Workers Have The Last Laugh By Owning The Company

The Daily Telegraph’s Small Business Reporter, Andrew Caswell published an excellent article about Sydney based food and energy business, Gardner Smith’s employee share ownership plan.

According to the article, Why The Laughing? Because these workers own the company, whether they be clerical staff, apprentices or even executive officers, all of the company’s employees have been granted a share of the business.

When the boss wants to speak to the company’s owners, “he simply calls a staff meeting.”

Looks like the employee run business model or Employee Share Ownership Schemes (ESOPs) we’ve often written about are starting to catch on as a great way of keeping a loyal and enthusiastic workforce.

“Gardner Smith executive Glen McMillan believes the company’s share offer has given staff an impetus to succeed. ‘‘We’ve been looking for some time at how we can get employees involved in the company and give them some ownership,’’ he said.

‘‘The feedback has been very positive. We are hoping it will generate some loyalty in our employees and while
this is a way of rewarding our staff, we are also hoping it helps on the retention side.’’

The company offers its staff $1000 worth of free shares each year and has plans in place where employees can buy more shares.

The Mercury Centre’s Alan Greig told The Daily Telegraph that some companies with ESOPs in place have seen great returns for employees, with one company seeing their share value increased by 500 per cent in three years.

‘‘ESOPs assist attraction and retention and staff loyalty — as an owner, employees start to behave like owners
and maintain a focus on business performance.

‘‘The longer they stay and the better the business does, the better the employee does through the increasing value of the shares held.’’

What a way to keep staff from leaving the company. Sure beats a fancy coffee machine and a gym membership!