Guest Blog: What does 'good EO' mean?
At JGA, we work alongside a small number of carefully-selected Trusted Partners – chosen for their shared commitment to the clients we serve. In this guest blog, we ask Gavin Poole, Corporate Partner at Stephens Scown, for his view on what ‘good EO’ means today – and why Stephens Scown’s story shows how it can evolve.
Stephens Scown’s enthusiastic team
Gavin writes…
Being ‘good’ at something does not necessarily mean that you excel at it, or does it?
Whether it is a sporting event, the behaviour of a child or the performance of a business, it is likely that ‘being good’ could always be bettered.
At its base level, ‘being good’ might mean ‘being not bad’. For example, in the context of employee ownership, while the tax treatment is an incentive, if the reason for such a transition is purely tax-driven, that might be regarded as ‘bad EO’.
Being ‘good’ is going to be a relative term that may be judged by certain hallmarks.
Gavin Poole, Corporate Partner, Stephens Scown
Striking the right balance
In the context of an employee-owned business, ‘basic’ includes some structures that would not otherwise be seen in non-employee-owned businesses.
For example, an EO business is likely to have employees engaged (to a greater or lesser degree) in decision-making, a profit share distribution, an employee on the trust board… and so on.
While beneficial, could those structures (or the way they are used) be bettered? An ambitious business might say that being ‘good enough’ is not (in fact) good enough.
There is always going to be room for improvement but with possible implications.
For example, the reach for a better profit share might be at the cost of worsening working conditions. A balance will need to be struck.
The role of governance
‘Certainly, the journey of Stephens Scown (from being one of the top 100 businesses to work for), moving to an employee ownership model (with the benefits that this delivers) and most recently achieving BCorps™ accreditation… shows how ‘good’ can evolve’
Gavin Poole, Corporate Partner, Stephens Scown
And the balance tends to be the domain of the leadership of the business.
Good governance will help with setting a clear strategic direction, create lines of communication and reporting, accountability and boundaries – with flexibility to adapt as times change.
And ‘good’ might look very different from one perspective to the next.
At a time where employee retention and business resilience is becoming ever more important, recruits are looking more and more at the values of businesses and the extent to which they might be ‘good’ (or perhaps more accurately ‘appealing’).
An evolving journey
Certainly, the journey of Stephens Scown (from being one of the top 100 businesses to work for), moving to an employee ownership model (with the benefits that this delivers) and most recently achieving BCorps™ accreditation (which measures high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability) shows how ‘good’ can evolve.
So perhaps ‘good’ is a relative measurement that needs to be seen in the context of delivery of specific aims, whether that be a gold medal or behaviour at a family event. ‘Good EO’ is likely to start with good governance that defines a clear strategy which is well communicated to a workforce that is engaged in delivery.
It can be tough to deliver ‘good’; exciting to discover ‘good’; for a true evolution, the conditions should be in place for each person to be able to move the business to ‘better’. Perhaps that is ‘good EO’?
Stephens Scown is an award-winning South West law firm with offices in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. It has been employee-owned since 2016 and has a strong track record of successfully supporting company owners through the legal transition to employee ownership.
Find out how JGA supported Stephens Scown to unlock the benefits of its own EO model in our case study.
Read more about Stephens Scown on their website or get in touch with them directly via the link below.