The first of October signifies, among other things, the start of gourd season, pumpkin spice flavoring, Halloween decorations, leaves changing, and bidding a (hopefully) fond farewell to summer (and a sad farewell to Jamboard—if you’ve ever participated in an Innovative Communication Coalition meeting or the Communications Committee Crash Course, you get it). But here at the NCEO, it marks the start of Employee Ownership Month (EOM). Since the 80s, Employee Ownership Month has given us the time and space to step back and celebrate employee ownership in all its transformative power.
This June marked the one-year anniversary of The Download, a monthly NCEO member resource designed to help improve education and engagement at employee-owned companies. To commemorate, we've put together a "yearbook" to highlight the resources that have been distributed so far. The Download has covered a variety of topics in its first year, including the ESOP landscape, ESOP nuts and bolts, and ESOP culture.
In case you missed it, The Download is a monthly resource designed for members to use to increase education and engagement at their companies. This month’s resource is something that many companies have already adopted (and something that we have heard is a need for many others): ownership rights and responsibilities.
Employee Ownership Month provides us with an opportunity to celebrate, reward, and educate employee-owners and the companies they work for. Stepping back, it’s helpful to understand the history behind the celebration and why it matters today. That’s where this month’s Download (solutions-focused, member-exclusive content delivered to your inbox monthly) comes in. The October resource is a two-page handout* that provides the background and context for Employee Ownership Month (available in Spanish on the aforementioned Download landing page)*.
Education and communication are not just about scheduled training sessions; rather, they can be used to enhance ownership culture when integrated into existing systems and tools. The idea of simple, low-effort communication tools was the theme of the latest Innovative Communication Coalition (ICC) meeting, where companies shared ideas on how to keep employee ownership in the forefront of their employee-owners’ minds. Below are a few ideas from members on how they are using tools to increase ESOP awareness at their companies:
ESOP companies are often on the lookout for good communication and education resources to support their efforts around employee onboarding and training, specifically ESOP literacy, ownership culture, and countless other issues. This is why we are thrilled to launch a new member benefit this week—The Download, an email newsletter featuring a new solutions-focused resource every month. The resources are designed with the end user in mind—your employee-owners—to be shared as-is or with minimal adaptation to incorporate the specifics of your plan.
On April 12, people from 23 employee-owned companies gathered online to talk about business literacy, stock value, and ESOPs for employees. Beginning with some thought-provoking ideas from volunteer leaders of the Finance Working Group and from NCEO staff, the group split up into breakout rooms to talk, peer-to-peer, about challenges and solutions to improve business literacy at their respective companies.
