授权:林奇堡的员工所有企业如何改变员工及其公司的生活
By Robin Sutton Anders
这家总部位于林奇堡的公司的总裁兼首席执行官乔治安·斯尼德(Georgeann Snead)说,这不是一件容易的事 Electronic Design and Manufacturing (EDM). 不像一些制造商反复生产相同的产品, EDM为那些没有设备和专业知识的客户组装专门的电路板. 他们的客户遍布各行各业,每次运营都会带来新的挑战.
Snead解释说:“我们并不是真的在运行一条装配线. 他说:“让这项业务运转起来需要付出很多汗水和心血, and our employee-owners are critical to our success.”
Snead将EDM员工的奉献精神归因于他们对自己工作的主人翁感——以及他们对公司本身的主人翁感. When EDM shifted its ownership structure in 1995, 它加入了该市庞大且不断增长的员工所有公司行列. In 2022, Lynchburg was ranked #7 for employee ownership 由营销和认证计划认证的EO.
“There’s a huge center of employee ownership here, 我认为这要归功于一些服务提供商, such as attorneys and financial advisors, who really understand employee ownership,” Snead says. “当你看到好处并对这个话题充满热情时,你就会把这个信息传播出去.”
How it Works
拥有员工持股计划(ESOPs)的公司让员工拥有公司的股权. That can happen in different ways, but in most cases, 员工持股计划是指员工通过雇主出资积累公司股票的退休计划. As employees accumulate seniority with the company, also known as “vesting,“他们获得了账户中股票的权利.
当员工离开公司时,公司会以公平的市场价值回购他们的股票. 因此,许多员工离职时带着退休储蓄,这些储蓄可以支撑他们的社会保障收入. Snead说:“制造业的工资水平低于其他一些行业。. “From a management seat, 让我感到欣慰的是,我们的员工有机会有一个很好的退休生活, without a lot of specialized education, are able to amass some wealth.”
据Snead说,这是EDM创始人Robert Roberts的梦想. “他坚信,每个人都应该参与企业的成败. He didn’t have any children who wanted to take over, 因此,成为一名员工持股计划是一个很棒的继任计划,” Snead explains. “让员工对公司的表现有真正的利害关系,这对公司有很大的帮助.”
Vested and Invested
安德里亚·塞克尔是林奇堡另一家员工持股公司的首席财务官, Master Engineers and Designers. This year, the company celebrated its 40th anniversary; it’s been an ESOP for almost 20 years.
Thacker was a director at the time of the transition. “Prior to becoming an ESOP, 我们根据员工的投入程度和努力程度与他们分享利润. 因此,员工创造公司的心态已经存在。.
高级工程师和设计师的员工为他们的成就直接导致公司的成功而感到自豪. “They’re not just working for someone else, 他们在为自己工作,也在为彼此工作,” Thacker points out. “我认为人们很感激他们的辛勤工作和投入得到了认可和回报.”
That’s how Thacker feels, too. Having been with the company for 39 years, 她很欣赏从一家盈利公司获得回报的能力. 她说:“它帮助我的退休生活增长,我将能够舒适地退休。.
塞克尔补充说,工程硕士和设计师员工是公司最大的资产. “If you have a change in ownership, 内部转型而不是出售给外部买家,将使公司重新回到帮助它成功的人手中. 这就是为什么它是一辆非常值得拥有的汽车.”
Vision to Reality
At the 120-year-old engineering firm Wiley Wilson, 他们的官方愿景声明是:“让我们的员工所有者生活得更好,这样我们就能成为社区的积极力量。, our country and the world.”
Connie Burnette, 副总裁兼人力资源部经理, says that because of the company’s ESOP status, 潜在的雇员明白她不只是说说而已. “当我们解释说,当公司表现良好时,你会直接受益,人们真的会回应. 找到那些愿意为员工所有的公司工作的候选人是至关重要的. 这是一种独特的文化,我们的目标是雇佣能够适应并在这里蓬勃发展的人.”
For Wiley|Wilson, 在一家外部公司试图收购该公司之后,向员工所有制的转变发生了. “Before that sale went through, 一群高管聚在一起,提出了员工持股的想法,” Burnette says. “对外出售没有成功,我们变成了一家员工所有的公司.”
2020年,Wiley Wilson庆祝公司成立20周年. 伯内特说,公司鼓励所有员工像老板一样思考问题. “Because that’s what we are,” she adds. “When we meet our client’s needs, finish a big project or land a new client, 我们都感到自豪,并通过与客户分享成功而联系在一起.”
As with EDM and Master Engineers and Designers, Wiley Wilson的员工有一种共同的责任感. “We have a vested interest in our company’s success, and that centers our work around a focused purpose,” says Burnette. “That shared goal pushes us to be our best.”
Robin Sutton Anders is a Greensboro, N.C.-based writer and the managing editor of Verdant Word Communications.