So, there we all were…
We had boarded this beautiful ship and were just beginning to soak up its luxuries and steer towards fulfilling our dreams.

When it struck…
One minute you’re sitting at a beautiful table with a crisp, white table cloth, eating lobster and sipping champagne and the next minute, there’s a jolt through the entire ship and the liquid gold that you’re drinking, sloshes all over your beautiful (and thoughtfully chosen) attire.

The iceberg has damaged the ship beyond repair, and you’re left in sudden chaos. Some will swim and some will sink. The year is 2020. The ship is your career, the champagne and lobster are our complacency and the iceberg is Covid-19. As New Years Eve was celebrated and the clock struck midnight, Australians everywhere were filled with hope and positivity of a brighter year ahead. The end of 2019 saw nothing but disaster as bush fires swept and ravaged our country, so 2020 represented a fresh year and brighter business prospects. Many businesses had already suffered, and it was time to start rebuilding. Then a global pandemic struck.

Fast forward just a few months and a public health emergency was declared for the ACT. On March 22nd 2020, the ACT Government announced the move to shut down non-essential services. Where did your business fit into this? Where did your career fit into this? Have you sunk? Are you still sinking? Still swimming like mad? Swimming but starting to sink?

According to ABC News, Australia wide, the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a 5.5% slump in jobs in the first week after extensive business shutdowns and social distancing limits were introduced to contain the virus. Australian Bureau of Statistics (drawn from ATO single touch payroll data), suggests that 780,000 jobs were lost – Australia wide – as Covid-19 restrictions ramped up.

How about closer to home in Canberra? Well, interestingly we can still boast the lowest unemployment rate in Australia at 4.2%, compared to South Australia who has the highest unemployment rate, at 7.2%. Elliott Gray have been right in the “thick of it all” here in Canberra and have seen many companies absolutely rise to the new challenges faced.

These companies have enabled and empowered their staff to work from home and completely revised their business models.
These are the businesses still swimming.
The staff at these companies have seen their leaders step up and lead in a way which inspires them to feel secure and want to work hard for them, despite the challenging circumstances.
They’re all rowing their life raft together.

Sadly, on the flip-side – Elliott Gray have also seen first-hand, companies who have not reacted to the crisis well. Feelings of uneasiness have brewed as they are forced into letting their staff work from home. Constant questioning and monitoring have left their staff feeling dis-trusted, micro-managed and suffocated. These are the ones that are sinking. Perhaps they’ve already gone under.

If you are sinking and need help – call out! Elliott Gray will throw you a buoy!

If you’re a candidate needing to find a company with the same core values, then reach out.
If you’re a company who is struggling to retain staff, then reach out.

Let us consult with you.

We are well-connected and can help you build your life-raft as it were. As restrictions lift, the full damage of what has been perhaps the most challenging 6 months in Australian business, in recent history, will no doubt be revealed. Now is the time to be smart and align yourself with the right people. Small and large businesses need to come together and stroke our life rafts in unison, to rebuild the economy.

Let’s all work at supporting local business and not go down with the ship.