Last week the Baxendale Employee Ownership team took some time to join the eoa’s People Powered Business Event, where the eoa officially launched their new-brand identity, website, and the online member community, known as the EO Hub.  The event demonstrated how the eoa hopes to provide additional value to their members and support to the employee owned sector, and a significant investment in their membership proposition that reflects the needs of an increasingly diverse and growing community of employee owned businesses.

In 2023 the Knowledge Programme provided quantitative evidence of the positive impacts of sharing meaningful ownership and participation with employees for the first time. The eoa has built on this research, and the knowledge within the sector, to develop an EO Framework.  The framework is the eoa’s blueprint for helping employee-owned business at any stage achieve their goals in employee ownership, under the banner of “Great EO”.

• A strong EO approach built on shared values and practices that empower employees.
• Clearly defined EO roles with leaders, owners and governance all understanding the part they plan in making EO a success.
• EO actions that harness the full potential of employee owners to transform strategy, innovation, and sustainability.
• EO results from measuring the evolving impact of the approach, roles and actions on people and communities.

Here at Baxendale Employee Ownership, we have a 40-year history in employee ownership.  Our own experience and the experiences of our many clients across the twenty years we have spent supporting employee owned businesses have led us to recognise that implementing “Great EO” isn’t a linear journey.

Most importantly, we know a transition into employee ownership should not be viewed simply as a transaction, but rather as the beginning of a new future for the business, in which all the employees’ become owners and have the opportunity to share in the success of the businesses they work for.   The most important work begins after the transaction has taken place and it is this that the eoa seeks to reflect both in its framework and in its proposition for members.

Our work with businesses and their Founders has always been focussed on introducing employee ownership into businesses and supporting its growth and success, balancing the needs of exiting shareholders with the future success of the business, and delivering employee ownership transitions  that work for all parties for the long term.  As such we feel strongly aligned with the eoa and their approach.

We are proud to be long term partners and supporters of the eoa, as well as being listed as one of their approved Specialist Advisors – 2024 is set to be an exciting year for the eoa as they embark on this journey, and we look forward to supporting them.

More information about the eoa and the EO Framework can be found here.