Skip to content

‘We haven’t disappeared into cyberspace,’ Chamber CEO says

Ring says Sault Chamber decision to close office a responsible business move; looks forward to in person visits to businesses, events
15-02-24 Rory Ring
Rory Ring file photo. David Helwig/SooToday

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce, as reported earlier, has decided to close its Queen Street office, its staff moving to work from home-based virtual offices.

As the Chamber’s membership struggles to recover from COVID lockdowns, especially those businesses in the downtown that are eagerly working to maintain and revive that area, how has reaction been as they witness the Chamber closing its own office space?

“We’ve actually had no negative feedback from the membership. Certainly some raised eyebrows, because we’re essentially the very first Chamber in Canada to have a virtual footprint,” said Rory Ring, Sault Chamber of Commerce CEO.

“(But) we represent a business membership and we need to act and behave like a business and this is just a critical business decision that we did have to make. We have not abandoned services or programming for any business in our community and we’ll continue to do that. It’s our mandate. It’s our mission, it’s our vision and in the downtown we continue to support them, absolutely.”

“We haven’t disappeared into cyberspace,” Ring said.

The Chamber states it is moving to a “hybrid model of work and member engagement."

"We’ve evolved that to our own interpretation of a hybrid where we operate remotely, or virtually, so we will all work from home but we will be doing events and engagements in a physical environment at our membership’s places of business,” Ring said.

“If the board decides to go back to in-person meetings we will be connecting with a member business to host our board meetings or executive meetings. That’s how we’ve looked at the hybrid because the activity of a Chamber of Commerce, really, is outreach into the community and into its membership and for that you don’t need a physical presence.”

If any business desires an in-person meeting, it only needs to contact the Chamber and Chamber staff will be pleased to visit, Ring said.

“It’s been decades since the Chamber of Commerce has been involved as a tourism information centre so we really don’t have anybody coming into the office unless they’re invited for a meeting or coming to pick up tickets and obviously COVID has changed both of those things dramatically.”

Ring said the Chamber has an obligation to its members to make sure the organization is aligned financially, its staff and physical resources in place to meet its strategic outcomes.

Ring said the Chamber, like so many other organizations, had to receive federal government COVID benefits, such as a one-time boost from the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS, now starting to wind down) when the pandemic struck.

“We lost about 80 per cent of our event-based revenue. When 60 per cent of your budget is driven through that, that presents you with some real challenges.” 

The Chamber also offered temporary complimentary membership for some businesses when the pandemic began.

The Chamber’s board, therefore, decided to move to protect the organization by shedding as many expenses as possible while providing services to members by closing the Chamber’s physical office. 

“We want to ensure that we are being as responsible as we can with the funds provided to us, contributed to us, from the membership because that is where we derive, excluding the last 20 months, 100 per cent of our revenue, through the goodness and the commitment of our membership.”  

Ring sees the Chamber’s definition of a hybrid model as a positive move, providing it with greater financial flexibility moving forward.

“At the end of the day it’s really going to enhance our relationship with the membership as we engage them, going into their places of business. It allows us to see what our members are up to, and it allows them to connect perhaps more so than they did in the past.”

Given the extraordinary realities of the COVID era, the Chamber’s hybrid model is “an acceptable form of conducting business,” Ring said.

In regard to Chamber events, Ring said the Chamber hopes to hold its She Leads Conference at The Machine Shop in early December (with masks and social distancing in mind).

The Chamber is also looking at some venues that may host its traditional networking events, a STRIVE Young Professionals Group awards event in January as well as its Women In Business awards and the Outstanding Business Achievement Awards in the spring.


What's next?


If you would like to apply to become a Verified reader Verified Commenter, please fill out this form.


Discussion


Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
Read more