An exciting part of becoming an employee-owned business is developing an ownership culture. Every transition to employee ownership is unique, and so is the culture of ownership. In the day-to-day, an ownership culture incentivizes employees to take initiative, solve problems and demonstrate leadership in their roles. The company’s culture connects an individual’s effort to the business’ success while giving employees a stake in the equity.
Ownership culture
What do we mean by an ownership culture?
Initiative
Initiative
Ownership is about taking responsibility to do what is needed for the company to succeed and exposing and mitigating problems as they arise. Employee-owners need the requisite knowledge and training to make informed decisions and build their skills to enable effective participation within their roles.
Trust
Trust
One of the foundations of trust is the appropriate sharing of information, including about how decisions get made. There must be trust among employee-owners and confidence in the structures and processes established for participation so that people feel their opinions are valued and make a difference.
Clarity
Clarity
For employees’ participation to be most effective, it is critical to clarify who makes decisions and have an efficient process for gathering input and deciding. A strong culture of participation and a clear understanding of the responsibilities and rights that go along with ownership fosters a culture that helps the company realize the benefits of employee ownership.
Participation
Participation
Depending on the employee ownership structure, employee-owners will have different levels of involvement. For example, in a worker coop, employee-owners run for and elect members of the board and may vote on other issues. Employees actively participate in meetings and are well-informed about issues they vote on and about the company in general. In ESOPs and EOTs, governance participation is not inherent to the models; however, it can be built in and is recommended to get the most out of these structures.
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Project Equity can help your business create a culture of ownership?
