EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
constructionmanagermagazine.com
Employee ownership
SHARING A PIECE OF THE ACTION MORE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES ARE MOVING TO AN EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP MODEL. NEIL GERRARD ASKS WHAT BENEFITS IT CAN BRING TO EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYERS ALIKE
Steel saws rarely used to last long on construction firm Lindum Group’s sites. They would disappear without explanation, costing £1,000 a time to replace. In just one year, a total of 29 of the saws went missing from Lindum sites, leaving the firm with a hefty bill. Two years later, however, that figure was down to just one. What changed? It wasn’t as a result of new security measures or the dismissal of a light-fingered employee. Instead, the business decided to take the route to employee ownership and that led to a major shift in mindset among workers, many of whom had since become shareholders. While Lindum was an early convert to the model, making the switch back in 1994, it is comparatively rare among contractors. Architecture practices and big consultants like Arup, Mott MacDonald and Rider Levett Bucknall have embraced the concept, but only recently have more construction firms adopted this ownership model. Last month, utility contractor Falco switched to an employee ownership trust, demolition firm McGee made the same move in May 2020, while Glasgow-based Pacific Building – a CIOB chartered building company – set one up in January 2019. For Pacific founder Brian Gallacher, what prompted the decision to make a change was the need to put a succession plan in place. But it has delivered other benefits too.
“We hoped that by encouraging people to buy into the company, employees would be more likely to feel involved further” David Chambers, Lindum Group
18 | CONSTRUCTION MANAGER APRIL 2021
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16/03/2021 12:59
