A Piece of the Action
Employee ownership, equity pay and the rise of the knowledge economy
Knowledge is fast becoming the most valuable corporate resource. People are a company's most precious asset. The organisations able to make the most of people and their knowledge will be best placed to thrive in the twenty first century. Employee ownership and equity-based pay will be vital to creating the networked, knowledge creating company of the future. They can underpin tomorrow's corporation. In the past, employee ownership was seen as an antidote for the shortcomings of industrial capitalism. A fresh push to deepen the roots of employee ownership in the UK is now needed. New equity ownership policy should promote: entrepreneurial employee ownership so that more new companies are employee owned; equity pay schemes which allow employees to be paid in part with shares; use of employee ownership in the small business sector to encourage more owners to sell companies to their employees on retirement; the use of employee ownership to create more participatory management and reform corporate governance.
Employee ownership and equity pay schemes can play a central role in creating a distinctive and successful market economy in Britain. They offer opportunities to reform the welfare system, modernise the employment contract and change the way companies are governed.