Employee ownership and the benefits it can bring to businesses and the local economy are increasingly at the fore. We looked at the largest employee-owned Trust in Northern Ireland, Newry-based S&W Wholesale, to better understand why this business model is so successful
Switching to employee ownership has resulted in no visible difference in the day-to-day running of the business, but the benefits for employees have been notable.
“When the company does well, the employees, as beneficiaries, will do well. The nature of the structure allows for incentives such as tax-free bonuses and other inducements as the business model continues to mature,” Michael Skelton, chief executive, S&W Wholesale says.
As such, employees feel more invested in their roles, and more valued. And this not only positively affects employee retention, but productivity, too.
S&W is both the largest and one of the oldest companies to become an employee-owned trust. With 108 years in business, implementing this new model brought assurance to stakeholders that the future of the business would be secure.
“We have a loyalty to our people, customers, and supply partners,” Anthony McVeigh, deputy chief executive and chief financial officer, says.
“Being bought out and swallowed up by a bigger company just isn’t an option. And now with our new purpose-built site currently underway, we’re demonstrating our commitment to growth and our ambition for the future.”
S&W isn’t the only one excited by the benefits of employee ownership. At the Ownership Succession event in Belfast this summer, Economy Minister Conor Murphy said: “The ‘People Powered Growth Report’, which underpins today’s event, makes for inspiring reading. It highlights the contribution of the employee ownership model to driving productivity, to creating more good jobs, and to investing in the skills of their workforce; all key objectives of my plan for the north’s economy.”
Northern Ireland’s economy has grown by over 30% since 2000, according to recent figures from the Northern Ireland Assembly. And yet it’s still lower than the United Kingdom average (40%) and the other devolved nations of Scotland (38.6%) and Wales (33%). Social enterprise and business models like employee ownership will give Northern Irish businesses more feasible exit strategies, while helping increase output and improve outcomes through better staff engagement. And this can only be good news for our economy.
Indeed, for S&W, the decision to become an employee-owned trust was a good one. In the year and a half since, they have introduced bi-annual payments to all staff totalling more than £500,000.
Then there’s their new £15m distribution hub in Newry, which will create even more jobs in the local community besides the more than 250 people they already employ. And with the further growth of its symbol brand Nearby to almost 150 stores, as well as its recent wins at the Grocer Marketing Awards for Best In-Store Consumer Promotion, Digital Campaign and the Leader in Marketing Award for Daniel Comiskey, S&W’s brand marketing lead, it’s been a great year for the company all round.