COMMUNITY
Arnold Kaloki
BITA
has always worked to be a leader in our field, running fun yet carefully managed events, seminars and making face to face introductions. As we are growing, we are making sure that we offer members more; not just in advertising when we started publishing our magazine and invested more in social media, but in projects like the procurement hub that will have a real and significant impact on businesses’ growth. In early March it became clear that we were heading for a lock-down like most of Europe, and after speaking with our members, we knew that what they needed was reliable information. We immediately started building our temporary community hub as a place to store this information, and to encourage a sense of community in these incredibly tough times. We also started scheduling online events in which experts in different fields share their knowledge freely with our members, and answer pressing questions from the audience. The first events we held were on the 19th March, and featured our London board members Martin Mockler and Henry Hathaway, who discussed COVID impact on areas of finance and law. Since then, we have hosted webinars and seminars covering a wide range of topics chosen specifically to help our members come to grips with the recent changes, and to help them adapt and survive. Our very popular leadership panels have featured leaders from the
Jackie O’Donovan
Portia Kenny
Paul Whitnell
Lyndsey Gallagher
Martin Mockler
Diane Birch
SHARING EXPERTISE IF YOU HAVE MISSED ANY OF THESE EVENTS, WE STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU CHECK OUT THE VIDEO PAGE ON THE COMMUNITY HUB FOR THE RECORDINGS AND A LIST OF THE TOPICS COVERED.
construction industry, including Jacqueline O’Donovan, Lyndsey Gallagher, and James Connell. Martin Mockler has continued his regular financial update reviews, and we have heard from experts on such diverse topics as increasing your revenue from online business, to health and safety. If you have missed any of these events, we strongly suggest that you check out the video page on the community hub for the recordings and a list of the topics covered. Our speakers have given up their time and shared their insights and expertise in the spirit of community and in recognition of what BITA stands for, and we would like to sincerely thank everyone who has taken part.
These online events have proven so popular, that we are making them part of the standard BITA events calendar. We encourage our members to get involved with this, either by getting in touch to suggest a new topic, offering to present an event, or just tuning in! In addition to our standard seminars, we have hosted regular networking events and the odd social evening to try and enliven the days for our members. Few in the audience will forget the car-crash TV joy when watching BITA’s Blankety Blank, or the hilarious accents on our Mr. & Mrs night. We have to thank the inimitable Noel Byrne and Dermot O’Grady for being the hosts with the most at these events, as well as our sporting contestants. Change can be difficult, but at BITA we have always tried to ensure that our members are prepared and have access to the correct information they need to make the best decisions. In the past that may have been regarding new rules on CIS compliance or how a business can best open an office in Ireland. Now it is around managing cashflow, budgeting, furloughing staff and force majeure when dealing with contracts. Whatever the future holds, we will be at the front and ready to pass on information to help our members’ businesses flourish. www.bita.ie
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