It’s not hard to find advocates of employee ownership across the business, political and social spheres. From heads of large corporations to workers in small co-operative enterprises and politicians from both sides of the political spectrum – the benefits of employee ownership are for everyone.
The challenge we face in Australia is twofold; in promoting awareness of the transformative power of employee ownership in our workplaces and in advocating for change at a legislative level so it becomes feasible for more business to implement employee ownership.
“For the enterprise it unlocks the human capital of employees, which can drive improvements and greater success…Employees who have shares are more likely to be in tune with, and part of, a company’s mission and success because they have a stake in the outcome”.
“As we look to the challenges in the decades ahead, we know our capacity to do better will be built on a more productive economy. A revolution in employee share ownership has the potential to add a couple of cylinders to our economic engine”.
– Tony Smith MP
“. . . since the introduction of the employee share plan, People are now saying “us” instead of “me” and asking, “what do you want us to do?”
“Employee Ownership will deliver a significant boost to the Australian economy. Broad based employee share ownership has been unequivocally shown to promote employee savings, innovation and productivity.”
– Angela Perry, Board member of EOA and former Link Market Services Global Head of EPS
“U.S. companies take advantage of a variety of forms of employee ownership, from the broad-based stock options that are an integral part of the Silicon Valley innovation engine, to employee stock ownership plans, which boost the performance of companies from all sectors of the economy and increase jobs in local communities.
When visiting Australia I was surprised and disappointed to see the barriers and limited tools available to Australian companies that want to share ownership with their employees. By adapting legislative ideas from the U.S. and the U.K., Australia can build an economy that is more productive, more fair, and more deeply rooted.”
– Loren Rodgers Executive Director, The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)
“Research confirms that employee ownership, on average, leads to increased firm productivity, profitability, and longevity”.
The Employee Share Ownership Plan has helped bring together our employees from across our various business units, and to create a stronger sense of shared purpose. This workplace culture will be extremely important as we continue to expand into the future.
– Jeffrey Broun, Greencap Managing Director
“In north America we always include an employee share plan as we know that it ensures that these businesses meet their business plan objectives. There is no such awareness in Australia.”
– Former Macquarie Bank Executive.
“When visiting Australia I was surprised and disappointed to see the barriers and limited tools available to Australian companies that want to share ownership with their employees”
“Research confirms that employee ownership, on average, leads to increased firm productivity, profitability, and longevity. Evidence suggests that combining employee ownership with increased employee participation may generate astounding returns on investment.”
– Steven F. Freeman, University of Pennsylvania, Effects of ESOP Adoption & Employee Ownership: Thirty years of Research and Experience
“There are a number of elements in companies with some degree of employee share ownership which predispose them to outperform ‘classic’ business models.
Research from the UK, US and Japan demonstrates that companies with employee share ownership, or significant levels of employee financial participation, have: i. Higher productivity and financial performance ii. Greater innovation iii. Higher levels of customer loyalty iv. Lower staff turnover v. Increased shareholder returns.”
– Robert Postlethwaite, Johnathan Michie, Patrick Burns, Graeme Nuttall Shared Company
