Beloved author Terry Pratchett once wrote, “May you live in interesting times.” It was meant as an insult. A curse.
We certainly live in interesting times. As a society we are facing an unprecedented response to an unprecedented event. Only, it feels a little familiar, doesn’t it? We’ve been making movies about just this kind of thing for years.
As I drove along the near-empty streets of Bendigo I was struck by the thought that we are living through the world’s most boring zombie apocalypse film. The threat of a virus or ghouls seems distant to the mild inconvenience of running out of loo paper and pasta.
But that doesn’t mean that the effects of this drawn out catastrophe are any less real. Today, a full travel ban was announced. In many industries, and for quite some time, labour forces will be hit, and hit hard. Having grounded all international travel and 50% of domestic flights, Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah announced a range of measures to protect as many staff as possible. However, he cautioned that “redundancies in these circumstances will be an inevitability.”
Telstra, the Big 4 banks, and many others have initiated their Business Continuity Plans, with teams of staff alternating between working at home and the office, cancelling face to face meetings, and ceasing hot-desking.
Augment’s response has been similar. Many of our staff and contractors are already working from home, with the support of our brilliant clients. We already had Teams in place for collaboration and we are finding it an increasingly useful tool.
It is certainly prudent to worry. These actions, designed to protect our entire society from a fairly nasty virus, will have ongoing effects for our economy. But we as Augment Resources caution from giving in to despair.
Instead, we extend to you an offer. We know the next few months are going to be tough, and that yes, inevitably there will be impacts to some of you on employment.
So, for anyone in Procurement, Supply Chain or Strategy (either industry or consulting) whose contract or permanent employment is impacted by current events, we’re here to chat.
We are still receiving new requirements for contract staff, but we are also in this for the long haul. Let’s talk now, as we know that when society dusts itself off from this, there is going to be a mad scramble to secure the best talent. If the GFC, the dot-com crash, and 1987’s recession taught us anything, it’s that augmented workforces are highly sought after, particularly in the early months of recovery.
Email me directly at brendon.booth@augmentresources.com.au and I will triage who is best to speak to, from:
- Brendon Booth (Director)
- Kanika Fehr (Operations Director, Sydney)
- Dean Thompson, Managing Director
- Len Blackmore, Chairman
- Mike Blanchard (Director, NZ)
- Tom Holbeach (Director, Consulting & Melbourne)
We can’t promise that we can immediately help, or that your skills will be a match to the usual work that Augment conducts. But I will promise a chat with each and every one of you, with one of our experts.
We look forward to hearing from you. Stay safe.
Brendon Booth
