In the energy world, the battle to win and keep the best workers is well and truly underway. New job vacancies appear every day, the number of skilled workers is declining and in their desperation to recruit the brightest and best talent, companies offer fat pay cheques, bumper benefits and the opportunity to travel to far-flung locations.
And in order to stop employees from succumbing to external temptations, employers offer even more: more zeros on a pay cheque, a corner office, the promise of promotion, luxury business travel – the list goes on.
But what about letting staff own the company?
That’s right. Handing over the reins and allowing them to lead, change and drive the company’s direction.
At Accord Energy Solutions, our employees have been running the company since it was formed – and the results have been outstanding. Although we didn’t adopt the employee ownership model just to retain our staff, we’ve found that it’s worked better than we thought as a retention tool.
When I founded Accord with James Arthur and Phil Stockton in 2010, we set a target of 50 staff by 2015. With 28 staff and 12 associate consultants, we’re well on our way to reaching that target. And here’s the rub: we’ve only lost two people since we started.
Our employees have a meaningful stake within Accord through a tax-efficient share plan that distributes free shares, provides the right to purchase partnership shares and awards two free matching shares for every share purchased. This means each employee has a legitimate right of access to information about every aspect of the company, including financial, operational and business development information.
Employee ownership ensures that everyone who works at Accord is actively involved with the running of the company. Whether it’s a senior engineer, a new recruit or the office manager, each employee has a say in Accord’s direction and the company’s activities. The shares act as a reward for hard work, and the responsibility they’re entrusted with makes them feel valued, appreciated and wanted.
We’ve found that the positive culture that employee ownership creates has a tangible impact on the business. Our employees are innovative and customer focused and this has led to a high percentage of repeat business from a growing number of oil and gas operators.
Employee ownership is integral to retaining employees and can be suited to companies of all shapes and sizes. The question is, are you willing to give it a try?
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