Employee Ownership Australia and New Zealand is committed to broad based employee-ownership, engagement and participation - making it your business.

    Angela Perry, LLB, MAICD

Last week we sent you our rebadged newsletter – Employee Ownership Matters.

This week we are contacting you again to let you know about some educational opportunities coming up.

We hope that you find these of interest. Please don’t hesitate in contacting us with your ideas relating to this key area of EOA endeavour.

Angela Perry is the Chair of Employee Ownership Australia and New Zealand – you can contact Angela via email angela.perry@employeeownership.com.au. For your everyday member support needs contact EOA Communication Officer and Member Secretary Antony McMullen, antony.mcmullen@employeeownership.com.au

We have some great training sessions coming up. Check out our Eventbrite page to find:

• Employee Ownership Global Law and Tax Trends - An Update – Monday 18 April
• What Women Want? – 16 June 2016

Globally, employee share schemes are going through a period of change. The ‘Employee Ownership Global Law and Tax Trends’ webinar offers an opportunity to find out how to best operate innovatively and effectively in this environment. Practically, many companies review their share plans during around this time in the business cycle; we think this webinar will present a good opportunity to learn about the latest trends. The webinar will also include a short demonstration of an online global database to assist business working in this area.

How inclusive and engaging is your employee share plan design and communication to women? The ‘What Women Want?’ webinar will look at the key legal considerations for your company. Also other key factors, like behavioural differences in response to risk, communicating with different demographics will be explored. Attendees will find out what the research shows and what other companies are doing in this space. Inclusivity provides a business edge.

Future education and research

Do you have ideas for future education opportunities? Is there an employee-ownership area that you think warrants some more in-depth research? Contact our Communication Officer and Member Secretary, Antony McMullen, antony.mcmullen@employeeownership.com.au with your ideas and suggestions.

As mentioned in our newsletter last week, our Perth Gathering will provide people in the west an opportunity to come along and learn all about EOA. Attendees will hear inspiring company stories to find out how employee-ownership works in action.

Steve Neubecker will talk about his experiences with Advanced Geomechanics as the company grew to 70 professionals and 40% of employees as shareholders, then selling and being absorbed by a large organisation.

David Stephen will talk about the establishment of an employee shareholder scheme at Acquire, how it has grown to 26% of 110 employees as shareholders and how the founders are considering transferring more ownership to employees in the future.

This event will feature a practical workshop where enterprises get to work through key Employee Ownership issues. The policy landscape for Employee Share Schemes will also be discussed resulting in attendees being up-to-date and ready to secure beneficial opportunities for their company.

To top it all off - refreshments and lunch will be provided.

Come along and/or tell your friends and colleagues in the west about this important employee-ownership event.

Do you have ideas for future education opportunities? Is there an employee-ownership area that you think warrants some more in-depth research? Contact our Communication Officer and Member Secretary, Antony McMullen, antony.mcmullen@employeeownership.com.au with your ideas and suggestions.

Screenshot of Parliamentary Friends of Innovation Facebook page

Did you know there is a bipartisan Group in the Federal Parliament designed to support the vital role of innovation and enterprise in the Australian economy, and raise the profile of entrepreneurship that will drive our nation into the future? It is co-chaired by Mr. David Coleman MP (Liberal Party of Australia) and Ms. Terri Butler MP (Australian Labor Party). Our Chair, Ms. Angela Perry, spoke at the Inaugural Group event in Canberra. She was also part of the launch event with the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull MP and the Hon. Ed Husic MP featured on Sky News Australia. Angela said that “ownership is an important element of the innovation discussion”. EOA is making sure that employee ownership is part of the innovation road-map for the future of the Australian economy.  The most recent event featured Mr. David Thodey, former CEO of Telstra and current Chair of the CSIRO.

Co-operative and Mutual sector Chairs and Dr John Hewson with (left to right): Senator Nick Xenophon (inquiry co-proposer) (independent), Senator Chris Ketter (Committee Chair) (Australian Labor Party), and Senator Bridget McKenzie (inquiry co-proposer) (The Nationals). CEO of BCCM, Ms. Melina Morrison is second from the left in front row.

The Senate inquiry into cooperative, mutual and member-owned firms has just concluded. According to Mr Graeme Nuttall (quoted from EOA submission to the inquiry), 'all co-operatives are mutuals, but not all mutuals are co-operatives' (but as was pointed out by the Senate committee both are member-owned firms).

The Senate inquiry report into co-operative, mutual and member-owned firms has delivered in the words of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) ‘a decisive roadmap to begin to level the playing field for the sector’. The report's 17 recommendations, addressing regulation, recognition, and education, provide a complete reform agenda to address the barriers to innovation, growth, and free competition for Australia's member-owned business sector.

Employee owned co-operatives are growing in stature globally and EOA looks forward to working with the BCCM to ensure that Australia develops a more diverse and participatory economy with co-ops and mutuals enjoying a level playing field.

More information about the inquiry can be found here (courtesy of BCCM).

Brewery employee-owners enjoying the fruits of their labour (see ‘Stake in the Business’ article link below)

We wish all our readers a good break over the Easter period.

Our resident employee-ownership guru (and EOA board member) Alan Greig has recommended these articles for your consideration:

• Juno to Take On Uber with Driver-owned Socially Responsible Ridesharing
• Is Employee Ownership a Right or a Privilege? A conversation with ESOP expert Jerry Gorde
• A Stake in the Business.

Happy reading over the break (along with an egg or two)!