Strategic Plan Update
In late 2019, SBCA created the first multi-year strategic plan in its almost 40-year history. The first step in the process was sending a survey to its list of component manufacturers (CMs). Twenty-three percent of SBCA members and eight percent of non-members responded to the survey designed to gather specifics about CMs’ pain points and the role SBCA should have to support its members in alleviating those challenges.
Strategic Plan Gives Direction
SBCA’s Executive Committee, along with the chairs and co-chairs of SBCA’s other standing committees, met in January 2020 to pour through all the survey responses and ultimately agree on a revised vision and mission for SBCA.
SBCA’s new vision became: “the building industry will use high-quality building components provided by SBCA member companies.” Essentially, SBCA is completely focused on facilitating market share growth for the structural building components industry and helping CMs improve the value and quality of their products.
Out of this clear vision, SBCA’s mission was revised to reflect the desires expressed in the survey responses: “SBCA members will gain the knowledge and power to run successful, growing, profitable companies offering a compelling competitive advantage in the marketplace for their customers and professional growth for their employees.”
This group was then able to identify four main strategic goals SBCA should pursue over the next five years:
- Member companies will have more influence with suppliers and other vendors;
- Company leaders will understand and apply business management and leadership techniques designed to improve company performance;
- Managers will understand and apply common leadership and management practices designed to improve employee satisfaction and retention; and
- Customers, framers, building designers, and other key stakeholders are knowledgeable about building component production and installation practices and seek out SBCA member companies for their expertise and quality of their work.
With these strategic goals in mind, the SBCA Board of Directors (Board) grouped engaged members into “strike forces” to identify and articulate the tasks necessary to meet each of the four strategic goals.
Strike Forces Deliver Results
Initially, five strike forces were formed to tackle a wide range of issues. For example, one strike force is developing an industry-specific data standard that can be beneficial for everything from production equipment to Digital QC. Work by another strike force led to the development of the bi-weekly Lumber Connection podcast, and yet another strike force aided in the development of the #BeEssential social media campaign aimed at bringing more young people into the industry. Another strike force is currently working with industry partners to create a lean certification program through SBCA.
With many of these groups having success, the Board jump started Strike Forces 6, 7, and 8 at the SBCA Open Quarterly Meeting (OQM) in Park City, Utah, in July. Strike Force 6 is identifying opportunities to expose our industry to technological solutions that could make every business more efficient and profitable; Strike Force 7 is focused on developing more opportunities to bring company leaders face-to-face to learn from each other in non-competitive environments; and Strike Force 8 is evaluating all the training and resource materials SBCA has developed, and creating better ways to organize that information so it is easy to find and benefit from. If one of the topics Strike Forces 6, 7, and 8 are beginning to tackle is of interest to you, please reach out to SBCA staff and get engaged today!!