How ArcherPoint’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan Connects to Our Core Values
Company financial benefits, such as an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), are a great addition to an employee’s retirement package, but can also provide a roadmap to a company’s core values, as is the case at ArcherPoint. In 2022, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary with a series of articles about our core values, such as learning and always challenging ourselves, building an enduring tribe, valuing diversity and inclusion, to name a few.
However, our ESOP financial plan connects quite well to the company’s organizational framework, called Holacracy, by emphasizing “shared ownership” among all ArcherPoint employees. “Being 100 percent employee owned means that everyone has a vested interest in the success of the company,” said CFO Scott Peetz back in 2019. “Because we are all invested, we all care about the health of the entire company, helping our co-workers and pitching in wherever we are needed to ensure success across the board.”
But, first, a little history on ESOPs since many people are not completely familiar with this financial tool.
First and foremost, ArcherPoint’s ESOP and our 401K retirement benefits help our employees plan for their financial future. A 2017 survey from the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), which used data on millennials from the National Longitudinal Surveys of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed that the median household net wealth among respondents in employee ownership plans was 92% higher for employee-owners than for non-employee-owners; employee-owners of color also have 79% greater net household wealth.
And the NCEO survey finds that companies grow faster, promote more innovation, and make more money.
ArcherPoint’s ESOP Origin Story
In 2012, ArcherPoint CEO and co-founder Greg Kaupp introduced the idea of implementing a qualified ESOP and did it for several very good reasons:
- Employee-owned companies often outperform those that are not.
- A company that performs better provides a better future for its employees.
With these indisputable business reasons, Kaupp also cited an intangible reason. He wanted employees to understand what it’s like to make decisions that affect others, and how to navigate times when things are not going well and address it proactively.
Then, there is the very positive side: Greg knew that many people have a dream of having their own business, but they don’t have the finances nor the support to do it on their own. Employee ownership fulfills a dream that, for most of us, would not otherwise be possible. As a note, candidates applying for employment at ArcherPoint find this very intriguing because it takes the “you have a future with us” discussion to a whole new level.
ArcherPoint and Shared Ownership
Our ESOP program aligns nicely with our core values and corporate governance structure, Holacracy, which is the organizational framework that drives efficient business decision making due to the absence of a top-down management structure. ArcherPoint implemented Holacracy in 2015 and this structure encourages innovation through transparency, accountability, and collaboration.
With these pillars in place, ArcherPoint keeps evolving by design and shared ownership emerges as not only a financial benefit but also a tangible business process. And the reason our framework is successful in the 20th year of ArcherPoint is the implementation of these different core values. Our action around our core values, such as assuming positive intent and continuous learning, produces a shared ownership culture that all employees lead. In part, it creates an adaptive organizational structure, which aligns nicely with our ESOP financial plan that offers employees the chance at “owning a company” in their lifetime.
Join a Company that Has a Clear Purpose
Does the Employee Stock Ownership Plan and core values in this blog post appeal to you? Would you like to work for an organization that lives them? We are always looking for talented people, so we invite you to explore opportunities with us.