Turning a Business Into an Employee-owned Company

RCS Influencer Rae Fistonich outlines her company's transition into becoming an employee-owned company.

I'm not sure how other companies are doing it but here at Chinook Building Envelope Services, six years ago our CEO, who doesn't have any children, started working on his succession plan by turning our company into an employee-owned company. At the time the company was converted, if you had been with the company for 6+ years you were automatically fully vested and received your stock certificate. Each employee's stock ownership is based on their percentage of payroll. The more profitable we are, the higher the per share cost.

The only thing our employees have to do is their job and do it well. This restructuring was a game changer for us because it meant that the employees got a sense of security and real ownership. It changed their mindset and every year that we hand out stock certificates to our employees, they get to see the real value of their hard work. 

We have a high retention rate and have continued to grow exponentially. There aren't many employee-owned companies in construction and we're very proud to be one of the few. Over the last few years our company has gotten very diverse not just in the office but also in the field. We have a lot of young people who bring new and fresh ideas and a seasoned generation who are open and willing to listen to those ideas that help grow our company.