Melbourne. All employees of its parent company ELMO Software will also receive the cash to spend supporting small businesses near its offices.

While Breathe HR and ELMO Software will be providing its employees with cash, other big businesses are being encouraged to think of other ways they can participate. This may be longer lunch breaks or suggesting employees take some time to go visit a hairdresser or nail salon.

A dedicated campaign page has been created to give organisations more information about how they can launch their own #bigforsmall initiative.

ELMO Software CEO and Co-founder Danny Lessem said getting small businesses back on their feet was key to the success of the Australian economy.

“Small businesses are vital to the Australian economy. They’ve been through an incredibly tough time during these lockdowns and need all of us to do our bit to help them get back to normal. Small businesses are major employers and contributors to economic output. Without them the economy is demonstrably worse off.

“The driver behind this campaign is to harness the power of bigger businesses’ workforces for good by empowering employees to spend at small businesses. 

“Deciding to reopen is a tricky decision for a lot of small operators who may be worried about sales volumes and patronage. Small businesses need to know that the broader business community and Australian workers are ready to support them with patronage so they can reopen with confidence. 

“I encourage all business leaders to think about how their organisation can support the small businesses around them and get on board the #bigforsmall campaign.”