By Ongweoweh Vice President & Chief Operations Officer, Kirsten Williams
As we mark five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we take a moment to reflect on the journey that has shaped both our company and the world around us. For Ongweoweh Corp, this period has tested our resolve, but our core values ― Respect, Integrity, Innovation, Stewardship, and Accountability ― have been our guiding principles. These values not only helped us navigate the challenges of the pandemic, but also reinforced our commitment to building a resilient future for our employees, clients, and communities.
- Respect: Navigating Change with Understanding
The pandemic brought unprecedented challenges that affected every aspect of our operations. As essential workers, Ongweoweh played a crucial role in ensuring that the necessities people needed remained available. Our value of respect was foundational in how we interacted with our employees, clients, and partners. We recognized the importance of understanding and empathy in navigating those difficult times. Whether it was acknowledging the personal struggles our employees were facing, understanding the changing needs of our clients, or supporting our partners in difficult circumstances, respect allowed us to foster a collaborative and compassionate environment that kept us moving forward. Even as the world stopped, we did not. Our quick adoption of remote work demonstrated our deep respect for our team’s safety and well-being, while ensuring productivity remained high and our essential services were uninterrupted. - Integrity: Honoring Commitments Despite Uncertainty
Throughout the pandemic, integrity remained at the heart of everything we did. Even as supply chains were disrupted and uncertainty loomed, we stayed true to our word. We communicated openly with our clients, partners, and employees, ensuring transparency in our actions. This allowed us to maintain trust and confidence in our relationships. A key part of this was our proactive approach in building redundancy into our clients’ supply chains, ensuring they didn’t miss a single delivery (In fact, 92.2% of our deliveries were on time in 2020). As a result, our clients now have a far more resilient supply chain, capable of withstanding future disruptions. By upholding our commitments with integrity, we continued to deliver on our promises, even when the world around us was rapidly changing. Our commitment to never missing a single delivery, despite the height of the lumber crisis, was a direct reflection of our unwavering integrity. - Innovation: Embracing New Solutions in a Changing World
The pandemic forced us to rethink how we operate, communicate, and deliver value to our clients. Embracing innovation became essential. At Ongweoweh, we saw this as an opportunity to not only ensure our clients didn’t miss an order, but also to build systems capable of managing both the scale and rapid pace of change. Our all-hands-on-deck initiative tackled the volatile lumber market and the relentless speed at which prices were shifting, allowing us to adapt swiftly. This challenge became a catalyst for developing more resilient internal processes that could not only keep pace with market fluctuations but also anticipate future disruptions. Whether it was accelerating digital transformation, improving our logistical processes, or introducing new service offerings, innovation allowed us to remain agile and ahead of the curve, ensuring we could meet the evolving needs of our clients. Our all-hands-on-deck initiative is a prime example of how innovation was key to overcoming major hurdles while maintaining the high standards our clients expect. - Stewardship: Taking Responsibility for Our Impact
We took our business continuity plan seriously long before the pandemic, and our commitment to that preparedness allowed us to react swiftly when the world changed. As we adapted to the challenges of the pandemic, we were also reminded of the importance of stewardship – both in how we manage our operations and how we care for the communities we serve. We continued to focus on sustainability and social responsibility, looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint and ensure that our operations contribute positively to the world. Our commitment to stewardship ensured that we did not lose sight of long-term goals, even during the turbulence of the pandemic. We took responsibility not just for our own business continuity but also for the continued well-being of our employees, suppliers, and communities, helping to maintain stability and resilience for all those we serve. - Accountability: Taking Ownership of Our Actions.
We’ve always taken our relationships with suppliers, clients, employees, and our communities seriously, and this foundation of trust became even more critical in uncertain times. We held ourselves accountable to our stakeholders, taking ownership of both successes and challenges. From maintaining transparency with clients about obstacles to ensuring that our employees had the support they needed, we faced challenges head-on. Accountability helped us stay focused on our goals and guided us in making decisions that were not only right for the business but also for the people and communities we serve. Our unwavering commitment to our clients and employees, even in the face of global uncertainty, ensured that we maintained trust and delivered on our promises.
Looking Forward: Guided by Our Core Values
As we move forward, Ongweoweh Corp will continue to be guided by our core values. Our respect for people, communities, and the planet will ensure that we make decisions with empathy and care. Our integrity will keep us focused on delivering on our promises, and our commitment to innovation will allow us to stay adaptable in an ever-changing world. Through stewardship, we’ll remain focused on sustainable practices, and accountability will ensure that we stay true to our mission.
Looking back on the past five years, we’ve seen firsthand how the strength of our relationships with suppliers, clients, employees, and communities has been the cornerstone of our success. These partnerships have not only helped us navigate unprecedented challenges but have also been vital in fostering resilience and driving meaningful progress. Moving forward, we remain committed to building on this foundation, continuing to nurture these relationships, and contributing to the growth and well-being of the communities we serve. Together, we will create a future that is more sustainable, innovative, and resilient for all.
To hear more about Ongweoweh and lessons learned during the pandemic, be sure to watch the Subject Matter Expert video series in our Knowledge Center ― as several of our experts touch on that topic!
