FROM THE CHAIR
3
Dear Members
It would be simply stating the obvious to remark that these are difficult times, but please allow me to offer my sincere wishes that you and yours are safe and well – and that you continue to remain so.
Your Forum is responding to this continually unfolding crisis, as I’m sure you are. The National Office staff are all working from home and I would like to thank them for not taking their eye off the ball. Productivity remains high, we’re meeting our obligations to our membership and exploring ways to broaden and deepen the reach of the organisation.
The move to ‘Virtual Events’ has been more successful than anyone would have imagined and of course one of the often remarked benefits is that any state event is now ‘open’ to any member who has access to the internet. Uptake has been excellent and the move to a cyber space has not dented motivation in the least.
This points the way for us to expand our ‘Virtual footprint’ even after the return to normal – whatever that might look like. This prospect is one that I find genuinely exciting.
Your new Board is already actively looking at ways to increase the value of your membership and exploring options further afield too – more on this later, but for the moment please rest assured that the Board is engaged, forward thinking and committed in the long term to the robust good health of this forum.
The call for speakers for our National Conference is something you should give serious thought to. The conference is the perfect opportunity to showcase the work of you and your team in the Service Management sphere.
It is worth noting that every year, we discover several unsung heroes whose presentations reveal incredible depth of knowledge, creative approaches to seemingly intractable problems and a real desire to share their experience. This is your chance to join their ranks and I encourage you to do so.
The itSMFA Awards program is calling for submissions now and this too is an opportunity for you or your organisation to shine on the national stage. The broad spectrum of award categories has been developed to ensure the widest possible net is cast and to make sure there is scope for innovative enterprise solutions to be recognised.
And once again, I would like to acknowledge the support of our partners who not only came on board early, but have remained committed to Conference during these times of stress and uncertainty. There are still plenty of opportunities to support the Conference so please contact Allison in our office if you are interested.
In the meantime, please take the active measures you need to stay safe, give due consideration to other around you who might be struggling and together we can all look forward to the days ahead when the news, and seemingly our lives, are not beset with this pandemic.
Bradley Busch
Chair, itSMF Australia.