We’re taking part in this year’s EO Day which has the theme of #GrowEO, to celebrate and showcase how employee ownership has helped to grow our business, our employee owners and the economy.

An EOT enables employees to buy shares in the company without using their own funds, meaning collectively the company becomes majority owned by its employees.

We became employee owned at Sapphire in October 2021 to recognise the hard work put in by the team to drive our continued success. We have felt and seen the benefits across the company and this day is a great way to remind the team why we chose to become employee owned.

Within the team, there is always a great buzz in and around the office due to all staff feeling so invested in the future of the business.

James de le Vingne, CEO for the Employee Ownership Association, said:

“Companies such as Sapphire are great examples of the economic and social benefits that can be achieved when employees have a stake and a say in the business in which they work.

By making as much noise as possible we can to help raise awareness with business owners, professional advisers and stakeholders to help #GrowEO.”

The benefits of employee ownership have been proven in EOA-led research, and include improving employee health and wellbeing, increasing productivity and fostering creativity and innovation across an array of industry sectors. In addition:

• UK employee owned companies contribute over £30 billion to the UK economy annually
• Employee-owners have higher levels of job satisfaction, feel a greater sense of achievement and job security, and are more likely to recommend their workplace than employees in non-employee owned businesses
• Employee owned businesses operate in a range of sectors including healthcare, social care, education, transport, manufacturing, retail and professional services

We can see so many of these benefits within our team.

As a thank you for working incredibly hard day in, day out to provide the best possible service, we have some fun activities planned to celebrate the day, including: sweet treats, team bonding games, appreciation cards for all employees plus an update for the team on our current employee ownership position.