Does Your Company Have a Communications Committee? asks ESOP companies if they have created any employee participation programs and contemplates the importance of having an employee communications committee:

"In the employee ownership community this is a bit of a contentious question and here's why. Some people strongly believe that in order for true ownership to take place, there needs to be a committee to help disseminate information, organize meetings, and answer questions about the ESOP. This committee basically acts as a gateway and one-stop-shop for all ESOP related questions. However, others don't feel it's necessary. They're all owners at the company they have access to information and can ask any question at any time making a committee unneeded.

There is no hard evidence either way but opinions are strong in this debate. Some companies attribute their success to the company's ESOP committee while others don't feel it would add anything to the company."

ESOP Communication Committees

ESOP Committee Development contains a discussion on ESOP communication committees:

"A cultural change-oriented committee is likely to be responsible to encourage and foster a strong sense of "ownership" among company employees and assist in building increased productivity and profitability. Some ESOP Communication Committees are responsible only for planning events, notices, newsletters and other forms of communication. Both of these types of committees can make a significant contribution to building an ownership culture and adding to company success.

A good ESOP Communication Committee can expand communication throughout the organization. Of particular importance in these efforts is the ability of an effective communication committee to inform managers' understanding of employees' perceptions of the meaning of ownership. In short, an effective ESOP Communication Committee helps managers understand what employees really think, rather than what the managers think employees think. Decreased misperceptions in this area are positively correlated with employees' self-identification as owners.ⁱⁱ

The specific success of the ESOP Committee is often correlated with the extent to which its mission and existence is embedded in a company-wide cultural change effort. When the group is part of a larger change in the surrounding social organization, its likelihood of success and high productivity is increased, as is the likelihood of overall improvements in financial performance of the organization.ⁱⁱⁱ Such a range of concurrent efforts at cultural changes are a common feature among many high performance organizations.^iv"

Related Information

Here are some ownership culture related posts:

• Ownership – A Three-Step Formula to Creating a Motivated Workforce
• Employee Ownership Cynics
• Creating a Supportive Environment and Cost of Building an Employee Ownership Culture
• Ownership Culture vs. Traditional Culture
• Immediately Focusing on Building an Ownership Culture

Here are some additional posts related to the Economic Performance Survey (EPS):

• The Economic Performance of ESOP Companies
• More Top Small Workplaces Coverage/Employee Ownership Month
• Creating an ESOP is a Good Business Decision