You're a successful business owner.

And your business has survived a whole lot over the last few years. 

A global pandemic, global supply chain issues,  inflationary pressures.

But have you seen the change on the horizon?

Now "The Great Resignation" is underway.

Is the high turnover already starting to make your head spin?

Ask your network or peers - for most it's already gutting their workforce.

Employees are refusing to return to the workplace.

Remote working abilities mean staff could jump ship anywhere in the world.

As many as 40% of employees plan to leave their place of work in the next 12 months.

Are staff just showing up for the paycheque?

What reasons do they have to stay loyal?

What options are you giving them?

You want the people who contribute to your success to feel rewarded for their work.

And to feel like they want to stick around to help drive the business through its next growth phase. For them to work as hard as you do, with same passion.

Instead, your team are starting to ask, 'what's next?'

Why is The Great Resignation happening?

The same factors that have plagued your business have impacted your people.

The Great Resignation is a cultural phenomenon. For many people, the upheaval of 'business as usual' has made them reconsider what is most important to them, how and what they work on. Purpose is trumping the paycheque.

But also, job security is now more tenuous, the cost of living has risen, automation is leading to redundancies and retraining. The outmoded model of trading time for money leaves many to feel like a cog in the machine; devalued, demotivated, disengaged. They don't see a return on the value they bring an organisation beyond their regular paycheque.

What can you do to reduce the 'quit wave' that's on its way?

Your businesses probably can't afford a big blanket pay rise - and that isn't even guaranteed to keep your employees around. 

According to Forbes, employees are most likely to leave due to not feeling valued by the organisation (54%) or managers (52%), or because they didn't have a sense of belonging at work (51%).

A more holistic, strategic remedy is to employ an Employee Share Ownership Plan - also called an ESOP, Employee Share Scheme (ESS), Employee Share Trust (EST) or Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

Employee Ownership is a perfect framework to improve your business culture and tie personal rewards to business performance.

During COVID, I’ve seen strong growth in enquiries about this option, as more employees continue to work from home, and wish to continue to do so without direct supervision.

How employee share ownership plans work for people and business performance

An ESOP is a way to structure your business so that everyone shares in its success.

Businesses that have chosen this route also find it helps increase productivity and maximise employee retention. Share Plans can be used as part of an ownership exit strategy, though they definitely don't need to be.

As an employer, you can choose to set up the ESOP under legal frameworks that determine:

• Who can buy or sell shares (one key person, management, everyone)
• How and when trading can occur (such as no sales within three years from the purchase date)
• How/if dividends will be paid, and
• What happens to the shares if an employee leaves the organisation.

Employees can earn or buy the shares in a few different ways, such as:

• Salary sacrifice over a set period (6,12, 18 months, or longer)
• From dividends received on shares
• Profit share plan
• Bonus payments into the ESOP
• A loan from you as the employer (repaid over a set period), or
• Full payment upfront.

In short, our process will begin the strategic business objectives of the ESOP, formulating the plan and formalising it with legal and financial documentation before launching it to the relevant people with supporting educational material. That includes educating them on the business model.

We can go into much greater detail on the 'how' in a free one-to-one session with a Succession Plus partner - book below if you're interested.

My firm, Succession Plus, has helped more than 100 businesses with all of the above, including running regular, bespoke ESOP information sessions to continue buy-in from more staff as the plan evolves.

I'm a holder of two Masters degrees in Tax Law and Business, a Keynote Speaker and the critically acclaimed author of 4 books on succession planning, employee incentives, asset protection, and exit strategies.

And, perhaps more importantly, I'm a business owner too - the proud founder and Executive Chairman of Succession Plus.

I want to let you know that implementing an ESOP is now easier than ever.

There is now increased government support of such programs, governments in Australia, New Zealand and the UK are promoting generous tax concessions to enable employee buy-in. The tax benefits for individual employees will depend on the features of the share scheme and their financial situation.

While there can be a financial boost for those that buy-in to the ESOP, all employees stand to benefit from the company-wide increase in accountability and autonomy in the workplace.

In other words, your ESOP will help transform attitudes across your hierarchy to make the business a better place to work.

It's a process we're ready to help guide you through because employee ownership is a cultural and strategic choice connected to the long-term vision of the business.

Offering equity through an ESOP is your secret weapon to attract and retain outstanding talent.

If you're thinking of winding back your long hours at work over the next few years, an ESOP is a superb way to 'share the load' more evenly.

Your Employee Share Ownership Plan is a gradual process (over months and years) of selling down your share of the business, while employees gradually take on more responsibility.

And look, I know you may not be prepared to exit the business for a long while. You may not even be thinking about it, even if it's worth starting early.

But another plus with an ESOP is that when you are ready, you can avoid the stress of succession or selling on the open market. That's because you've strategically already been handing the reins of ownership to people who know and love the business.

Again, you're tapping into the entrepreneur mindset.

28% of employees aged 18-26 already have a side hustle. Presenting a stake in the business for their energy is a way to keep your business as their main hustle (and have them be rewarded for it).

Another benefit is improving your market perception. Employee-owned businesses are attractive to customers who favour supporting local businesses/communities over faceless multinationals.

After all, it's all the greatness you've instilled in your people that has built your business to where it is now.

Imagine where it can go next.

Put an end to The Great Resignation.

It's time for the Great Realignment.

if you're ready, we're here and ready to help.