For years, organisations have invested heavily in improving employee engagement. More recently, the conversation has shifted towards something broader: employee experience.
Employee experience isn't simply about measuring engagement through an annual survey. It's about creating an environment where people feel connected to the organisation, understand how their contribution matters, and have genuine opportunities to influence the future of the business.
One model that is attracting increasing attention from organisations looking to achieve this is the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
Beyond ownership: creating a greater sense of participation
Employee ownership is often associated with financial benefits, but its biggest impact can be cultural.
When employees have both a meaningful voice and a genuine stake in the success of a business, decision-making becomes more collaborative, accountability increases and long-term thinking is encouraged. Rather than viewing change as something that happens to them, employees become active participants in shaping it.
This aligns closely with what we see through our own Employee Experience research. Organisations consistently achieve better outcomes when employees feel listened to, trusted and able to influence decisions that affect their work.
Why are more businesses becoming employee-owned?
The employee-owned sector has grown significantly over the past decade as business owners look for succession models that protect the organisations they've built while preserving independence and culture.
Research into employee-owned businesses suggests the model delivers benefits beyond ownership alone. Compared with traditionally owned organisations, employee-owned businesses are often found to be:
For HR leaders, these outcomes are particularly relevant. Many of today's biggest people challenges cannot be solved through benefits packages alone; they require employees to feel connected to the organisation's future.
Employee voice as the foundation
Of course, ownership alone doesn't create engagement.
Successful employee-owned businesses typically already have mechanisms that encourage participation, transparency and open dialogue. Employee ownership strengthens these behaviours rather than replacing them.
For organisations not considering an Employee Ownership Trust, the same principle still applies.
Creating employee forums, representative groups or advisory boards gives employees the opportunity to contribute ideas, challenge thinking and influence business decisions. Done well, these initiatives improve trust while giving leadership teams valuable insight into what employees need to perform at their best.
The critical step for leaders is acting on the feedback that follows and, in doing so, building trust in the process and demonstrating that employee input can influence real change.
Employee ownership in practice
At Talent Insight Group, we've long believed that better employee experiences create better business outcomes.
That's why, over a year ago, we established an Employee Board to provide colleagues with a structured forum to share ideas, influence improvements and strengthen collaboration with our Senior Leadership Team.
As we continue to evolve as a business, we've taken that philosophy one step further by transitioning to an Employee Ownership Trust. For us, it's a natural extension of the work we've already been doing to give employees a meaningful voice in shaping the future of the business.
If you'd like to learn more about why we've made the transition and what it means for our team, you can read our full announcement here.