What Does It Mean to be Employee-Owned and Why Is It Important?

A decision that was years in the making, The Motz Corporation proudly became an employee-owned organization in 2018. Our entire company gathered in a large ballroom and our CEO, Joe Motz, shared his vision for the future of the organization. Joe’s vision was a transition from him being a sole owner to one where every employee could be an owner and have a stake in the outcome.

Prior to being an employee owned organization, Motz had always put a focus on being a people-first organization. Today, our purpose of “Motz moves people to better lives” starts with our employees and ensures their success personally and professionally, which ultimately leads to achievements with our partners and communities. 

The National Center of Employee Ownership (NCEO) estimates that as of the year 2020, there are over 6,600 ESOPs in the United States, encompassing around 14 million participants or “employee owners.” This is done by creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which means “companies set up a trust fund for employees and contribute either cash to buy company stock, contribute shares directly to the plan, or have the plan borrow money to buy shares.” 

The Benefits of Being An Employee Owner at The Motz Corporation

1. Amount Of Care

When you’re part of an employee-owned company, you are surrounded by a team of people who are thinking as owners. They take a different approach to ownership of the organization because they have a stake in the outcome. There’s a higher level of influence in the day-to-day from each employee owner and they will, in turn, take extra care with every action by holding it to the lens of “how will this impact the entire company?”

2. Financial Transparency

Not only is Motz an employee-owned organization, but we’re also part of the Great Game of Business (GGOB) Community. The goal of GGOB is to encourage employees to think as an owner, with a step further into open book management. While not all employee owned organizations provide insight into financials, this focus allows Motz employee owners to have a better understanding of how the organization operates through future forecasting the profit & loss statement and working together to pull out a win, no matter the obstacle that is thrown our way. This has led to a deeper level of buy-in and a greater focus on how each individual’s actions can impact the greater team.

3. Additional Retirement

One of the most tangible benefits of an ESOP is that it can serve as an additional source of retirement funds. The NCEO reported in 2019 that ESOP participants who responded to their survey have “more than twice the average total retirement balance of Americans nationally: $170,326 versus $80,339.” 

4. Connection to Personal Finances

Becoming an employee-owned company, coupled with involvement with GGOB, gives employee owners insight into understanding the business side of finances, but can also provide a playbook for managing and organizing personal financials. 

The number of benefits of becoming an employee-owned company are too high to count. However, at the end of the day, our employees are how we succeed at Motz and that is clearly recognizable. We would not be the company we are today without a hard working team that has a passion and dedication for building fields and futures together. Our CEO, Joe Motz realized this, and wanted to give each employee owner the opportunity to not only thrive in their career, but their personal life and retirement as well. If you are interested in learning more about what it takes to be a Motz employee owner, head on over to our career page here.