Our team watched “We the Owners“, a documentary from The Foundation for Enterprise Development and Passage Productions about businesses that have cultivated high-involvement employee cultures through allowing their staff to own shares in the company.
In a Q&A session, executive producer Mary Ann Beyster said:
This film highlights thriving companies whose stories show ‐‐ even in times of economic hardship ‐‐ the long‐term, sustainable growth that can be achieved through the voice, vote, commitment and shared ownership of employees.
Research suggests that companies with more broad‐based employee ownership and participation lay off fewer employees than their peers during economic downturns. And while they also hire fewer employees during periods of prosperity, these companies continue to outperform their peers in sales growth, productivity, and a number of other measures.
Have you seen the film? We’d love to hear what you thought about it in the comments section.