Let’s Talk: Staff Shortage Solutions
November is NSW Small Business Month. With small business comprising 98% of the State economy, every one of our local 29,000-and-growing businesses matter.
In our region the global issue of staff and skill shortages has been amplified with lockdowns, lack of affordable housing for workers, and the impacts of the floods.
“But this also presents opportunity, and solutions do exist,” say local business advisors Cameron Arnold of Regen Tourism, and Susan Wanmer of Ausana Marketing.
The disruption experienced from COVID lockdowns, housing price increases, and then the floods means that businesses need to become clearer, more proactive, and more integrated into what the area needs.
With the Northern Rivers being a tourist destination, it opens the discussion around ‘What does each community want?’
“For example, if Byron Deserves Better, how do you actually define better?” asks Cameron.
Opening their Small Business Month event with a boundary, Cameron and Susan acknowledge that the concept of defining better and what Byron deserves has been in the spotlight recently due to the division in the community on the topic of holiday rentals. While this issue demonstrates how divisions rise up defensively, the holiday caps topic will be off the table for their NSW Small Business Month event. Why?
Because “the goal is around being proactive and demonstrating how we - the business community - could operate within the spirit of active, well-represented, collaborative community rather than divisive, conflictual and opposing views,” say Cameron and Susan.
“Ideally, the businesses, councils, industry, and residents would proactively discuss what they want for their area, rather than only voicing their disagreements and opinions once a project is set in motion, leading to conflict, struggles or even litigation.”
After being approached to run events on financial health for business for the Let’s Talk workshop series, Susan and Cameron co-founded the Northern Rivers Business Literacy pro-bono project which has delivered over 13 months free business advisory information to the region.
Based on their insights from the past 13 months with business communities and workers, it is lack of staffing which tops the complex dilemmas facing business at the moment.
For their third Let’s Talk event on 16 November at Byron Community Centre, tying in with the Connect for Success small business month theme, every voice is welcome to join in as a business attendee, worker or resident.
“Ultimately, we are an ecosystem, so business cannot ignore the community it works within,” says Susan. “Kicking off our event we have a mixed panel with fast-paced and interesting stories of how their diverse businesses are overcoming obstacles.
And we hope to encourage anyone who has toyed with the idea of consulting, starting a business, or strengthening their current business to attend and add their voice and questions towards defining ‘better’ and seeing how their skills could contribute to the staff shortage conversation.”
Let’s Talk: Staff Shortage Solutions
Byron Community Centre, 69 Jonson St, Byron Bay
6 – 8PM
$10
FACILITATORS: Cameron Arnold, Regen Tourism and Susan Wanmer, Ausana Marketing Institute, Sabine Muschter, Let’s Talk Series.
NSW Small Business Month runs 1 - 30 November 2022 #NSWSmallBizMonth
Global Entrepreneurship Week runs 14 – 20 November 2022
