“And in a blink, our world has changed.”
Those are the words of Community and Enterprise Leadership Foundation chief executive Tania Witheford in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the level four lockdown.
These are challenging times, and Waikato Business News wants to play a positive role in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak. We believe we are stronger together, and we want to provide a platform for our readers to learn what others are doing to stay resilient and combat the impact of the outbreak.
So we approached Witheford and others with a simple question: What steps are you and your business taking to cope with Covid-19?
We really appreciate those supportive businesses taking the time – during a frantic period – to respond and contribute to a picture we hope will help our readers. Below is a selection.
Raglan Coconut Yoghurt’s Tesh Randall and Seb Walter.
Raglan Coconut Yoghurt
As an essential business, Raglan Coconut can continue to operate from its factory through the shutdown, and is taking a range of precautions, co-owner Tesh Randall said.
Its early plan, introduced before the lockdown announcement, including splitting into two teams to de-risk having everyone have to go into isolation at the same time.
It was also looking to hire more people to have back-ups available for sick leave, and increase the frequency of the cleaner coming in to 3-4 times per week
Staff were to start wearing face masks in the production room, and the office team were all working from home, with meetings being held over Zoom and Skype.
Norris Ward McKinnon
Sam Hood
Hamilton law firm Norris Ward McKinnon staff are working from home offices, kitchen tables and whatever spaces they have available, managing partner Sam Hood said.
He said they had seen a massive influx in questions from employer clients, and their Federated Farmers hotline is booming to the extent they have opened up a second phone line.
Their immediate priority is supporting businesses and people who have urgent queries and are dealing with the uncertainty of Covid-19, Hood said.
He said teams were connecting through apps like Slack, WhatsApp and Zoom. “In some ways it feels that people are interacting even more regularly than normal, it’s just that those interactions are remote.”
Practice manager Carmen Simmonds said camaraderie is higher than usual, with teams chatting and using technology like never before. “So we’re upskilling and that’s quite a positive for morale.”
They have set up a chat group for people isolating on their own, and people who might not usually have much to do with each other on a day to day basis in the office are now sharing and supporting each other, she said.
“The number of cat pictures is overwhelming!”
Soda Inc
Erin Wansbrough
Startup incubator Soda Inc is a case study in how to prepare for a pandemic. It had worked for the past two months with Wintec to plan various scenarios if and when Covid-19 hit New Zealand.
“As soon as the virus was declared a pandemic we enacted Soda’s Covid-19 Policy. The policy was updated every 48 hours as the situation developed,” chief executive Erin Wansbrough said.
They initially banned all international travel then banned national travel, while restrictions on attending work-related functions became a ban on such attendance. On March 17 they postponed the NZ Startup Bootcamp until further notice, as part of cancelling all their events. They also reduced face to face meetings, then moved to only holding meetings via video conference
From March 17, they worked from home full time, and they recommended clients in their Wintec House coworking space do the same. The coworking facility was closed on March 24. They offered all coworkers a one-month rent holiday. “We will take a significant financial hit on this business unit,” Wansbrough said.
“We are very much open for business with our support and startup programmes side as this has always been done remotely with the matching of quality people and advice globally. We have been busier than ever in this aspect.”
She said they are also re-forecasting their budget with medium and worst case scenarios.
“We are in a fortunate position to be able to adapt quickly with a fully mobile team. We recognise so many businesses and teams are not in the same position.”
Rocketspark
Grant Johnson
Cambridge website builder Rocketspark was also admirably well prepared.
It implemented a remote working trial the week before the shutdown. It also blogged about what it learned during the first seven years of Rocketspark when staff were remote working
(https://www.rocketspark.com/blog/post/228/Remote-working-as-a-teamwhat-we-ve-learnt/)
Director Grant Johnson said Rocketspark’s client base is spread across a wide range of industries obviously affected by Covid-19 such as tourism and hospitality but also in less obvious sectors such as massage therapists and cleaners.
“We’re fortunate to have a diversified client base across a really wide range of industries but many are seeing some sort of impact,” he said. “To help clients and the wider business community, we’ve started to prepare industry-specific playbooks to help businesses make the most of their online presence during this time.”
The first was for tourism operators (https://www.rocketspark.com/blog/post/229/COVID-19-Tourism-and-Accommodation-playbook/)
Johnson said they had also been sharing their book which is a resource to ensure businesses are doing the online basics well (https://www.rocketspark.com/ebook-building-a-website-click-by-click/).
He said clients are recognising that closing their website will set them back in terms of search engine rankings.
“Many clients are adopting online tools to service their clients, such as running online consulting services or adding an e-commerce offering.”
Rocketspark had also seen good increases in online sales by many of their ecommerce clients and Johnson expected that avenue would grow.
Dynamic Media
Dani Simpson
Working in the cloud has been crucial for Dynamic Media director Dani Simpson. She said she had been busier than usual leading up to the closedown announcement as her clients needed extra support around messaging and comms, both internally and externally. “I already worked wherever and whenever I needed to (whether a client’s office in Auckland, from a café, or my home office) so the technology side of things hasn’t been an issue. If anything, I’m super grateful for having the right tech set-up to ensure that I can access everything in the cloud whenever I need it.”
CELF
Tania Witheford
Community and Enterprise Leadership Foundation (CELF) chief executive Tania Witheford, who is the organisation’s sole employee, had already started working from home before the shutdown. CELF had also already postponed all programme activity and started the move to virtual meetings.
“At this time we are acutely aware of the massive impact on all community and business enterprises and wider families and communities in New Zealand as a whole,” she said.
She could, however, see a silver lining, provided people stay well. “It will provide time for review, reset and reframe, to be ready for and to embrace the rebuild, restore phase, when we get to the other side of this situation and understand the space we will be operating in.
“In the interim, connection and support of each other will be vital, be it in the virtual space, by phone or email, to care for our colleagues, friends and family.
“Now more than ever, meaningful connection and kindness will play a significant part in looking after each other and being resilient.”
Annah Stretton
Annah Stretton
Fashion retailer Annah Stretton’s Waikato-based manufacturing plant has been repurposed to support the local production of reusable fabric face masks.
“We are now an essential business and have begun to make masks for those that are unable to secure, and are older and more vulnerable,” she said.
The reusable cotton masks can be ordered online. For every limited-edition fabric face mask pack purchased, a matching pack will be delivered to registered aged care facilities around New Zealand.
The website says: “When purchasing a reusable fabric face mask it is very important to note that this type of mask does NOT protect the wearer from airborne Covid-19 particles from entering the nose, mouth or eyes. The primary purpose of a reusable fabric face mask is to minimise face touching.”
Stretton also recommends in advice at manaaki.io that retailers look at their lease because some have a clause that offers some protection.
In her post, she says she has emailed landlords at all her 10 fashion retail stores to advise them that she will need at least a three-month rent holiday. She says she had mixed reactions: “Some landlords have been awesome, others have tried to deal (ie pay 50 percent), some have said no and some have been silent,” she says.
“Regardless, I have stopped all rent payments and I am focusing on my people and topping up their wages so they have security.”
She also says in her advice not to forget about Eftpos, phone and internet and other variable payments that business people may have: “Everything is negotiable in this environment.”
Volunteering Waikato
Volunteering Waikato general manager Heather Moore said the organisation’s staff will be working remotely for the foreseeable future. “We are continuing to support our community through our online volunteer recruitment and referral portal, and are supporting organisations to think creatively about how they involve volunteers in their response, safely. We are looking at what client contact roles can be phone-based roles, and what other roles people can volunteer for at home.
“We will be keeping staff engaged and connected through daily Zoom meetings, and collaborative technology such as Microsoft Teams. We have brainstormed what additional work we can complete to use our time effectively while some of our usual work is parked for a time.”
• Volunteering Waikato is taking expressions of interest from those who want to support their community during the Covid-19 response. Register interest at volunteeringwaikato.org.nz.
Momentum Waikato
Kelvyn Eglinton
As a member of the Waikato Funders Network, Momentum Waikato is looking to support core agencies and frontline services by joining its coordinated efforts.
It has accelerated its partnership with the Wise Group, which started cooking and freezing meals for distribution to Hamilton’s most vulnerable during the shutdown. Momentum donated two new chest freezers to the cause.
Chief executive Kelvyn Eglinton is actively encouraging central and local government across the Waikato to look at all projects – civil, community, affordable housing, etc – that are already at 80 percent or more of their total funding, and make a commitment to getting them over the line by filling funding gaps, communication adviser Mark Servian said.
Meanwhile, Trust Waikato has allocated $1 million towards funding a Covid-19 response, and other funders will be contributing further through combined action and grants. The Waikato Community Funders Group will be contacting organisations who are active in the region to let them know the funding is available and how to apply.
