Transcript Participation Up and Down the Organization: Where, Why, & How Vermont Employee Ownership Center 2012 Conference Burlington, Vermont June 8, 2012 Alex Moss | Praxis Consulting Group Jane.

Participation Up and Down the
Organization:
Where, Why, & How
Vermont Employee Ownership Center
2012 Conference
Burlington, Vermont
June 8, 2012
Alex Moss | Praxis Consulting Group
Jane Moss | Hypertherm
Michael Allan | Gardeners Supply
Goals
 What do we really mean by “employee
participation”?
 By whom, in what decisions, through what
structure, with what support, etc.
 2 case studies – neither one is calling itself
the “right answer,” but lots of good
experience
 Discussion
 What are you already doing that we can learn
from?
 What are we learning about what works?
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ESOP Governance
Shareholders
ESOP
Fiduciary
Committee
Individual
Owners
ESOP Trustees
select
are
represented
by
ESOP
Participants
elect
Board of Directors
appoint and oversee
CEO / President
hire and oversee
Leadership Team
when meet
eligibility
requirements
hire and oversee
ESOP
Communications
Committee:
Promote
Ownership
Employees
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Company Case Study Introductions
 Your basic business
 You yourself – your job, how long you've
been there and how you got there, the
different roles you've played
 Your ESOP – how old, what percent, how
meaningful is it to employee-owners
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Your Experience So Far: Quick Examples
 What's working best so far? Why?
 Imagine that it’s 3 years from now and things
are working just the way you want – what is
different?
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Participation: Shop Floor
 How do employees participate in *shop floor*
decision making?
 Examples
 Structures
 Successes
 Challenges
 Training & support
 Future evolution?
 Do you have an ESOP Communications /
Education Committee?
 What decisions do they make?
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Participation: Management Decisions
 What decisions are typically made by
management?
 Is there employee participation in
 Strategic planning
 Major equipment purchases
 Hiring/firing
 Others?
 What training and support is needed?
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Participation: Board of Directors
 Do employee-owners vote for the Board?
 Is there an employee rep?
 How are they selected
 How long do they serve
 What have been the benefits?
 Any downsides and how did you handle?
 Do employees have an opportunity to meet
the Board?
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Participation: ESOP Trustees
 Who are your Trustees?
 Do employees have a voice?
 Have you ever had a "pass-through" vote to ESOP
participants?
 How did it go, what did you learn?
 Do any employees serve as Trustees?
 Management or non-management
 Training & support
 Managing perceived conflicts
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Impact
 In what ways have these different forms of
participation actually helped your company
succeed & sustain itself?
 Cost savings?
 Sales growth?
 Improved profit & stock value?
 Morale?
 Better feeling of connectedness / reduced
turnover?
 Better health and safety record?
 Better corporate citizenship?
 Other ways in which people have benefited?
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Speed bumps
 At what points have you gotten off track?
 How, what happened?
 How did people respond?
 Were you able to turn it around positively, how?
 What did you learn?
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Recommendations
 What are your top recommendations – things
you would do now, if you were starting from
scratch, or things you wish you could do?
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Questions
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Contact Information
Alex Moss
Praxis Consulting Group, Inc.
215.753.0304
[email protected]
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