- Why is employee ownership beneficial?
- Who benefits from employee ownership?
- Employee ownership in Vermont
- Testimonials from Vermont employee-owned companies
Why is employee ownership beneficial?
Employee ownership is a proven means of preserving local ownership of companies and the jobs they support, fairly sharing equity, boosting productivity, and improving the quality of work life.
There are now over 9,000 companies in the U.S. with Employee Stock Ownership Plans or equivalent plans, hundreds of worker cooperatives, and thousands of companies with some other form of employee ownership.
Introducing employee ownership into a business is a complex undertaking, and instituting the cultural changes necessary to make employee ownership meaningful requires a significant commitment of resources and energy. But since 1974, when federal legislation was passed that provided a legal framework for ESOPs, a strong infrastructure supporting employee ownership has developed. The VEOC is part of that infrastructure and we are here to support the needs of Vermont businesses and communities."Extensive research has proven that employee-owned businesses out-perform and are more sustainable than their competitors in the same industries. There couldn’t be a better time to give Vermonters back control of their economic future with a proven model of business ownership: employee ownership," says the Chair of the Center’s Board of Directors, Cindy Turcot of Gardener’s Supply Company.
A survey published in the ESOP Report (August 2003) revealed that ESOP companies outperformed the three major stock indices in 2002: the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ composite, and the S&P 500. This means “once again that the decision to become employee-owned through an ESOP means better company performance and greater wealth creation for the employee owners.” (ESOP Report 8/03).
Who can benefit from employee ownership?
- Small Business Owners, who find buyers for their business and compensation for their years of hard work;
- Employees, who retain their jobs, share in future profits, and have greater control over their own destinies;
- Company Performance, which often is improved through increases in productivity due to employee ownership and participation; and
- The Community, in which the company is now more deeply rooted.