CEO Blog
How our emerging policy proposals will help the EOA unlock the full potential of #TheEOeffect | CEO blog
Blog by Employee Ownership Association (EOA) Chief Executive James de le Vingne
This year we will celebrate the 11th annual EO Day on 23 June with the theme of #TheEOeffect.
As we gear up for our big national day – when we will showcase the impact employee ownership has on employees, business, the wider economy, communities and the environment – I reflect on what the EOA has planned to further grow and strengthen the employee ownership sector.
Our three priority areas
In establishing the effect EO has on businesses, employees, and our wider economy and commun...
CEO Blog: Access to patient capital for employee owned businesses is just the ‘rocket fuel’ the UK economy needs
Blog by James de le Vingne, CEO of the Employee Ownership Association
Employee ownership (EO) has been brought to the forefront of many minds by the recent media coverage around the John Lewis Partnership's plans for the future, and the possibility that they are considering selling a stake of their currently 100% employee owned business to external investors.
We don’t comment on individual members' trading or media stories at the EOA, so I won’t be speculating about what John Lewis should decide to do. However, I want to use ...
VIDEO: Why employee ownership can and will be a next generation business model | EOA Conference keynote speech from our chief executive
EOA Chief Executive James de le Vingne gave a keynote speech to start the 2022 EOA Annual Conference at the ACC in Liverpool. Here’s what he said:
What comes to mind when you think about the future?
Maybe it’s a change in where you live or work, or success in achieving a personal goal. Perhaps it’s broader, about family and friends and our wider communities. For many, it will be how do we stand into the challenges that the next few months are likely to throw at us.
Like many parents, I think about my children’s future, about the people they will become. I ...
EOA sets out series of asks of Government after appointment of new Prime Minister | CEO Blog
Blog from Employee Ownership Association (EOA) CEO James de le Vingne
It’s great to see the end of uncertainty for the leadership of the Conservative Party and the country.
As Liz Truss becomes the new Prime Minister, we will use this change in leadership and ministerial roles to kick-start a national conversation around employee ownership.
Now is a fantastic opportunity for the EOA to articulate what we would like from the Government, as well as demonstrate how we can use our insights and connections to support business resilience in the UK.
As we seek to ...
Together we can aim to grow twice as much in half the time! | CEO blog
This year is the 10th EO Day with the theme of #GrowEO - today, at 50 days to go to the June 24 celebration, I reflect on the moments that really helped the sector grow.
Together with you our members and stakeholders we have driven the growth of the EOA and the sector over the past 10 years. We have reflected the learnings of this journey in our asks for this year’s EO Day.
In 2012, the EOA was working with Graeme Nuttall and John Lewis Partnership to influence government on what became the employee ownership trust (EOT), an activity that followed up on the ...
New CEO uses first formal speech in role to announce two major programmes and a return to face-to-face events
New Chief Executive James de le Vingne has given his first formal speech as CEO since joining the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) in February. In his keynote speech at our Better Business Together event, which incorporated the EOA AGM, James spoke about his vision for the organisation's digital transformation, the most ambitious research programme to date called the Knowledge Programme, and also made an announcement about our 2022 events. Here is what he had to say:
I have spent the past few weeks on tour meeting many employee-owned businesses, supporter members, ...
‘In my last month as CEO, I can look back on 2021 as a year of adaption and innovation for employee ownership’
As we start 2022, looking back to this time last year, I guess no one could have imagined we would still be deep amid the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
After almost 24 months of significant restrictions to our personal and business behaviours, and with the tragic loss of so many lives, most of us were hoping that 2022 would be the start of a new, Covid-free, or at least restriction free, future.
However, humankind is highly adaptable and innovative therefore I’m sure that in time we will overcome and learn to live with the ‘new normal’ of coronavirus. And ...
Why it’s critical the EOA and its members remain constant and authentic champions of ‘Good Employee Ownership’
Deb Oxley OBE, Chief Executive at the Employee Ownership Association, gave a keynote speech to open up day one of the EOA Annual Conference 2021. Here is what she had to say:
Believing that business and society are better when people have a meaningful stake and a say in their work, the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) has a clear mission to unlock the potential of people, businesses and the economy through employee ownership.
And arguably the opportunity for employee ownership (EO) has never been greater as businesses seek to be more sustainable, equitable and ...
Levelling up our economic recovery: the regional opportunity for employee ownership
The ambition to ‘Level Up’ the economy is a familiar phrase but it’s not necessarily clear how this ambition will be realised, what it means to families, businesses and the regions in which they are based or how its impact will be measured. However, what is clear is that imbalances in economic activity across the country, with wealth and prosperity in some areas driven by investment whilst other areas struggle to shake off their post-industrial decline must be addressed if there is to be a level, UK-wide, post-Covid economic recovery.
In addition, the UK’s ...
Deb Oxley – EOA Statement on the 2021 UK Budget
"There was a lot to welcome in this important Budget in terms of continuation of pandemic financial support, a programme for economic recovery and investing for the future. However, we do recognise that for some members, the planned changes to corporation tax will be a concern.
"While we heard that there was a freeze on an individual's annual exempt amount for Capital Gains Tax, we still wait to hear the detail of other possible changes and initiatives around the UK tax regime later this month.
"We hope March 23rd will herald an end to the uncertainty about a ...
CEO Blog – Staying on course to Better Business
Whilst the entire world has been buffeted and blown around by the pandemic, there has never been a more important time for organisations to stay agile and to stay focused on their purpose.
Of course, it has been essential to divert valuable resources to manage the national response to COVID19 here in the UK. However, the implications of this approach on the longer-term challenges are profound, for example in the NHS, where waiting lists for non-COVID related illness are now at an all-time high and not expected to recover to pre-COVID levels for many years, putting at ...
5 reasons why the UK needs an EO Boost
There’s just under 2 weeks to go until our three-day virtual event that offers engaging learning and insightful discussions about succession, good business and employee ownership.
The EOA strongly feels that employee ownership has a key role to play in building back better in a post COVID-19 UK, linked to resilience and better income equality, which is why employee ownership experts and advocates J Gadd Associates and Postlethwaite have supported EO Boost as headline sponsors to the widest audience possible, free of charge, along with supporting sponsor Mott MacDona...
CEO Blog: Employee ownership; if not now, when?
‘United we stand, divided we fall’ describes the collaboration that unites people to overcome difficult times.
Currently what unites all of us is that as a global community, we all have first-hand experience of how the pandemic has changed the way we live, work and play.
Whilst some yearn for a return to ‘normal’, many long for a ‘new’ normal that celebrates what has been learnt in lock-down; more local and responsible consumerism; less use of cars and more use of bikes (or legs); adapting our homes to suit working from home – or even consideration of a ...
CEO Blog – Making the case for employee ownership has never been more important
As the UK takes its first gentle steps towards recovery, it is more important than ever that the role and relevance of employee ownership to society and the economy is understood and respected – especially by those with influence who have the power and opportunity to assist in its growth.
Therefore, whilst the EOA team works hard to deliver activity that enables engagement, networking and learning between members, our other major priority remains that of representing your interests and campaigning for more employee ownership.
In this regard, throughout lockdown and ...
CEO Blog – Webinars evidence why EO can help build back better
Over the past three months, at the height of ‘lock-down’ I had the privilege to chair our series of webinars, which supported our members and the wider employee owned community as they dealt with the health and economic challenges of Covid-19.
As I reflect on the case studies from the webinars and the stories shared with us by our members over the last months, it’s clear that during the initial response to the pandemic, EO businesses were able to leverage their employee ownership spirit to unite employee owners behind a common purpose, helping their ability to ...
CEO Blog: “Business as usual” is no longer good enough
56% respondents thought that capitalism as it exists today does more harm than good in the world, that is one of the key findings of the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual survey of people around the globe that looks at levels of trust for government, business, NGOs and the media.
I’ve written previously about the importance of establishing trust for successful businesses, and the intervening years have only further proved how vital trust is to business.
In fact, I am sure most of us can name a handful of big businesses over the past few years that have ...
It’s time to enable employee ownership to be a crucial part of the future of work
So, the enduring uncertainty the UK has experienced over the past three years has ended – the people of the UK have spoken and returned an 80-seat majority for the Conservatives, the party’s best result since the 1980s.
With the deadlock now broken, there is a need to address a looming resilience emergency in our regions.
As part of that, there is a key role for employee and worker ownership to play - as highlighted in our manifesto – through offering better corporate governance and oversight; greater productivity driven by engaged employees, and improved ...
Delivering Quality Jobs Needs More Humanity
Recently I was lucky enough to visit the Spanish city of San Sebastian to present and speak about the role of employee ownership in delivering quality jobs.
Sharing the platform with a range of other speakers from the EU and beyond also enabled me to learn about the range of emerging technologies that have the potential to develop or threaten the global provision of quality jobs.
A speaker from the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute explained how autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to change personal travel and the transport of freight. Driverless ...
Our manifesto for a sharing economy to benefit the UK
While the way forward politically and economically for the UK becomes so close but so far from being clear, in stark contrast the EOA’s call to action has grown in both momentum and clarity.
Our voice has been amplified through working in partnership with business organisations such as the ICAEW, FSB and IFB and through invites to share our thinking with key influencers relating to a more inclusive economy, better engaged employees driving more productivity in businesses and how employee ownership succession has a key role to play in the resilience of our regional ...
It’s time to ‘go big’ with plans for more employee ownership
Thinking about the future of employee ownership inevitably causes reflection on our journey so far.
Whilst the EOA 40th anniversary year has given us a chance to celebrate the origins of the EOA and our current direction of travel, it was the release last week of a new paper Equity for All, authored by Nigel Mason and published by new think tank Ownership at Work, that has led me to reflect more closely on the past five years.
Just 5 years ago there were fewer than 130 employee owned businesses in the UK.
And it was back then, following the recommendations of the ...
A reflection – one year on from the Ownership Dividend our partnerships are crucial to growing EO
Just over one year ago we concluded the Ownership Effect Inquiry with the launch of the report The Ownership Dividend – the Economic Case for Employee Ownership.
With financial support of John Lewis Partnership and the eaga Trust, leadership of Baroness Sharon Bowles and the academic rigour of Cass and Alliance Manchester Business Schools, the Ownership Dividend was launched to great acclaim.
The launch and the aftermath of media coverage confirmed that the Ownership Dividend tapped into a very current and relevant set of issues facing the UK:
business ...
Invest now in employee and worker ownership for a more inclusive economy
Ed Mayo, Co-operatives UK and Deb Oxley, Employee Ownership Association
It’s time to move on from simply talking about the benefits of a more inclusive economy – and start investing in one.
The delivery of an inclusive economy requires more political will and targeted investment.
When it comes to reducing wealth inequality, driving employee engagement and tackling regional resilience, employee and worker ownership offers a proven and popular opportunity to achieve this.
The recent announcement of the move by Richer Sounds to become employee owned received ...
CEO Blog: Telling the employee ownership story – it’s all in the numbers
One of the most important tools that supports the EOA in being the voice for employee ownership in the UK is the insight we have about the size and shape of the sector.
Our purpose to influence, inspire and support UK employee ownership to become more admired, widespread and successful depends on being able to tell a compelling story using sector data, alongside the rich case studies from our membership.
This is why, working with partners, we publish data that helps us to tell the story of employee ownership to influencers, business owners, the media and political ...
EOA Blog: One year on, the momentum for EO is thriving
By Operations Director Cathy Brown
It is a year since we last met at the Summer Dinner, in fact it was my first engagement for the EOA.
It has been a fascinating year for me, especially realising how closely aligned the worlds of EO and my previous experience in the world of employee engagement are.
Having been brought in to run the operations of EOA, and support projects being generated by new partnerships being developed by our CEO, this anniversary for me seems a great time for me to reflect on where we are now.
Last year Respublica Director Philip Blond ...
Does Richer Sounds mark the tipping point for employee ownership?
Last week saw the announcement of Richer Sounds’ move to employee ownership. As the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) prepared itself for this welcome announcement of another business owner taking the progressive step to securing the future of their business, we could not have predicted the response. For last week’s news seems to represent a tipping point in the employee ownership revolution.
Founder Julian Richer’s decision to sell majority ownership of his business to his employees via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) has been universally welcomed and his ...
Moving the goal posts makes employee ownership a political football
In recent months both sides of the political divide have proposed employee ownership as the solution to some of the UK’s burning economic woes.
Good news you might think? Frustratingly however, these references have been politicised; Labour’s policy recommendations of the ‘Inclusive Ownership Fund’ and ‘Right to Own’ proposing employee ownership as a solution to economic failures, mandated in law, and that the former include what is ostensibly an additional stealth tax on larger private and public businesses.
Government’s response to Labour’s propos...
CEO Blog: The certainty of happiness
Considering the current economic uncertainty, I am consoling myself this month with another quote from Benjamin Franklin, “there is nothing more certain than taxes and death”. For every day that passes, the current level of uncertainty remains, with each new day bringing yet more confusion about what might be the future of the UK’s relationship with the EU.
At a recent lunch with the Bank of England’s Chief Economist, Andy Haldane, it was therefore refreshing to hear business leaders confirm their response to this was to seek to control what they could and to ...
Succeeding at succession – the employee ownership way
“Failing to plan is planning to fail”. This famous phrase, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, has significant resonance for any business owner thinking about their succession options.
Far too often, an owner puts off this important decision – sometimes until it is too late.
However, it’s easy to see why this is often the case. Owners of established businesses invest their lives in their business – it and they are intimately intertwined.
But they are often patriarchal leaders; involved in every decision, and the person everyone turns to for the nod of ...
40 years of better business – a year of opportunity
As is usual at the start of a year, I write to offer some insights into the opportunities and challenges that 2019 poses for the employee owned sector.
Undoubtedly this year will be one of the UK’s most important in recent history and with the expected exit from the EU in March, possibly also one of its most transformative.
To that end, I believe that this could also be one of the most important years for employee ownership, which as a social and economic enabler can offer a more sustainable and inclusive way to do business.
One of the biggest opportunities for ...
Socialising capital the employee ownership way
The media is prone to labelling; hence, we have ‘millennials’, ‘the gig economy’ and ‘soap stars’.
In the absence of a deeper understanding of the employee ownership structure by some commentators, it is sometimes the case that this innovative and progressive structure of business ownership is also labelled - as a form of socialism. This was the case recently, in what was an otherwise excellent article about the transitions to employee ownership by Union Industries and Aardman Animations.
I could use the rest of this article explaining why I don’t ...
The Future of Work – there’s an ownership solution
Author: Cathy Brown, EOA Operations Director
The world is changing, and work (and all the surrounding structures like education, taxes and business ownership) have to change as well. At the moment, the world of work is in a state of tension, where demographic, technological and societal pressures are driving bottom up change in us as people, but our workplaces, ownership models and leadership structures are still operating in the old ways.
The generation now coming into the workforce will drive an even stronger requirement to recruit and then retain skilled people. ...
Better together – why the UK needs bipartisan action to enable more employee ownership
Working together inevitably delivers better outcomes and more value. However, it’s hard to do, and in particular politically, as it requires compromise that is difficult to achieve.
So it was encouraging to hear of bipartisan cooperation on employee ownership in the US where President Trump has recently signed the Main Street Employee Ownership Act.
With estimated potential to double or even triple the growth rate of employee-owned companies over the next decade as well as stabilising jobs in local communities and reducing inequality by giving more employees a ...
Equality is the much needed rescue remedy for the UK economy
One glance at the business and mainstream news illustrates the deep problems facing the UK economy as businesses collapse on the high street, wages continue to stagnate although interest rates are rising and more working families’ incomes are being topped up by the government.
It is clear that change is needed. And whilst the UK ponders Brexit – deal or no deal – there is work to be done to make sure that UK business is as resilient as it can be.
With 10% of the wealthiest people in the UK owning almost 70% of financial wealth and today’s news from the High ...
Bigger Thinking Series Part 6 – Potential on Tap: What does the Ownership Dividend mean for the UK economy?
Our ‘Bigger Thinking’ series has explored and explained how the employee owned business structure affects performance and productivity, corporate governance and employee voice.
As this first series draws to a close, it is clear there is potential in employee ownership for businesses aspiring for a sustainable structure that benefits the individual, the business and the regional and wider economy.
In 2017, the EOA, in partnership with The eaga Trust and the John Lewis Partnership, commissioned an inquiry led by an independent panel of UK senior business leaders ...
EOA Bigger Thinking Series part 5: Supporting the Spinouts
Rethinking how to deliver public services and consideration of how new delivery channels will be viewed by the public is a priority for leadership in every public sector body across the UK.
Whilst there is a growing acceptance by the majority of the public that the current models must evolve, the recent collapse of Carillion highlights a major issue for this evolution.
The same ownership structures or levels of governance do not bind such privately owned outsourced providers delivering many of these important public sector contracts. This creates a significant risk ...
Bigger Thinking Series Part 4: Growth and scale-up – Growing a Business that Goes the Distance
Growing a Business that Goes the Distance
“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”
James Penney, Founder of JC Penney
In any market in any economy, one of the biggest challenges is the notion of ‘business growth’. With regular stories of the UK’s flat productivity and slow growth, nobody seems to have THE answer on how to kick start the UK’s economy especially during the great pause many businesses are experiencing as they try to unpick what Brexit might mean for them.
A company’s approach to scaling up and ...
CEO blog: Employee ownership’s role in our ‘special relationship’
Whilst French President Emmanuel Macron may have attempted to steal the ‘special relationship’ label of the UK and USA during his recent visit, after speaking at the National Centre for Employee Ownership’s (NCEO) annual conference in Atlanta recently, I am confident of the UK’s hold over that label – at least where employee ownership is concerned. For during my trip, I was struck by the similarities between these seemingly different employee ownership worlds.
Firstly, we share the same challenges. Whilst there are almost 7,000 firms in the US that would ...
Bigger Thinking Series Part 3 – Planning for success; planning for succession
It sounds incredible that successful UK companies, responsible for employing hundreds if not thousands of people may have business shelf lives that are wholly reliant upon either the existing directors living forever, or the business being sold, uprooted or asset stripped.
Shockingly, this is the case for many businesses today. Without a strategy for succession of ownership, the jobs, profits and products of these companies will potentially simply cease to exist, or disappear
According to Imperial College Business School, only 20 percent of UK family-owned businesses ...
Bigger Thinking Series Part 2: Productivity and Performance Post-Brexit
2018 will be a year of change for UK businesses in so many ways; Brexit has seen to that.
2017 ended with news headlines of UK productivity lagging across a many markets. Now, in 2018, predictions regarding productivity levels, combined with the uncertainty of Brexit, are at times, as wild and varied as the process of exit is complicated.
And whether you're forlorn about the grand exit, or delighted, the fact remains; the future success of the UK economy in a post-Brexit era will be heavily influenced by levels of productivity.
The UK media has been focused on ...
Assets don’t exist, only people
If business leaders genuinely believe that their people are their best ‘assets’ and make their brand so special, then why do so few employees get to input into management-level decisions? Why are most boardrooms made up of a tiny handful of people who do not even come close to representing the wider make-up of the workforce accurately?
From recruitment adverts to marketing campaigns, time and time again, I see companies boasting about how ‘their people are their biggest asset’ and how much they are loved by the business leaders. But when you scratch beneath the ...
Employee ownership is the antithesis of broken capitalism
As we welcome yesterday's policy paper from IPPR which looks to redress the in balance of wealth and its effects on the UK economy it joins the voices of many across business, society, the media and politics that capitalism MUST start to deliver more than simply financial value to senior executives and corporate shareholders.
Those organisations with behaviours focused on generating short term, executive wealth, rather than protecting long term business health, are increasingly being called out as examples of 'broken capitalism'.
The questions about the current ...
Bigger Thinking Series 1 – Mastering Corporate Governance and Engagement
This year I had the pleasure of chairing the UK Employee Ownership Awards, which recognise employee owned companies that have set their markets alight and delighted their customers by effectively engaging their employees via an ownership stake and culture. It's been a privilege to hear first hand these success stories, from various industries, including start-ups and seasoned SMEs, and including household brands - each delivering meaningful and memorable customer experiences.
However, in contrast to this very positive experience, the media has had cause throughout the ...
5 lessons I’ve learnt from my first 5 years
Today (1st December 2017) I celebrate 5 years with the Employee Ownership Association (EOA).
And whilst 5 years is not necessarily an anniversary normally celebrated (unless my husband is reading this, in which case, our upcoming 5th wedding anniversary IS to be celebrated!), reaching this milestone has caused me to reflect and consider what have I learnt in that time.
#1 - It’s a team game
Leading a not for profit membership organisation is the biggest team game ever! The EOA is not just a small but perfectly formed executive group of Oli, Keely, Lisa, Hannah, ...
Dream It, Dare It, Do It – a message to the Chancellor
Having recently attended an EOA member's event, entitled, ‘Dream It, Dare It, Do It’, I was left wondering what I might dream the Chancellor could dare to do in his budget this week to enable more employee ownership in the UK.
As we seek answers to the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’, there is stubborn inequality in prosperity between London and the rest of the UK, and the corporate behaviours of some of the UK’s largest businesses continue to disappoint, the Chancellor has a unique opportunity in this week’s budget to make a difference.
Undeniably, Govern...
CEO Blog: To be trusted, businesses must be trustworthy
I have written previously about the danger of the promulgation of the ‘fake news’ message and how it risks undermining public trust. And as a Commissioner on the Vibrant Economy, I was delighted to contribute to Grant Thornton’s Business Case for Trust publication which highlights the importance of trust in business.
More than ever, it is clear that trust in business is not just a matter of economics, but is now a matter of survival.
Without trust, there can be little belief or confidence in an organisation by its employees, its suppliers, its customers or the ...
CEO viewpoint moving employee ownership into the mainstream – a marathon not a sprint
When we set ourselves big ambitions, it is the planning at the outset that is most important. When I decided I might just be able to run a marathon, it was running for 30 mins without stopping that was my first significant achievement. Before I knew it, I was running for 90 minutes, then 120 and then… 6 months later and after 4 hours 30 mins, I completed that first marathon.
I am now more convinced than ever that getting to a point when employee ownership is an every day occurrence will be a similar marathon feat, but that the early signs of us reaching those key ...
More employee ownership is essential for economy and society in post-Brexit UK
From when the Industrial Strategy Green Paper was launched and then as the snap election prompted manifestos from the main three parties, I have not hidden my disappointment that they do not fully acknowledge the role Employee Ownership plays and the impact it could have in supporting the UK economy.
In the Conservative manifesto, the party announced its plans for representation of workers on company boards. Whilst these plans may force listed companies to either create stakeholder advisory panels, designate an existing non-executive director as the employee represent...
CEO Blog: Employee ownership is the real deal
The new narrative of ‘post truth’, ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ should not be viewed as simply a harmless evolution of modern vocabulary. These new phrases are seeping into society and are gradually starting to undermine public trust; in everything from the business of news reporting, the opinions of experts, the role of politicians and even the decisions of the judiciary.
In a world of social media, instant communication and Presidential tweets, the impact of this new narrative is hugely concerning, as a society without trust is a broken society.
...
We can do better; shining a light on corporate governance in employee owned businesses
In inviting responses to the Corporate Governance Reform Green Paper, government has reignited an important debate to consider the impact of the current structures of corporate governance of the UK’s listed or quoted businesses on society and the economy.
At a time when trust in many of the UK’s biggest and most important institutions is at rock bottom, the economy is experiencing uncertain times, and with an urgent need to maintain consumer confidence, the publishing of this Green Paper opens up a much-needed dialogue about how business can do better.
Ask any of ...
CEO viewpoint: ‘The ownership effect’
I recently had the pleasure of presenting at the Co-operative Party conference, ‘In our interest; building an economy for all’, where the topic was responsible business.
Obviously, this is something close to the heart of the EOA as it is a phrase frequently used to describe the way in which businesses that the EOA represents, those that are employee owned.
The sector, which employs over 300k people, and contributes around £30bn to the economy each year, that’s about 4% of GDP, is growing at pace - at about 10% per annum, as entrepreneurs use the model to ...
A tale of two cities; reflections on the Autumn Statement
Having returned to my desk after our Annual Conference, on the day of what we now know is to be the last Autumn Statement, I was struck by the stark contrast in the two events.
At our Conference in Birmingham I was in the company of almost 650 wonderful employee owners who were optimistic, collaborative, passionate and purposed about how to deliver better business. This annual gathering is the highlight of the employee ownership year, and is the biggest opportunity each year to focus attention on a part of the economy worth over £30bn, and at 4%, makes a larger ...
Employees on boards? We’re already on it.
In the immediate aftermath of the prime minister’s brave call for more ‘employees on boards’ I was saddened, but not altogether surprised, by some of the immediate defiance to the idea.
For businesses in the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) membership, the response has, unsurprisingly, been far more positive. It reinforces what many of them know – that having employees engaged at every level of business operation is a hugely positive thing to do.
As revealed in a recent survey of employee owned businesses, conducted by the brilliant Professors Andrew ...
All change – what the EU Referendum might mean for the growth of employee ownership
Politicians are debating. Lobbyists are championing. Commentators are pondering. Business leaders are worrying. And the majority of the population are still somewhat confused, wondering whether there will be any sudden clarity before the EU Referendum to help us cast our vote with more confidence.
Whilst there are different scenarios being described about the likely impact of the result, the honest truth is that no one knows for sure what the outcome of the vote next week will mean – to the UK, to business or to the individual.
However, what most people do agree is ...
Summer Dinner 2016 Address
A real highlight of the EOA’s events calendar, our annual Summer Dinner – my first as CEO – took place on Thursday 9th June at the Palace of Westminster.
As part of the evening, I had the pleasure of addressing more than 150 of our members and felt very lucky to be doing so in such wonderful surroundings and, of course, at such a momentous time. You could almost smell the anticipation of what might happen there on 23 June.
Whilst the EU referendum campaign has been polarised – and in most people’s opinion, too-often negative – the one thing that most ...
Less New Year and more New Dawn?
By Deb Oxley, CEO of the EOA
At the start of each New Year, most of us look with optimism and hope at what the next 12 months might deliver. And with the usual excesses of the season behind us, we make promises and set targets to stop doing things – don’t eat certain things, don’t smoke, don’t drink (at least for a while!). Unfortunately most of these big promises fail as they are too ambitious, forcing us to make too many big changes all at once, and they are about not doing the things we are used to doing.
An alternative way of thinking might be that, ...
Leading The Way
In his latest Chief Executive Blog Iain Hasdell discusses how the UK is now a leading European force on employee ownership.
Taking the Chance
In his latest Chief Executive Blog Iain Hasdell discusses how the July UK Budget can help keep the employee ownership sector booming.
Our Leap Forward
In his latest Chief Executive Blog, Iain Hasdell discusses the remarkable growth of employee ownership in the UK.
A Silk Hat
Iain discusses the General Election and the resurgence of employee ownership in the last three years...
A Better Way of Doing Business
Employee ownership remains the fastest growing form of business in the UK...
Phenomenal Year Ahead
Monthly blog from the EOA's Chief Executive Iain Hasdell...
Mould in Our Hands
It has been a brilliant, unprecedented twelve months for employee ownership in the UK....
Our Hidden Deficit
A hugely positive outcome of the 2008/9 financial crash has been the emergence of a broad consensus on one of the biggest challenge facing the UK economy and our public services.
It has taken a long time. But there is now a growing understanding amongst politicians across the spectrum, business leaders, and opinion formers that we have to overcome our productivity deficit. There is an acceptance that it needs to be dramatically improved at pace. We are on average 20% behind our main industrialised competitors when it comes to private sector productivity. And in our ...
A Positive Pause
General awareness of employee ownership, particularly amongst businesses, advisors, funders and politicians has risen to unprecedented levels. Familiarity with the long termism and high productivity it delivers is also rapidly rising, buoyed by the phenomenal success of UK Employee Ownership Day 2014 last month. EO Day 2014 was the most successful single initiative ever mounted in the UK to profile the extent and benefits of employee ownership.
Critically, the evidence base about employee ownership has been getting stronger throughout this year as well. The number ...
Modernising the UK
So let us focus instead on a different and much more positive debate about the UK establishment, in this case the business and economic establishment. The business and economic establishment, and I include here the majority of financiers, professional advisors, politicians, civil servants, policy advisors and business leaders, support or at least accept a particular paradigm.
The paradigm is of an economy with a disproportionately high number of businesses that are externally owned and operate with a dominant goal of driving near term external shareholder value. An ...