I Believe Employee Ownership Is The Future
Five years ago Clearcut Sound Studios became employee owned.
Making the transition from being an employee to becoming an employee owner has been a long and winding road, one that has required a complete change in mindset for us all.
As we celebrate our fifth year we can be proud of how the company has faced the challenge and continues to evolve, and we all look to the future with excitement.
In a time where the disparity between bosses and employees is under scrutiny, employee ownership offers a far fairer model that encourages involvement and enterprise from ALL employees, and the mechanisms to share in the rewards.
There are already plenty of studies that will tell you that a combination of shared ownership and employee participation delivers more growth in employee owned companies but what is it that really makes an employee owned company tick? Why do I believe this culture leads to a more productive workforce and wider success?
Employee ownership takes traditional corporate ownership and turns it on its head.
Ownership is not reserved for the longest serving members of staff, the most senior or the ones with all the cash in their pockets. Employee ownership grants ownership to EVERY employee. It is a collective.
This demands an entirely different approach.
It requires a willingness for discussion, to share ideas and invite opinion. This can be a difficult thing to grasp, particularly for those of us who have been employed for so long. For this reason it is not for everyone as you have to be willing to put your ego aside and think less about me and more about us.
If you can do that, then the freedom it allows you is uplifting. The company becomes a shared responsibility with a shared goal, instilling a sense of pride in employees and producing a hunger for success. This is the most powerful aspect of employee ownership.
When a client works with us, every Clearcut Sound individual has a vested interest in making sure they receive exemplary sounding mixes and great service. We provide a truly collaborative experience with the talent to match. You are more than just a client to us, we are partners. We are not begrudgingly working for someone else, but we will bend over backwards to make you happy because we want to see you walk back through our door.
Stripping away the top-down structure and red tape means we can commit time and money to training and honing our craft. When a job requires extra attention we can allow our engineers to take the time and really nail the brief. When there is a need for a particular plug-in or piece of kit we are nimble enough to act quickly on it.
On reflection, I can sit back and appreciate how employee ownership has shaped our business. I am excited by what it means for our clients and it has put us in a position where we are in control of own destiny.
And I can’t wait to see where the next five years takes us.