The EOA Podcast

Episode 19 of the EOA Podcast is all about how being employee owned can be transformational for workers at all levels of an EO business, especially those in traditionally low-paid sectors. Hear from Russell Brown, the Chief Executive at Shaw Healthcare, on the impact employee ownership has had at the largest employee owned care provider in the UK, which employs more than 3,000 people working in care homes, community hospitals and on care schemes. The podcast also paid a visit to the Watford headquarters of employee owned commercial cleaning specialist CleanTEC. CleanTEC is the UK’s largest employee owned cleaning company, with almost 2,000 employees, many of whom are part-time cleaners. In the EOA’s press release for EO Day 2023, it stated that “EO can be transformational for workers in traditionally low-paid sectors, such as cleaning”. Hear from members of the CleanTEC team who give their perspectives on this theme. Find out more about the EOA and employee ownership at https://employeeownership.co.uk/

Episode 18 of the EOA Podcast is all about #TheEOeffect – the theme of EO Day 2023, our annual national celebration of all things employee ownership. The purpose of this theme is to showcase the impact employee ownership has on employees, businesses, the wider economy and communities. To help us highlight this impact, Episode 18 features an employee owned business headquartered in Bolton, an employee from a Scottish EO business, an employee ownership adviser, and a not-for-profit organisation that is all about helping communities thrive. Find out more about employee ownership and the EOA on our site here: https://employeeownership.co.uk

Listen to Episode 17 of the EOA Podcast, which focuses on how to communicate an employee ownership transition to your team and why it’s important to factor internal comms into your planning as part of the journey to becoming employee owned. We know from speaking to members that the transition process goes more smoothly when communications are planned out and well thought through, ensuring the message really hits home with employees about why the decision has been made, and to help build understanding and increase engagement. To explore this further, this episode showcases three businesses of different sizes and from different sectors that have transitioned to employee ownership more recently to hear how they went about communicating the news, the challenges they faced and lessons they learnt, as well as tips they have for other companies embarking on their own EO journey. Find out more about employee ownership here: Employee Ownership Association | EOA | Representing UK EO

Episode 16 of the EOA Podcast focuses on how to embed an employee ownership culture globally when a UK business has international operations. This episode showcases how businesses of different sizes, and with different employee ownership models, go about doing this in a practical and operational context. Hear from Glide and partner company Gripple, Aber Instruments, and Scott Bader on some of the lessons learnt, challenges faced and tips they have for ensuring EO is embraced and fully understood among employees based in overseas sites. Find out more about the EOA and about employee ownership here >> https://employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 15 of the EOA Podcast explores the link between employee ownership and putting people front and centre of your business strategy and purpose. We find out how becoming employee owned supports businesses to focus on their people. We also look at how, for some companies, transitioning to employee ownership is a natural fit because of the people-centric culture already embedded in the business. Hear three case studies from businesses in the EOA membership, namely Pennine Healthcare, Richmond & Towers, and White Ink Architects, on how they put their people first. Find out more about employee ownership and the EOA at www.employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 14 of the EOA Podcast goes behind the scenes at one of our EOA members to hear first hand from its employees about what it feels like to own a company and to share some of the lessons learned in its first two years EO. Inspired by EOA President Patrick Lewis challenging the employee ownership sector to tell their stories during his speech at the 2022 EOA Annual Conference, the EOA was invited to Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire, to visit an employee-owned company that transitioned in February 2021. Haremi is a global learning company with a network of customers in Europe, Asia, Africa, and both North and South America. It was founded in 2006, and has grown to become one of the UK’s leading educational content creation services, working across the educational publishing, awarding body and professional membership sectors. In this behind-the-scenes episode, find out more about why Haremi became employee owned, how these first two years have gone, and hear from some of its almost 50 employees from all levels of the business on how they feel being employee owners. Find out more about employee ownership here: https://employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 13 of the EOA Podcast showcases how some of our members are bringing good employee ownership (or 'Good EO') to life. There are three pillars that we feel are essential to deliver an excellent employee ownership culture – good communications and engagement, good leadership, and good governance. In this episode, we hear from people at four employee-owned businesses who were recognised during our 2022 EO Stories competition for delivering ‘Good EO’, through either good leadership, engagement, governance, or an outstanding EO culture. Find out more about the EOA on our website here.

Episode 12 of the EOA Podcast explores the theme of empowering employees to act like owners. In this episode, you will hear tips on how to empower employees to make an impact in an employee-owned business; how one of our members has gone about empowering its employees in its first two years being EO; and also from the chair of an employee voice group on how she and her colleagues have become empowered. Find out more about the EOA here >> https://employeeownership.co.uk/about-the-employee-ownership-association/

Episode 11 of the EOA Podcast explores the growing trend of employee-owned businesses gaining or applying for B Corp certification. There are now more than 950 B Corp-certified businesses in the UK and almost 10 per cent of these are employee owned. In this episode you will hear all about the B Corp movement from the not-for-profit organisation that started the accreditation scheme, while three employee-owned businesses at different stages of their B Corp journey also share why becoming certified was important to them and the benefits they are reaping. Our podcast guests also offer insights into why they believe there is a growing trend of EO businesses applying, and the synergy that exists between employee ownership and B Corp, before ending with tips for anyone thinking of exploring this for their company. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 10 of the EOA Podcast focuses on the value of bringing the EO sector together. Three years after our last in-person EOA Conference, we were all back together again as 670 delegates from across the sector turned out at the ACC in Liverpool on October 3 and 4, 2022, to explore the conference theme of ‘unlocking potential’. And the EOA Podcast was there to hear first-hand from members what value they get from travelling from different corners of the UK to share their experiences and celebrate all things employee ownership. This episode hears from a specialist advisor in the sector who has attended every EOA Conference; the Chair of a Trust Board who has been a speaker at both a virtual and an in-person conference; and the Operations Director of a newly transitioned employee-owned business attending the event for the first time. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 9 of the EOA Podcast focuses on the importance of succession planning in a business. It has been said that the next five years are critical for 120,000 businesses in relation to succession, with a significant proportion of family owned or small to medium-sized businesses not having succession plans despite founders or business owners retiring in the next five years. This episode raises awareness of the importance of succession planning and how employee ownership fits into the mix of different solutions. We hear from the MD of an employee-owned business and an EO consultant, before exploring the benefits of rooting businesses in communities with a charitable trust. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

The theme of Episode 8 of the EOA Podcast focuses on the motivations of EOA members that transitioned to employee ownership in the past few years – and how they are reaping the benefits of this move. This episode provides case study examples – with employee-owned businesses sharing insights and first-hand experiences from their own EO journeys. Employee-owned companies represent a wide variety of sectors and to demonstrate this, Episode 8 features four very different businesses - Creative Space Management, The Folio Society, Lush and Salad Creative. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 7 of the EOA Podcast is on the theme of onboarding new recruits into a business’s employee ownership culture or integrating EO into a newly transitioned company…. and around the role of inductions. The episode shares insights on this theme from three EOA trustee members that feature in the Top 50 list of employee-owned companies by size – namely Mott MacDonald, Howden Group and Go Ape. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

The theme of Episode 6 of the EOA Podcast is around how we celebrate and shout about employee ownership and why it’s important to do this. There is one day a year where thousands of employee owners, EO businesses and supporters of employee ownership come together to raise awareness of the benefits of employee ownership – this being our national celebration day called EO Day. And with this episode celebrating EO Day 2022, the theme of which is #GrowEO, we have asked four of our member firms how they celebrate employee ownership and why it’s so important for the sector to do so. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

The theme of Episode 5 of the EOA Podcast is around the considerations for owners or founders before, during and after transitioning their business to employee ownership. The episode will hear from three supporter members of the Employee Ownership Association (EOA), who each bring a different perspective and specialism to advise on this topic as we look to help those exploring employee ownership as a possible succession option for their business. You will hear about the legal, admin, governance, finance, funding and investment considerations for an owner during an employee ownership journey. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 4 of the EOA Podcast is all about the theme of impact and influence. The episode will touch on a number of different areas, from the growing impact of the EO sector to the influence employee owners can have in their businesses, and hears from the EOA’s new chief executive James de le Vingne. It also has a case study from one of our trustee member firms, environmental consultancy LUC, before members of the employee ownership team within the Social Business Wales service paint a picture of the impact and influence EO is having in Wales. As well as an announcement about EO Stories 2022 and the latest news on events and courses we have coming up, the episode ends asking someone from within the EO sector ‘why do you love employee ownership?’ This month we hear from Rebecca Newson from Quintessa. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 3 of the EOA Podcast is all about the three pillars of good employee ownership, or ‘Good EO’, that help businesses build an excellent employee ownership culture, which are defined as good communications and engagement, good leadership, and good governance. At the EOA we’re champions of Good EO and we offer a range of case studies, learning insights and helpful resources around best practice on these three pillars which are showcased during our events and courses, as well as across our website, EO Hub member-only platform, and YouTube channel. Episode 3 explores these three pillars, with case study examples from our member firms Riverford Organic Farmers and Smile Together CIC, as well as hearing insights on the latest research into governance. As well as the latest news on events we have coming up, the episode ends asking someone from within the EO sector ‘why do you love employee ownership?’ To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

The employee ownership (EO) sector has seen unprecedented growth in recent years and in Episode 2 of the EOA Podcast we explore this topic around the growth of the EO sector and how being employee-owned has helped our member businesses to grow. As well as an announcement about the theme of this year’s EO Day, the episode hears from a firm of architects, a financial planner and a campervan conversion company who offer their insights in this area, alongside highlighting their own growth ambitions and EO stories. Each podcast episode hears the latest news and events coming up at the EOA, and ends asking someone from within the sector: ‘Why do you love employee ownership?’. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk

With this being Episode 1 of The EOA Podcast, we wanted to introduce listeners to the Employee Ownership Association and what it is we do. The episode hears from Chief Executive Deb Oxley OBE – who provides an insight into the EOA before reflecting on some of her highlights in nine years with the organisation before she leaves us in March 2022. Listeners are also introduced to what it is the EOA Board and EOA Membership Council do, with members of the council coming on to speak about their roles. You will also hear first-hand thoughts, insights and experiences from a series of our events and courses, including our annual conference, virtual network meetings, and ‘Empowering Leaders’ course. Each episode will end asking someone from within the sector ‘why do you love employee ownership’. To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk