Auckland businesses affected by the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 can access support through government funding provided to the Activate Tāmaki Makaurau programme.
This package helps Auckland businesses access:
- advice and planning support
- support to implement advice and planning
- health and wellbeing support
- business community resources.
Advice and planning & Implementation support:
You can access advice if you are considering hibernating or closing your business, or are looking to scale. The advice should lead to a plan to overcome challenges and/or identify opportunities and map out the scope of the work required to achieve the plan. Auckland businesses can apply for advice valued at up to $3000 +GST.
In addition, eligible businesses can apply for an Implementation Grant to help implement an existing business plan or to execute a plan based on the Business Advice received. This grant will give businesses the funds to begin putting their business plan into action. Auckland businesses can apply for up to $4000 +GST for an Implementation Grant.
The Restaurant Association is a registered service provider for Business Advice and Implementation Support for the Activate Tamaki Makaurau Programme where you can access:
- Business Planning, Strategy and Continuity Advice
- Financial Planning and Cashflow Management Advice
- HR and Employee Relations and Legal Advice
- Marketing Advice
- Digital Marketing Advice
- Health and Safety Advice
- Delivered by an inhouse team, including an experienced restaurateur, legal and financial advisors.
- Designed for hospitality businesses of all types and sizes to map out their contingency planning and continuity.
- Help for business owners to pinpoint the most important parts of their business, identify potential risks and prepare for recovery as quickly and easily as possible.
- This support helps businesses think about priority needs, map out procedures to follow in the face of crisis and look at business processes, assets and human resources required to operate.
- This service has been designed to support significantly strained businesses that are in real risk of being displaced from the industry altogether and will focus on businesses working through priority issues and ensure ongoing viability following COVID-19.
- Delivered by the RA’s inhouse financial advisor.
- Designed for hospitality businesses of all types and sizes to manage their cashflow and reposition their business operations in the COVID-19 “new-normal”.
- Help for business owners to conduct a full stocktake of a businesses financial position, including understanding the importance of cash flow forecasts, setting and managing financial targets and planning budgets. As well as an opportunity to look at setting prices and how to accurately calculate costs.
- This support will also look at an organisation’s fixed and variable costs, where savings can be made while also determining the most profitable areas.
- This service has been designed to support significantly strained businesses bringing business owners focus on the financial health of their operations while managing the fallout of COVID-19.
- Designed for hospitality businesses of all types and sizes to navigate their human resource requirements in the COVID-19 climate.
- The support priority will be mapping an individual hospitality business’ organisational design in the current COVID-19 operating context, reviewing current staff skill sets, and planning future staffing needs.
- The advisors will also look at the business leadership and strategies for managing people, including best practice for effective communication and delegation opportunities to improve the overall performance of the business.
- The bespoke support is facilitated by the Restaurant Association’s team of legally trained and HR experts.
- Focus will be on businesses maintaining best practice operations while navigating the devastation of COVID-19.
- Delivered by an inhouse team, including an experienced restaurateur and qualified marketing advisor.
- Designed for hospitality businesses of all types and sizes to take a long-term look at their future with a focus on markets, customers and offerings.
- Help for business owners to identify industry competitors, likely threats, and how to stay ahead. Designed for individual businesses across Aotearoa to redesign their marketing priorities.
- Business owners will receive assistance in developing their local food story as part of the New Zealand Story, as well as a marketing plan and how to best set marketing budgets.
- The support will also give hospitality businesses the opportunity to explore and develop their competitive advantage in the current operating environment, and how this can be best promoted through a range of paid and non-paid promotions and advertising.
- Delivered by an inhouse team, including an experienced restaurateur and qualified marketing advisor.
- Designed for hospitality businesses of all types and sizes to take a long-term look at their future with a focus on digital market offerings.
- Help for business owners to identify industry competitors, likely threats, and how to stay ahead. Designed for individual businesses across Aotearoa to redesign their digital marketing priorities.
- Business owners will receive assistance in developing their digital marketing plan and how to best set marketing budgets.
- The support will also give hospitality businesses the opportunity to explore and develop their competitive advantage in the current operating environment, and how this can be best promoted through a range of paid and non-paid digital promotions and advertising.
- Covid-19 has introduced innumerable new health & safety challenges for the hospitality industry, including, new operational requirements, health & wellbeing challenges and changes in customer behaviour.
- The Restaurant Association has already played a key role in providing detailed, tailored guidance for the industry to assist them to operate safely and within the confines of alert level, and traffic light, requirements.
- Our aim is to be the one-stop shop, providing professional, knowledgeable health & safety guidance. The Restaurant Association Covid-19 health & safety support includes a comprehensive programme of activity for the industry – from sector-specific workbooks and guidance, to an online portal with learning modules (launching January 2022), webinars and a health & safety helpline.
- Delivered by an inhouse team, including legally trained experts, and external experts specialising in health & safety matters.
If you’d like to talk to us about how to apply for these services under the Activate Tāmaki Makaurau programme, please contact us and fill in the application form here (remember to specify that you would like to receive the business advice from the Restaurant Association).
Business Resources
For instant access to free tools, resources, and events join the Activate Tāmaki Makaurau Business Community. The Restaurant Association is delivering a suite of professional development webinars and videos available through the initiative.
For a limited time, until 31 March 2022, you can access our Business SOS Series and Activate Academy for free. This tailored collection of business-focused Covid-support webinars are available through the links below. For access to this and lots of other hospitality-related resources and materials, all you need to do is:
- Register into the Business Community Platform via this link: https://activatecommunity.co.nz/
- Verify your email address when you receive the request in your email inbox
- Select ‘Hospitality’ as one of your preferred industry categories
- Register for the Business SOS Series via this link: https://bit.ly/3IIxBZf and access the Activate Academy videos here.
Health & Wellbeing Support
This package, First Steps – provides access to health and wellbeing support tailored to the many business owners across Tāmaki Makaurau that are feeling overwhelmed, isolated and under pressure from the mental and emotional impact of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
First Steps is a confidential place where you can apply for funding to access expert advice from registered health and wellbeing providers or you can simply explore the many resources available, whatever way works best for you. Get the support you need to throughout 2022.