Anne Goodman leads the Cleveland Foodbank to serve those in need

Stopping hunger

Fall 2012

breaking downHealth care changes

get to knowAnnette Hoelzer

focus onOccupational fraud

2 ss&g solutions fall 2012

going for gold

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The Time is Now

As you contemplate your next big move, you might be

waiting for the perfect time to take action.

Trust me: It will never happen.

You know the old adage about excuses? Everybody

has them. Perfect timing just doesn’t exist for

practically anything in life and business. This risk

aversion — the “not-the-right-timing” excuse for not

acting — serves as the largest barricade to one’s satisfaction and success.

The economic conditions in 2008 seemed like a rational excuse and a logical

reason to wait for the perfect — or even just a better — time to start a business.

According to the Small Business Administration, the startup rate in the United

States declined 12 percent from 2007 to 2010. Small-business failures increased 40

percent from 2007 to 2010.

But some of those startups are among the most successful and fastest-growing

companies in the country, as demonstrated by the Inc. 500, the magazine’s list of the

fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States. This group of business

owners had confidence and courage when others were waiting it out.

With personal savings or hefty loans, many took a leap of faith and relied on the

strength of their ideas, knowing there was no guarantee besides their responsibility

for failure or success. As American businessman Henry Kravis once said, “A real

entrepreneur is somebody who has no safety net underneath them.”

And as there may not be a fail-safe to an entrepreneurial idea, there likely is

nothing getting in its way. No guts, no glory. Sometimes it takes a traumatic event to

realize this.

On the Inc. 500 list is Sugata Biswas, who longed to start his own business but felt

he couldn’t because he had to support his wife and three children. During a business

trip, he was in a car accident that killed a colleague — an experience he says “was

a reminder of the fact that we don’t have any guarantees.” He launched Cadence

Research & Consulting (No. 182 on the list) shortly afterward. “If we keep pushing

things off for another day, that day may never come, because we won’t be there to

experience it,” Biswas said.

So what are you waiting for? There’s no better time than now.

Mark Goldfarb, CPA

Managing Director

IRS Treasury Regulations require us to inform you that any tax advice contained in the body of this communication was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by the recipient for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions.

“The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse.”

— Author unknown

3fall 2012 ss&g solutions

first person

Annette HoelzerTitle: Managing Director, Columbus, Ohio

Education: Bachelor’s degree in music from Bowling Green State University; accounting major at The University of Akron; Master of Taxation from Capital University

Hometown: Medina, Ohio

Year I joined SS&G: 2000, but I joined its predecessor (Greene & Wallace) in 1985.

The word that best describes me: Determined

I am a member of: the American Heart Association Board of Directors, the Accounting Advisory Board at Franklin University, treasurer of the Worthington Civic Band, Ohio Society of CPAs, American Institute of CPAs, and the Ohio Pharmacists Association.

I’ve been recognized with: a Credit to the Profession award in 2010 from Franklin University for my contributions to the accounting industry.

The best part about my job: The people I work with — both my colleagues and my clients. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with my colleagues and clients, but I also learn a lot from them.

The best piece of advice I’ve received: is always do your best.

Books of note on my shelf: “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” by Richard Carlson, “Our Golden Rule,” a John H. McConnell book about leadership and management, and I love a good mystery.

The biggest challenge I’ve overcome: This may not be the biggest challenge, but it was the first big challenge. When I was 12, I took my horse to the county fair to show him in riding classes. As soon as he backed out of the horse trailer, he flipped over backward and he was out of control. A horse trainer told me I’d never be able to show that horse. That was all it took — never say never. I took my horse home and worked hard in preparation for the next year’s fair. I showed him the next year and won fifth place. I showed him for several years after that, and, eventually, my sister took him to the state fair. This goes back to the word that best describes me — determined.

If I could give one piece of advice to executives: Remember where you came from. None of us started at the top. Keep this in mind when dealing with employees. That’s what I liked about John H. McConnell’s book — he wasn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and “get his hands dirty,” even after he was a multimillionaire executive.

The business leader I admire most: is the late John H. McConnell. He was always down to earth and put others before himself.

My business philosophy: If you put clients and colleagues first, you will be rewarded in the end.

The greatest invention of the last 10 years: E-readers. You can load all the books you want, anytime, and it’s even easy to read in the dark.

I’m most proud of: having a positive impact on others.

I hope I never: go blind. My two greatest joys are reading and enjoying nature, neither of which I could do if I were blind.

My next goal to be met: When I eventually retire, I’d like to leave behind a legacy for the younger employees.

My favorite place is: anywhere outdoors on a nice day in the fall — with bright sunshine and wonderful autumn smells.

When I get discouraged, I: think about all the positives in my life, then I have the energy to address the problem at hand and go about it in a different way to find the solution.

My attitude toward change is: as long as it is productive and thought out, I embrace it. I like change because I don’t like doing the same things the same way, day after day.

I’m inspired by: those who achieve things against great odds. For example, Kyle Maynard, the mountain climber with no arms or legs, climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Success is: knowing you have had a positive impact on another human being. j

fall 2012 j ss&g solutions 3

4 ss&g solutions fall 2012

B usiness owners who choose to wait before

preparing for implementation of the Patient

Protection and Affordable Care Act do so at their

own peril. If the results of the November election don’t

bring about any significant changes to the landmark

health care policy, a lot of work will be required in a

short amount of time.

“As renewal periods for insurance plans are coming up

soon, you want to start thinking about 2014 now,” says

Kimberly Flett, director of the retirement plan design

and administration department at SS&G. “Start talking

to your advisers to develop a plan to be ready when the

time comes.”

As it stands, when the calendar turns to 2014,

companies with more than 50 full-time-equivalent

employees will be required to make affordable insurance

available to all of those full-time employees. If they fail

to do so, they will be assessed a penalty that will not be

tax deductible.

So what does this mean for the mid-sized business

owner?

Get out the calculator If you don’t offer insurance coverage to everyone, you

first need to determine if your business exceeds 50

full-time-equivalent employees and, thus, must begin

offering coverage to all full-time employees.

Defining employees who work at least 30 hours a week

as full time, the Affordable Care Act formula is simple:

Take the total number of hours worked for a month in

your company and divide it by 120 hours. The result

is your number of full-time equivalents (FTEs). If the

industry

Get ready for changeHow to make sure your business is in compliance with the new health care laws

number exceeds 50 and you haven’t offered insurance to

all of your full-time employees, you will have to by the

start of 2014 to avoid the penalty.

“Those already offering coverage to everyone don’t

need to be as worried,” Flett says. “Say you own a

restaurant chain and have management employees you

offer health insurance to, but you have cooks who also

work full time and don’t have the option of purchasing

health insurance. Now you have to do those equivalency

calculations. If you have more than 50 FTE employees, you

have to offer coverage, and it has to be affordable, or you

will run into these penalties.”

The penalty will be $2,000 per year, multiplied by the

number of FTE employees, minus the first 30 employees.

For example, if you subtract 30 and end up with 20

full-time-equivalent employees, the penalty would be

$40,000 a year for failing to offer affordable coverage.

“You definitely want to review the terms of your plan

to make sure it is being offered to all employees working

more than 30 hours per week,” Flett says.

The big hitStates are expected to participate in the Affordable

Insurance Exchange to ensure employees without access

to affordable insurance through their employers can still

get it.

If you, as an employer, offer qualifying employees

what is considered to be affordable health care insurance

and an employee chooses not to take it, you won’t be hit

with a penalty. But that employee will be unable to get

insurance off the exchange, Flett says.

“Subsidies or tax credits are available to certain

individuals to help them purchase coverage on the

exchange,” Flett says.

Uninsured individuals with incomes between 139 and

“As renewal periods for insurance plans are coming up soon, you want to start thinking about 2014 now.”

— Kimberly Flett

5fall 2012 j ss&g solutions

400 percent of the poverty level will be eligible for tax

credits to help offset the cost of purchasing coverage on

the exchange.

“Suppose the coverage offered to the full-time

employees is not deemed affordable under the law, and

someone says, ‘I am going to the exchange because it is

cheaper.’ If one employee goes out to the exchange to

purchase coverage, it subjects the company to a penalty

for not offering affordable coverage. It is really forcing

employers to make sure that not only are they offering

coverage, but that it is affordable.”

Under the law, affordable is defined as 9.5 percent or less

of the worker’s household income. The calculation is based

solely on the cost of individual coverage for that employee.

Lest business owners think they are being unfairly

put upon, the requirement to have insurance coverage

applies to individuals, too. In other words, if you are an

employee and your company offers affordable health

care or you choose not to get it through the exchange,

you will be assessed a penalty on your tax return.

“It is either going to force them back to the

employer’s plan or they are going to end up paying a

penalty,” Flett says.

More changes on the wayOther things mid-sized business owners should

understand about their obligations under the Affordable

Care Act include:

j The age for adult children to be covered under their

parents’ plans increased to 26 or older, depending on

the state.

j The lifetime dollar limit on essential health benefits

was eliminated.

j The copayment deductible or coinsurance on

preventive care, such as a mammograms or high-risk

blood pressure screenings, was eliminated.

j Pre-existing conditions are now eligible for coverage

for children under the age of 19 and for everyone

beginning in 2014.

j Flexible spending accounts may no longer be used for

over-the-counter medication.

j The tax penalty on nonqualified withdrawals from a

health savings account has been increased from 10 to

20 percent.

j The flexible spending cap in 2013 will decrease to

$2,500.

j For 2013, a Medicare Part A tax will be imposed on

individuals making more than $200,000 a year. The

Medicare payroll tax on wages over the $200,000 level

— $250,000 for couples — will increase from 1.45 to

2.35 percent.

5

“You can’t favor highly compensated employees with coverage.”

— Kimberly Flett

Looking for loopholes?Businesses that operate as part of a control group with

several entities operating under the same umbrella

for tax purposes may want to consider changing their

ownership structure to avoid the ramifications of the

Affordable Care Act.

“Those companies have to offer the insurance,” Flett

says. “So many of them are trying to divvy up their

ownership structure so they won’t be a consolidated

group. I’ve had employers looking at changing who owns

what, especially if it is a family-owned business.”

Beyond that, there aren’t many ways out of

compliance for mid-sized business owners or any

business owners, for that matter.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re the sole proprietor; if you’re

listed as a C corp, it affects all employers,” Flett says.

“There is no particular classification based on whether you

are a professional service corporation or a manufacturer.”

For companies above the 50 FTE-employee threshold,

it’s time to start developing a plan if you don’t already

offer coverage to all of your full timers.

“You can talk to your tax advisers to see if they have

a medical plan expert who can help you understand

the implications,” Flett says. “Start at the management-

planning level and form a team of in-house personnel

who can form a committee to review the requirements.”

One more thingThe Affordable Care Act exempts most health care

coverage plans that existed on March 23, 2010, the day

the law was enacted, from some of the law’s consumer

protections. This preserves consumers’ rights to keep

the coverage they already had before health care reform.

However, if you have made or plan to make changes

to your policy, you will likely lose your grandfathered

status and be subject to testing to ensure compliance

with the new rules.

“You can’t favor highly compensated employees with

coverage,” Flett says. “People should check with their

carrier to see if they are still grandfathered. If they are

thinking of making a change to their platform, they may

be subject to some of these testing rules, which could

impose an additional cost on the employer.” j

Follow any changes or updates to health care reform

at www.SSandG.com.

case study

Anne Goodman, right, and Bonnie Barrett, left, lead a team at the Cleveland Foodbank that distributed 34.5 million pounds of food last year.

ss&g solutions j fall 20126

7fall 2012 ss&g solutions

W e hadn’t yet witnessed the collapse of Lehman

Brothers, or experienced the stock market

meltdown, or been affected by the mass

layoffs. But in early 2008, one group — food banks — was

already feeling the impact of the economic crisis.

“I remember so vividly, in the spring of 2008, when gas

prices went up for a short period to about $4,” says Anne

Goodman, president and CEO of Cleveland Foodbank. “Our

distribution went up like crazy for a couple of months in

response to that gas crisis.”

By 2009, thousands of people across the United States

were out of work and watching their unemployment

benefits quickly run out. New college graduates joined the

growing ranks of the underemployed — a group that, with

few job prospects, had to get by without health insurance,

a steady paycheck, and, in many cases, food.

Food banks saw the consequences firsthand.

“Unemployment was such a shock to so many people

that they didn’t know where to turn, and they turned to

our services,” Goodman says. “It was a whole new face

of hunger.”

Rethinking hunger As the main distributor of food for Northeast Ohio

hunger centers, Cleveland Foodbank plays an

increasingly important role in Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga,

Ashtabula, Ashland, and Richland counties. Poverty and

unemployment in the state remain high, forcing more

people than ever to rely on the food bank’s pantries,

community kitchen, nutrition programs, and partner

agencies for nourishment.

Phot

os: T

oby

Shin

glet

on

How the Cleveland Foodbank unites Northeast Ohio behind a vision for hunger relief

Those served are more than just people living in

poverty. Cleveland Foodbank’s mission — to ensure

Northeast Ohio communities have the nutritious food

they need every day — also touches the state’s growing

number of food insecure, those without consistent access

to adequate amounts of food. In the six counties served by

the food bank, 17.4 percent of the population is considered

food insecure. As a result, in 2011, the organization

distributed 34.5 million pounds of food to 618 hunger

programs, up from 32.9 million pounds in 2010 and 27.3

million pounds in 2009

“You look at somebody who makes $40,000 a year,

and you think, ‘Well that’s a good amount of money,’”

Goodman says. “But you’ve got rent. You’ve got car

insurance. You’ve got gas, electricity, child care. If you

don’t have health insurance, you have medical bills for

your child. When you are food insecure, if your car breaks

down, you don’t have food. Food insecurity is very real

above the poverty line. That’s where we come in, and

where we have to come in, because no one else is.”

Breaking new groundTo have a meaningful impact on hunger in Northeast

Ohio, Cleveland Foodbank understands it can’t provide

solutions for just today. The organization always looks for

opportunities to become more efficient so it can reach more

people, whether by streamlining operational processes,

updating facilities, or incorporating new technology.

Technology is one area the food bank has invested

in to help it do more with less, says Bonnie Barrett, the

food bank’s vice president and chief financial officer. In

food fighters

8 ss&g solutions fall 2012

her nine years with the organization, Barrett has seen

Cleveland Foodbank institute many new systems and

processes to save resources, money, and man-hours. For

example, it uses hand-held radio frequency scanners

to streamline the way food products move through the

warehouse, and it employs an enterprise-integrated

business system to simplify operations.

Last year, it also instituted a voice-directed pick

system for warehouse workers. Using headsets, pickers

receive voice commands telling them where to go in the

warehouse, where to pick the product, and what to pick

based on the day’s food orders.

In its quest for continuous improvement, the

organization also looks to other food banks for

inspiration and new ideas.

“The food-banking network is all about collaborating

with other food banks to see what they’ve done to

improve their operations,” Barrett says. “There is no

competition. Food banks are extremely willing to share

their ideas and best practices.”

Previously, the organization’s kitchen was located in

the basement of a building on Cleveland’s near-west side.

But then it invested in a new building on the east side,

which includes a commercial kitchen for preparing meals.

Since moving to the new site in 2005, Cleveland

Foodbank has doubled its distribution. Working with

Cleveland Community Kitchen, its volunteers produce

thousands of meals every day for member agencies that

supply food to the community, including programs that

serve children and seniors. And during the summer

months, feeding programs boost production at the

kitchen to as many as 12,000 meals a day.

“We are feeding more people, and we have the ability to

do it right here from our kitchen far less expensively than

could be done by any catering operations,” Goodman says.

Staying current and innovative is also about finding

ways to do things better, Barrett says. The more food

banks can increase efficiencies, the more food they

can provide to those who need it. And while these

investments in infrastructure have been critical,

volunteers ultimately play the biggest role in driving

efficient food distribution.

Last year, more than 10,000 volunteers contributed

more than 56,000 hours to help prepare food, serve

on committees, and lend their time to the Cleveland

Foodbank, in addition to the hundreds of businesses,

agencies, and local organizations that support its

distribution and fundraising efforts. Their efforts have

saved the organization more than $1 million in labor costs.

“It’s fantastic to think about everybody putting in

a couple of hours to save that kind of money. There is

always more volunteer work to be done,” Goodman says.

Closing the meal gapSince its inception in 1979, Cleveland Foodbank has

continued to expand its impact on the region. Today,

it supports 168 hot meal programs, 231 food pantries,

13 shelters, and 208 other programs for the elderly

and children, including community initiatives such

as Harvest for Hunger. The food bank also engages

approximately 400 local organizations and more than

36,000 financial donors.

And it has no plans to rest on its laurels.

“We have a sense that there is nothing we can’t do,”

Goodman says. “We also have a commitment to our

mission that really holds us to a responsibility to always do

more and not just more of the same. But how do we reach

more people in different ways?”

Research by Feeding America, the national umbrella

organization for food banks, examines the problem of “the

meal gap,” the difference between what food people have

and what they are lacking in each county. Goodman says

food banks can help fill this gap by looking at not just the

quantity but also the quality of food their communities

require — specifically, healthy, nutritious meals.

In the last several years, Cleveland Foodbank has

dramatically increased its distribution of produce in

proportion to prepared foods and shelf-stable meals.

This year, it will distribute 11 million pounds of fruit and

vegetables, a 27 percent increase from 2011. Produce now

makes up one-third of the organization’s food distribution

and is expected to increase even further.

The food bank also is focusing more on nutrition

by making simple swaps to provide healthier options.

Switching to brown rice instead of white rice, using

low-sodium vegetables, and distributing fruit packed in

water instead of sugar water are small changes that have a

big impact on the health of the population, Goodman says.

“Unemployment was such a shock to so many people that they didn’t know where to turn, and they turned to our services. It was a whole new face of hunger.”

— Anne Goodman, president and CEO, Cleveland Foodbank

Phot

os: T

oby

Shin

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on

9fall 2012 ss&g solutions

Many of these nutrition programs also target the group

most vulnerable to food insecurity — children. With more

than one in six children living in a household with food

insecurity, according to Feeding America, the food bank’s

kids’ nutrition programs help fill a critical meal gap often

left by schools or at home.

The organization has developed programs to provide

food when they need it most. Kids who rely on school

lunch and breakfast programs can get a nutritious meal

after school as well as through the Kids Cafes program or

the BackPack for Kids weekend program, in which they

receive backpacks filled with food to take home. During

the summer, the food bank also runs the Summer Food

Service program, which delivers more than 800 daily

meals to school-age children who depend on school

lunches for food during the year.

“It takes a little more effort to run those kinds of

programs, but we’ve reached kids who aren’t being

cared for, and that’s a tremendous accomplishment,”

Goodman says.

Building a movementIn today’s economic climate, even food banks aren’t

immune to struggle. Rising food costs are an ongoing

challenge, and the amount of food many food banks

receive from the U.S. Department of Agriculture —

currently accounting for about 23 percent of Cleveland

Foodbank’s distribution — has steadily decreased in

recent years. In the meantime, organizations leading

the fight against hunger must add new resources and

advocates to keep up with the growing demand.

Goodman and Barrett know the food bank’s success in

the future will be rooted in teamwork.

“There are many issues we face as a community and

as a country that need to be addressed, and hunger is

probably the most basic,” Goodman says. “Building a

movement around this issue is a priority, partially because

the federal and state governments have so much ability to

make a difference through both food and food stamps.”

Because many people who are food insecure are

living above the poverty line, they may not qualify for

government assistance in the form of food stamps.

However, Goodman says food stamps and other

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs are an

ideal way to feed the food-insecure population.

“It’s ultimately a better way for people to eat because

they are going to the grocery store, buying the food they

want, and stimulating the economy at the same time,”

she says. “Every $1 that comes from the food stamp

program generates $1.76 in economic activity because

it is employing somebody at the grocery store and

employing somebody who made that can or box of food.”

The problem is people who are eligible for assistance

don’t always know it, and they aren’t always able to access

it, Goodman says. To address that challenge, the food

bank has significantly stepped up its food stamp outreach.

Through its Advocacy Network, the Cleveland

Foodbank taps several thousand volunteers to mobilize

outreach efforts on the ground, reach out to legislators,

and build support among decision-makers. It also relies

heavily on its dedicated board members who volunteer

to lead hunger initiatives.

“We get to see the best in the community — the most

incredibly generous people from the $5 donor up to the

weekly volunteer, somebody who brings in the food

drive from their elementary school — just extraordinary

people from throughout Northeast Ohio,” Goodman

says. “It’s a community that doesn’t want to let anyone

go hungry. And that’s part of what makes Cleveland

Foodbank so extraordinary.”

Making hunger about more than just rhetoric is probably

the biggest challenge. As Cleveland Foodbank continues

to builds its network of supporters, it often invites state

legislators and government decision-makers to attend its

food distribution days, when they can see the true impact

their decisions have on Northeast Ohio hunger.

“We have to show them what it means to real people,”

Goodman says. “The relatively small investment they

make in us has a huge impact elsewhere, in helping kids

be able to learn in school, and in helping kids be healthy.” j

How To ReacH: cleveland Foodbank, 216-738-2265 or www.clevelandfoodbank.org

www.clevelandfoodbank.org

“Technology is one area the Foodbank has invested in to help it do more with less.”

— Bonnie Barrett, vice president and CFO, Cleveland Foodbank

focus on

F raud—specifically, occupational fraud—is a

problem in the United States and around the globe,

costing a typical organization 5 percent of its

revenue each year.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud

Examiners’ 2012 Report to the Nations, this translates to

a median loss of $140,000 per case and a projected annual

global fraud loss of more than $3.5 trillion.

But despite the hazard, many organizations fail to

focus on prevention because of a prevailing mentality of,

“It can’t happen to me,” says Lewis Baum, a director of

SS&G Parkland, the business consulting affiliate of SS&G.

“People trust the bulk of their operations to a certain

employee because they believe that, while fraud happens

in other companies, it can’t happen in their own,” he

says. “But it can happen in any business, and the higher

the position of the employee, the larger the loss that is

typically incurred.”

One common type of fraud, according to Baum, is

a billing scheme, often involving a fictitious company,

typically a shell that has been set up for the sole purpose

of committing fraud.

Other types of fraud include check tampering, larceny,

skimming, payroll or commission schemes, and financial

statement altering.

And while you may think it is easy to detect, the

average fraud occurs for 18 months before it is discovered.

Watch for employees who:

j Have high personal debt.

j Have close associations with vendors or customers.

j Have a strong initiative to beat the system.

j Have undue family or peer pressure, i.e., a child with

an expensive illness or a need to “keep up with the

Joneses.”

j Are living beyond their means.

j Feel unrecognized for job performance.

However, just because an employee exhibits one of

these characteristics does not necessarily mean he or she

is committing fraud, Baum says.

For example, while someone making $40,000 a year

probably shouldn’t be driving a Mercedes, it is important

to consider whether the employee could have inherited

money or married someone with a high income.

It is also critical to have checks and balances in place.

Consider these steps:

Conduct fraud awareness and training for everyone from upper management to entry-level employees.

Organizations should have an anonymous tip line

for reporting fraud or suspicious behavior, and

employees should be made aware of their role in

prevention and detection.

Review bank statements and cash activity. This often

is not done by owners. Owners should go through these

records each month and look for anything unusual.

Administer background checks. Baum recommends

these for all incoming employees and those who receive

promotions to ensure no red flags arise.

Implement a multilayered approval system. The

person authorizing checks shouldn’t be the person

signing them. There should be multiple people involved to

substantiate and validate payments.

Audit your financials. While audits are not a catchall,

they are a deterrent. Employees who see one taking place

will be less likely to risk committing fraud. If an audit

is not feasible, consider speaking to a certified fraud

examiner who can identify high-risk areas and design

specific procedures.

Make vacation mandatory. Many times, perpetrators

don’t take vacation because they are afraid the person

who takes over their responsibilities will discover their

fraud. Similarly, cross-train employees and ensure

passwords are linked to individuals so you know who is

accessing your system.

Ask employees to sign annual disclosure statements. These should include all employees confirming they don’t

have conflicts of interest with customers, vendors, etc.

Analyze electronic data. Look for irrational

relationships such as an employee with no withholding

taxes or employees who have the same address or

employer identification number as vendors.

While fraud happens more than many business owners

think, it can be deterred when you keep these tips in

mind. You can help ensure your business isn’t one of the

many that fall victim to fraud. j

10 ss&g solutions j fall 2012

Preventing fraud in the workplace

11fall 2012 ss&g solutions

the last wordwith Gary Shamis

N exGen stands for next generation. Unless

you have been hiding under a rock for the

past few years, it is pretty easy to see a

profound difference between the older generation

(which encompasses many of our clients) and the next

generation of employees of your business.

My good friend and an expert on understanding the

next generation, Rebecca Ryan (of Next Generation

Consulting), sums it up nicely with the title of her first

book, “Live First, Work Second.” This philosophy is

generally the exact opposite of the older, Midwestern

generation’s belief that you work first then everything

else comes.

This is simply the set of realities we all find in

today’s workplace. It does not matter who is right or

wrong, although I do admit I think the NexGen has the

better idea. When it comes to work/life balance, what

were we thinking?

We need the NexGen today, and we will need it in

the future to succeed our businesses. So I believe every

business should have an understanding of what is

important and what matters to its NexGen employees.

What is a NexGen strategy?Is it something you should be concerned about?  And how important is it for the future success of your business?

“We need the NexGen today, and we will need it in the future to succeed our businesses.”

From this knowledge, a contemporary and realistic

workplace and employment experience can be created

to provide the most beneficial environment to maximize

productivity for your company and provide the right

opportunity and balance for your NexGen employees.

We at SS&G spent a year working with Ryan on

understanding our workplace, our workers, and what we

needed to do to build the right firm to meet their needs

and ours.

The process and the results were transformative for

our organization. We have reduced our turnover to 25

percent of the standard for our industry, and we have

been chosen among the Best Employers in Ohio for

seven consecutive years. Companies are chosen for this

great designation based on interviews with workers

across the state.

Part of our NexGen strategy intersects with the

succession strategy for our firm. We plan to succeed our

practice to our next generation. We want these employees

ready, able, and willing to accept the responsibility. And

what better way than to create a business environment

that fits their needs and not just ours. j

32125 Solon Rd.

Cleveland, OH 44139

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