Executive Director’s Message

TRACY SCHIEFFERLE

OGIA Executive Director tracy@ogia.org

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When we talk about business and the bottom line, what immediately comes to mind? need or charitable cause? How are your environmental efforts?

Most of us probably think about money or profit, or the final total of an account or balance sheet.

Merriam-Webster acknowledges that definition, but adds another:

The bottom line, it says, means “the primary or most important consideration.”

In today’s world, the primary or most important consideration has come to mean a lot of things other than money or profit.

In August 2019, 136 U.S. public company executives, many of them titans in American business, signed a document titled “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation,” in which the executives wrote, “While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders.”

They created four “value pillars” that can strengthen a company in the long term: financial value (think costs and capital allocation); customer value (think brand and trust); people value (think about workers’ loyalty, health, and engagement); and societal value (think how a company affects a community, the planet’s resources, or human rights).

That commitment, written and agreed to by members of the Business Roundtable, included: delivering value to customers, compensating workers “fairly” and “providing important benefits,” and training employees with new skills “for a rapidly changing world.” The executives committed to using “sustainable practices” to protect the environment and to “foster diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect.” What will drive or destroy value for a business in this next era? And how can the business be aligned around a wider “four-pillar” agenda?” Of course, one must keep an eye on the budget. Running a lean and profitable core is vital to driving investments within the business. But with a shift in values can we expect companies that focus on a broader set of stakeholders will perform better—in the short, medium, and long term—and will be rewarded in the marketplace, with better employee and customer engagement, and, in the long run, growth and value.

As we begin a new year, for most of us, it makes us think of goals and resolutions both for us personally and professionally. While OGIA may not be able to help you with that goal of shedding those persistent extra 10 pounds, we do exist to help you professionally. That has been our main purpose since 1908 – to serve our stakeholders and represent our profession to the community at large.

OGIA has certainly evolved in the past 100+ years and will continue to do so. We thank YOU, or stakeholders, for supporting OGIA’s growth and transformations over the years to better serve you, your company, and the profession at large.

As you look to the start of 2023, please look to OGIA to help you with your “four-pillar” commitment. OGIA offers multiple educational opportunities and communications throughout the year to keep you and your employees on top of the latest trends, tips, and techniques. We offer opportunities to promote your business and benefits that help your business. We offer industry certification to demonstrate your value in ongoing education and to a professional standard. We offer networking and a voice for the industry. How much of OGIA are you taking advantage of?

The COVID era has left many businesses realizing that they needed to break from the traditional financial metrics to comprehend opportunities and risks. As a result, many have adapted to the decade-long rise of nontraditional ‘soft’ ways of evaluating performance. As always, we value your membership and support. Our hope for the new year is that you engage with us so that together we can maximize potential in the profession – which is, after all, the primary or most important consideration. Our bottom line.

What might this look like?

It could mean evaluating workers’ anonymous opinions about their company/managers, taking those opinions to heart, and doing something if those assessments are less than glowing. Or it could mean taking employee burnout and turnover far more seriously. It could mean viewing your company through the eyes of a customer or client from initial contact to end. How did they find you? What was easy, challenging? How was their interaction? Was there assistance easily provided? Think steps between not just the end result. Are they still happy with your product a year later? Is your company contributing to a community

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