Optus has unveiled its new initiative ‘FutureFit’, which aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of small-business owners as they adapt to the demands of an increasingly digital economy.
The FutureFit initiative is a series of workshops designed to help small businesses strategically plan digital initiatives, identify and respond to business risks and implement resilience strategies.
The workshops will be conducted across six locations and online (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Wagga Wagga and Perth) from March through April. More than 700 small businesses will have the opportunity to take part in an interactive workshop that will provide them a personalised digital strategy for their business.
“We understand that running a small business comes with many opportunities and challenges that aren’t always easy to navigate alone,“ Emma Jensen, VP Small Business at Optus, said. “Through listening to our customers, we know that digital capability – and keeping up to date as it rapidly changes – is one of the key issues that small businesses face. We felt there was a real opportunity for Optus to add value by offering a solution to help educate small businesses and reimagine their own digital strategy.“
“The FutureFit workshops we’re launching will enable small businesses to better understand and leverage technology such as AI, social media, digital marketing tools and website development, with the goal of making their business more resilient in a digital age,” Jensen added.
The workshops will be conducted by expert business coaches from Dynamic Uplift, who will take a gamified approach that incorporates interactive canvases and cards as well as user-friendly apps to simplify complex processes and meet the needs of small businesses regardless of their digital maturity stage.
The workshops will cover a number of topics including:
- Putting digital in context – understanding why it’s critical for every business.
- How to better leverage artificial intelligence and the right apps.
- Understanding what ‘digital’ could mean for the business, customers, and partners.
- Evaluating current digital capability and competitive position.
- Planning and implementing digital strategy.
Recent research has shown that digitisation is a key driver of success with small-business owners, such that employees possessing an advanced level of digital engagement are 50 per cent more likely to experience business growth and businesses with digital skills earn 60 per cent more revenue per employee. However, many businesses with fewer than 20 employees are forced to prioritise business-critical matters over investing in IT teams or other external services.
“Australia is well progressed on the shift to the digital age, and no business is immune to the impacts of digital disruption, regardless of size,” Robert Kinkade, Director of South Pacific Digital at Dynamic Uplift, said. “Many small to mid-sized businesses are seeking urgent support without the budget to hire consulting firms or other advisors, and the business owners and operators are time constrained, meaning that they only have days to devote to this critical agenda, not weeks or months.”
The FutureFit workshops will commence on 7 March in Melbourne.
