Employee Ownership

&Making it a

SuccessDr David ErdalJohannesburg

July 2012

•Ordinary Ownership

Business

•All information

•All decisions

•All profit and cash

•Digger?

Power

•Or cooperation – voluntary, autonomous?

Soccer City Stadium 2009

EO/ Co-ownership•No Fixed Definitions

•Useful distinctions:

•Employee Share Ownership (minority)

•Employee Ownership (Control)

•100% Employee Ownership

•Collective/ Trust vs Individual/Direct

•If cooperation of autonomous people

•Then all are partners

•Partners’ rights:

•Information

•Influence

•Wealth

Success in EO

•Acknowledge reality:

•People are cooperating as partners

•Share partners rights:

•Information

•Consult, listen

•Anonymous Letters

•‘The Registry’

•Engage

•Improvement groups

•Elected reps to meet with board

•Elected reps can veto key decisions

•Elected reps can sack chairman

•Share Profits

•Reinvest to develop the business

•Distribute to owners

•John Lewis £165 m bonus (7 weeks)

•M&S £268 m to shareholders

•Everyone an owner

•Trust?

•Free shares?

•Pension fund? (US ESOP)

•With employee ownership

•Companies do better

•People do better