NCEO Peer Groups Expanded: New Peer Groups Formed for a Variety of ESOP Functions
One of the most effective ways to supercharge your employee ownership practices and performance in 2024 is to learn from and with other employee-owned companies.
At the NCEO, our mission is to help employee ownership thrive—and one of the ways we are doing this is by helping members to foster connection with other employee-owned companies through our peer networking groups, a member benefit you may not know about. These groups are designed to bring like audiences together to share learnings, problem solve challenges, and generate ideas and resources to improve the company culture. The well-documented ownership advantage is in part the result of companies sharing ideas freely and learning from each other.
The NCEO currently hosts several groups, including the ESOP CEO networks, Human Resources peer network, the Finance Working Group (FWG), the Innovative Communication Coalition (ICC), and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) peer gatherings. These interactive groups are inspiring, energetic, and full of collective wisdom from the employee ownership community. The more those attending these meetings actively participate, the more the space creates robust discussion and creative solutions.
ESOP CEO Network
The ESOP CEO networks were the first to be formed. These are small, exclusive groups of chief executive officers from ESOP companies working together to discuss pressing issues and workshop big ideas. In 2023, three cohorts were formed with thirty-one CEOs from a variety of industries and ranging in ESOP lifecycle from brand new to mature. Each meeting provides the opportunity to discuss top-of-mind issues along with two themed topics that can spark some healthy debate and conversation. This past year, topics covered everything from enhancing ownership culture, recruitment and retention, and succession planning to more technical topics such a repurchase obligation, effective ESOP governance, artificial intelligence and automation, and much more.
Participation in the 2024 cohorts is limited, and we encourage both current and new members to apply to join. If you are interested in learning more, this page contains more information on the process and the interest form.
Human Resources Peer Network
The HR peer network is our newest group, with the first meeting in August 2023. This coalition meets on a monthly basis and is designed to create a space for like-minded HR professionals to work through issues unique to employee-owned cultures as well as other best practices around compensation, compliance, benefits, training and development, and other issues that arise. These meetings offer an open forum to share what is working well, ask questions, and brainstorm challenges, all while building meaningful connections that will support your time in HR for years to come. If you are interested in this group, you can find more information here.
Finance Working Group (FWG)
The FWG is comprised of finance-focused professionals from NCEO member companies. This group meets every two months with a focused topic. Meetings begin with a connection with the full group, followed by members of the leadership group sharing relevant examples from their experience, ending with smaller, breakout discussions to dive deeper into topic or to discuss how the topic is uniquely impacted based on where your company is in the ESOP lifecycle. These meetings provide a forum to discuss tools, ideas, how to best select and work with advisors, and governance topics, all to help drive the ESOP community forward and integrate finance into all aspects of your organization’s culture. In 2023, the FWG covered topics including repurchase obligation, forecasting, and valuation, with discussions on ensuring due diligence, special considerations for ESOPs, and how to take these often complex topics and break them down to a level that can be shared more broadly with employee-owners. At times, trusted service providers will join meetings to provide an overview on a topic of interest and answer questions from the group.
Innovative Communication Coalition (ICC)
The ICC is a broader peer network for employee-owned professionals involved with company culture and communications, ESOP committees, learning and development, HR, and leadership roles. This group comes together to create and share communication initiatives, activities, and projects that make employee ownership stronger. The focus is to build engagement and strengthen ownership culture through workshop-style meetings with tangible ideas and resources to implement at your company.
Similar to the FWG, the meetings open with members of the leadership team sharing examples from their companies on how they address the meeting’s topic at their companies, and then lead small group breakout discussions to share and brainstorm ideas and resources. This group has discussed themes around engagement tools, recruiting, onboarding and retention programs, communication resources, and Employee Ownership Month planning. These discussions are the primer for high-quality templates for the broader NCEO member base.
Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs)
Last but certainly not least are the gatherings for EOTs. These gatherings are unique in that they provide a forum for both companies considering EOTs and companies with the structure in place, and every other meeting includes service providers already working in the field and those looking to learn and find ways to support EOTs. The meetings have discussed policy, how to grow the field, and specifics around benefits and company structure.
Interested in Learning More?
All of these peer networks are open to member companies. In addition to the monthly or bimonthly meetings, participants will also have the opportunity for in-person connection at the upcoming NCEO Annual Conference in Tampa, FL, from April 29–May 1. For additional information, reach out to NCEO Director of Education Lindsay Isaac at [email protected].