The shock of the COVID-19 pandemic heralded a shift in the employee-employer dynamic. Employees have begun to place greater importance in value, work environments, economic benefits a sense of professional well-being. Naturally, more business leaders have in response began to think about the profit-sharing model, which turns employees into active stakeholders in the economic success of their employers. One U.S. nonprofit, launched last year, has made the promotion of this wealth-building model its raison d’être.

Ownership Works is a U.S. nonprofit launched in 2022 that seeks to foster egalitarian working conditions in businesses around the globe in order to create real economic opportunities for employees and their families. advance racial equity, enhance employee engagement and build stronger companies. The ultimate objective of the organisation is to create hundreds of thousands of employee-owners and generate at least $20 billion of wealth for working families by 2030. It aims to achieve this by providing private and public companies with practical models and tools to support program implementation and leveraging the reach and expertise of a plethora of partnerships; private, public and nonprofit.

The central concept is that employee ownership and profit-sharing has the capacity to “unlock new levels of success for companies and employees, increasing workers’ access to participation in wealth creation.” “Right now, ownership tends to be concentrated among senior management, and there’s a sense that they are the value creators,” said Anna-Lisa Mille, Ownership Works Executive Director. “This is about shifting that mindset to see employees as true value creators.”

Achieving equality at work

The central concept behind the Ownership Works initiative is that a happy workplace is good for business and good for the economy. Building happy workplaces for all also includes tackling the burning issues in unequal economies. Women are underrepresented, minorities find it harder to access higher paying jobs, workplaces are often lacking in ethnic diversity… Creating conditions for shared ownership is one way to address these issues, and this involves a hybrid approach to employee development. “It’s not just about creating wealth. Ownership programs have to be paired with financial literacy, with information sharing, and with driving employee engagement… I think financial inclusion and diversity, in some respects, go hand in hand with shared ownership,” said Pete Stavros, the organisation’s founder and chair.

The initiative also ensures that employers understand the economic benefits of such an egalitarian approach. A happy workplace and employees who are one hundred per cent committed to the financial success of their employer can be the basis for real, sustainable economic growth.

“Employee Ownership is built on a simple premise: when workers prosper, our economy prospers,” said Wilma Liebman, Former Chair of the National Labor Relations Board under President Obama. “The staggering rise in economic insecurity among working families is one of the deeply troubling issues of our time – and it’ll take a collective effort to solve it. I’m thrilled to join Ownership Works in its commitment to empower employees and build an inclusive economy that truly values the contributions of workers across America.”

Partners and pioneers

The initiative’s multitude of partners across different sectors pays testament to the belief that this approach can be really beneficial to all stakeholders. “Financial institutions have an important role to play in advancing new approaches to business that leverage the power of investing to create a better world – and we’re proud to partner with Ownership Works on exactly this,” said Ralph Hamers, Group Chief Executive Officer of UBS, which has signed up to the scheme. “We firmly believe that employee participation programs can help more employees grow their wealth, reducing wealth inequalities in society while also enabling firms to prosper. Through this important movement, we can help create a brighter future, together.”

For some partners, the idea of profit-sharing is nothing new, but something that has been enthusiastically promoted for some time. Ardian, the French private investment house and first European firm to sign up to the initiative, has been practicing employee ownership since 2008. Today, over 31,000 employees across 40 exited portfolio companies have already benefitted from profit-share bonuses.

CEO Dominique Senequier has always placed great value in profit-sharing as part of the firm’s wider efforts firm up their ESG commitments. In 2008 the firm created an internal charter detailing the principles of shared value, something it has proudly upheld ever since. “We continue to strengthen the environmental, social and governance dimensions of all our portfolio companies and investments, and to set new standards for measuring and reporting performance in this area. We have also formalised our own vision: Ardian gives everyone the means to collectively create sustainable value for all,” stated Senequier in the firm’s 2020 activity report.

Leveraging the know-how and expertise of firms like Ardian will be an important part of Ownership Works’ success. Expanding employee ownership involves raising awareness of the benefits for workers, and a multilateral approach is key. Luckily, the organisation is already collaborating with a multitude of partners who share their vision for more equal workplaces. “I think it is unrealistic to think this movement is something we can accomplish just on our own. However, through a combination of policy, storytelling, and other work to show the impact on workers and on companies, this movement has the chance to really take off,” said PeteStavros, with understandable enthusiasm.