PROPOSALS

Meetings with members can take place in many different ways, thanks to the technology that is now available. There are many simple, quick and effective ways of arranging meetings to take place remotely. Staff can make phone calls, FaceTime, connect via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and more – allowing them to have the face to face contact that they would usually have if in the office.

Sector Forums will only take place digitally going forwards. We hope to be able to continue having face to face sector forums following the COVID-19 crisis, but due to the many benefits that digital events bring, we will look at hosting a mixture of both.

We have looked into delivering workshops/webinars in partnership with some of our members on life in lockdown, the lessons learnt and managing the impact of COVID-19. This could cover topics such as how to create, develop and use online networking, designing online meetings for maximum success, gaining knowledge about software possibilities and marketing opportunities out there, planning for the future etc. We are also carrying out workshops/webinars for Enterprise Hub (business start-ups and pre-starts), Training, Business Growth Platform and Export.

When delivering our digital workshops/ webinars, we need to consider our clients’ access to technology. For example, several staff have conducted one to one Zoom meetings with business start-ups who run the app through their phone as they do not have a laptop – this would be the same for workshops/webinars. On a short term basis, we can work around this, but long term it may exclude some people from accessing our services if future workshops / webinars are digital. A solution that we are looking into is having a couple of desks available with either a screen or laptop in a controlled space within one of our buildings. This will allow clients/businesses to come in and use them for workshops/webinars.