Success in business for O’Connells OBM starts with how the individuals inside a business are treated. They believe that if a business can be run in such a way that allows employees to think, act and feel like business owners — powerful and positive things can happen. Having been recognised 5 years in a row for being Best For The World in Workers, they must know what they’re talking about. Trudi Saul, of O’Connells OBM tells us more.
1. What makes your company Best For The World?
As accountants, for us, success in business is about much more than numbers, and it always has been. Business is a vehicle that can create a positive impact on the lives of those who are connected to it, and we believe that if a business can be run in such a way that allows employees to think, act and feel like business owners — powerful and positive things can happen. Being recognised as “Best for Workers” 5 years in a row is humbling recognition of our efforts to putting team members first and creating a positive work environment.
2. What makes you stand out from other companies?
While many B Corporations run open book management environments, what sets us apart is that we aren’t just sharing our financials as a team periodically — we’re actively reviewing these together and using them to build forecasts of the future. Everyone in the business knows what success looks like, we’re all educated on what we can do each day to contribute to that success, and we are engaged with rewards and recognition for working together to make success happen. Everyone in the business is empowered to think, act, and feel like a business owner — and that means we’re all constantly contributing new thoughts and ideas to help our clients, help the business, and help each other.
3. How do you plan to celebrate?
We’ll be putting on a Morning Tea — “Sugar highs and high fives: Best for Workers 5 years running” — taking a minute to reflect on why we became certified, what it means, and what’s next on our B Corp journey.
4. Part of being “Best for the World” is striving to always use your business as a force for good. What initiatives do you have planned for the coming year to continue to be Best for the World?
We are really proud to be a part of a community of like-minded business owners and we are looking forward to sharing our experience with others on how employees can contribute to building a better business, all the while bettering themselves and the communities they live in. Add on a host of initiatives we’ll be running to help us during our re-certification later this year and we’re looking forward to doing a whole lot of good for our people, our business, and our community.
5. What advice do you have for other B Corps and purpose-led businesses that want to improve their impact?
Start small — pick one or two initiatives and embed those into your business each quarter. There is a whole community of like minded businesses out there to share experiences, thoughts, and ideas with — so don’t forget to tap into local networks and get along to the events when you can.
