Labor Day is about honoring hard work. But this year, parades and barbecues can’t mask the fact that many workers feel left behind. Gallup’s latest employee engagement survey reveals less than one-third of U.S. workers feel engaged on the job, a 10-year low.
My experience at Providence-based AVID Products Inc., an employee-owned provider of audio products for the education, health care and hospitality markets, paints a different picture. I love going to work and my voice is heard on matters large and small.
That’s because, along with my colleagues, I own AVID via an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, a retirement plan that lets companies share ownership with workers. There are only 17 ESOPS in Rhode Island, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. This Labor Day, I’m sharing my story with the hope that it helps build momentum for employee ownership in Rhode Island and the rest of the country.
Before I joined AVID in 2014, I didn’t know what it felt like to have a real voice at work. My previous employer, an oil and heating company, was the kind of place where the boss made all the calls. You didn’t speak up. You didn’t ask for more. And you definitely didn’t save anything significant for retirement. After 11 years at the company, I had just $11,000 saved, all of which came out of my own pocketbook.
My fortunes turned when I joined AVID. A year after I arrived, the owners, who were nearing retirement, sold 30% of the company to me and my co-workers. Then, a few years later, we became 100% owners. It’s hard to explain what that really means unless you’ve lived it. The most obvious benefit is financial. When I got my first ESOP statement, the balance was more than $16,000. I had to keep looking at it because I was like, “What? Is this for real?”
Over the years, my ESOP account has continued to grow exponentially and I haven’t contributed a single dollar. It’s a life-changing benefit that provides peace of mind for my family’s future, and I get it just for coming to work and doing my job.
Just as meaningful has been the culture of respect, transparency and collaboration that being employee-owned creates. We have monthly meetings where we go over company financials and more in-depth Finance 101 sessions, so every worker understands how their role fits into our success. Showing everyone how their decisions affect our bottom line has been instrumental in achieving a 26% year-over-year reduction in overall expenses. Chuck, a member of the operations team, came up with a way to standardize pallet sizes and quantities, saving on storage, shipping and handling costs.
I started in sales, but after five years realized my passion was finance. I went to our CEO and controller and said, “If there’s ever an opening in finance, I’d love to be considered.” There wasn’t, but they made one for me. We’re all owners and support each other’s dreams.
This Labor Day, I’m thinking about how lucky I am to be an employee-owner, but also how unfair it is that so few others get this chance. Imagine if, instead of just 17 ESOPs in Rhode Island, there were thousands. Imagine if everyone in the Ocean State owned a piece of the company where they work. It would lead to a more inclusive capitalism, a stronger state and, I bet, some much better results on that next Gallup survey.
That’s why I’m so excited that AVID has joined the Expanding ESOPs movement to dramatically scale employee ownership in Rhode Island and beyond. I hope sharing my story helps to build momentum so that many more workers can enjoy the life-changing benefits of being an owner.
As we fire up those grills, let’s do more than just give workers a day off and a pat on the back. Let’s give them a true stake in the companies they help build.
Stephanie Page is a senior financial planning analyst at AVID Products Inc., a 100% employee-owned company based in Providence.
