Introducing Ombud's 2020 Most Valuable Ombuddy: Stephanie Wise!

Each year, on the anniversary of Ombud’s founding, we present the Most Valuable Ombuddy (MVO) award. This is an individual who exemplifies our core values and has moved the company forward in a meaningful way.  

This year, we didn’t get to have a big celebration in person like usual, so we’re sharing our MVO with all of you! 

How is the MVO selected?

The MVO selection committee sends out a call for nominations at the beginning of each calendar year. Peer nominations highlight how the nominee stacks up against our core values as a company, and what they’ve done to deserve such an award. 

Our core values and how we define them are the following:

Integrity: Total trust in the team; striving for what is good and right.

Thought Leadership: Mediocrity is not the fail-safe; aptitude and desire to continue learning. 

Willingness: Prompt to act and respond; contribute outside of our job descriptions.

Ambition: Self-starters who don't wait for things to happen. Focus and drive to accomplish something great; relentless pursuit of opportunity.

Reliability: Perform consistently well; dependable.

Affectionately, we call these principles “IT WAR” and they guide our hiring practices, performance reviews, and recognition such as the MVO.

Once nominations are complete, the selection committee (consisting of past winners and members of our leadership team) determines a winner and announces this during our anniversary celebration. 

So, who’s our MVO this year?

Ombud’s 2020 MVO: Stephanie Wise

Stephanie started at Ombud 8 years ago and our CEO, Thad, frequently calls her “the fourth founder of Ombud.” She has been a driving force of the business since the day she joined and has provided value in her current role as the Support Manager in addition to roles as a marketer, product manager, and customer success manager in her tenure. 

Below, we’ve compiled what Stephanie’s fellow Ombuddies wrote in their nominations (plural!) of her:

Integrity:

“Stephanie allows her team a level of autonomy, displaying trust in them. She always has the best interests of the company at the forefront and is able to balance the needs of customers with the needs and resources of the team. Stephanie walks the walk and practices what she preaches.”

Thought Leadership:

“Stephanie is always seeking out how we, as a company, can be better than we are today. She created benchmarks to improve Om-boarding and speed up the ramp-up process. With every hire, she continues to improve the process without questioning her standards. Mediocrity isn't in her vocabulary.”

Willingness:

“Stephanie is always involved in all things Ombud. She does not keep her knowledge of Ombud to herself and is always willing to help with whatever someone is struggling with, regardless of which team they're on. For the smallest or largest of tasks, Stephanie's there with a smile on her face.”

Ambition:

“Stephanie is ambitious and encourages ambition in others. She has reshaped the entire Customer Success organization and is always striving to improve operations. Stephanie has unyielding standards for Support and the team continuously exceeds them. She and her team truly go above and beyond.”

Reliability:

“Stephanie is unfailingly reliable. She laid a foundation for repeatable success amongst the Customer Success Analyst team and built a system to ensure that the quality of work is consistent. She takes pride in her work, her team, and her place within Ombud. Stephanie is one of the most reliable people I've ever met.”

Congratulations, Stephanie! We’re so happy to have you here and call you a fellow Ombuddy.