Five of Fifteen Top Small Workplaces in 2009 Are Employee Ownership Companies

Five of the 15 winners of the Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces Best Small Workplaces Award in 2009 are employee ownership companies, and all five are NCEO members. Three have ESOPs. That means that 15 of the last 45 winners have been NCEO members. All of the employee ownership company winners over the last three years have been NCEO members.

The NCEO member winners are:

Analytical Graphics: This 263-employee aerospace and defense software company in Exton, Pennsylvania, uses its profit sharing plan to invest in company stock. One unusual perk is that the company offers free breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Families are welcome to come by. Employee ideas are solicited through quarterly town-hall meetings. Fridays, employees have "Storytime," where they can shares stories of their work with other employees.

Bailard Inc: This 49-employee Foster City, California, private investment firm allows employees to buy stock with loans from the company or, in some cases, from customers. An internal market helps provide liquidity. The company is currently looking at other ownership options as well. The offices have no doors, and every morning at 9:05 the staff gathers to discuss company news and projects. An open-book policy even extends to salaries.

Heavy Construction Systems Specialists, Inc: This 106-employee construction software company in Sugar Land, Texas, was an NCEO Innovations in Employee Ownership Award winner for the unique way it combines an ESOP with stock appreciation rights (SARs) targeted at new employees to give them more parity with more senior ESOP participants. The company is very open-book, with regular opportunities for employee input into decisions. It also has an extensive wellness program, including a jogging trail and gym on site.

Skyline Construction: This 50-employee San Francisco construction company became ESOP-owned in 2005. The plan includes unionized employees. The move to an ESOP brought a major cultural shift to a highly inclusive management style. It practices extensive open-book management and has regular meetings to discuss workplace issues. Each fall, one employee from each department attends a two-day strategic retreat.

Railroad Associates Corp. is a Hershey, Pennsylvania-based railroad engineering and contracting company with 33 employees. Its ESOP owns 40% of the company. The company does not hire middle managers to handle field calls from job sites but rather pushes decisions down to front-line employees.