The EOA Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode 19 of the EOA Podcast is all about how being employee owned can be transformational for workers at all levels of an EO business, especially those in traditionally low-paid sectors.

Hear from Russell Brown, the Chief Executive at Shaw Healthcare, on the impact employee ownership has had at the largest employee owned care provider in the UK, which employs more than 3,000 people working in care homes, community hospitals and on care schemes.

The podcast also paid a visit to the Watford headquarters of employee owned commercial cleaning specialist CleanTEC.

CleanTEC is the UK’s largest employee owned cleaning company, with almost 2,000 employees, many of whom are part-time cleaners. In the EOA’s press release for EO Day 2023, it stated that “EO can be transformational for workers in traditionally low-paid sectors, such as cleaning”. Hear from members of the CleanTEC team who give their perspectives on this theme.

Find out more about the EOA and employee ownership at https://employeeownership.co.uk/

Episode 18 of the EOA Podcast is all about #TheEOeffect – the theme of EO Day 2023, our annual national celebration of all things employee ownership.

The purpose of this theme is to showcase the impact employee ownership has on employees, businesses, the wider economy and communities.

To help us highlight this impact, Episode 18 features an employee owned business headquartered in Bolton, an employee from a Scottish EO business, an employee ownership adviser, and a not-for-profit organisation that is all about helping communities thrive.

Find out more about employee ownership and the EOA on our site here: https://employeeownership.co.uk

Episode 9 of the EOA Podcast focuses on the importance of succession planning in a business.

It has been said that the next five years are critical for 120,000 businesses in relation to succession, with a significant proportion of family owned or small to medium-sized businesses not having succession plans despite founders or business owners retiring in the next five years. This episode raises awareness of the importance of succession planning and how employee ownership fits into the mix of different solutions.

We hear from the MD of an employee-owned business and an EO consultant, before exploring the benefits of rooting businesses in communities with a charitable trust.

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk 

The theme of Episode 8 of the EOA Podcast focuses on the motivations of EOA members that transitioned to employee ownership in the past few years – and how they are reaping the benefits of this move.

This episode provides case study examples – with employee-owned businesses sharing insights and first-hand experiences from their own EO journeys.

Employee-owned companies represent a wide variety of sectors and to demonstrate this, Episode 8 features four very different businesses - Creative Space Management, The Folio Society, Lush and Salad Creative.

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk 

Episode 7 of the EOA Podcast is on the theme of onboarding new recruits into a business’s employee ownership culture or integrating EO into a newly transitioned company…. and around the role of inductions. The episode shares insights on this theme from three EOA trustee members that feature in the Top 50 list of employee-owned companies by size – namely Mott MacDonald, Howden Group and Go Ape.

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk 

The theme of Episode 6 of the EOA Podcast is around how we celebrate and shout about employee ownership and why it’s important to do this.

There is one day a year where thousands of employee owners, EO businesses and supporters of employee ownership come together to raise awareness of the benefits of employee ownership – this being our national celebration day called EO Day.

And with this episode celebrating EO Day 2022, the theme of which is #GrowEO, we have asked four of our member firms how they celebrate employee ownership and why it’s so important for the sector to do so.

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk 

The theme of Episode 5 of the EOA Podcast is around the considerations for owners or founders before, during and after transitioning their business to employee ownership.

The episode will hear from three supporter members of the Employee Ownership Association (EOA), who each bring a different perspective and specialism to advise on this topic as we look to help those exploring employee ownership as a possible succession option for their business.

You will hear about the legal, admin, governance, finance, funding and investment considerations for an owner during an employee ownership journey.

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk 

Episode 4 of the EOA Podcast is all about the theme of impact and influence. The episode will touch on a number of different areas, from the growing impact of the EO sector to the influence employee owners can have in their businesses, and hears from the EOA’s new chief executive James de le Vingne.

It also has a case study from one of our trustee member firms, environmental consultancy LUC, before members of the employee ownership team within the Social Business Wales service paint a picture of the impact and influence EO is having in Wales. 

As well as an announcement about EO Stories 2022 and the latest news on events and courses we have coming up, the episode ends asking someone from within the EO sector ‘why do you love employee ownership?’ This month we hear from Rebecca Newson from Quintessa.

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk 

Episode 3 of the EOA Podcast is all about the three pillars of good employee ownership, or ‘Good EO’, that help businesses build an excellent employee ownership culture, which are defined as good communications and engagement, good leadership, and good governance.

At the EOA we’re champions of Good EO and we offer a range of case studies, learning insights and helpful resources around best practice on these three pillars which are showcased during our events and courses, as well as across our website, EO Hub member-only platform, and YouTube channel.

Episode 3 explores these three pillars, with case study examples from our member firms Riverford Organic Farmers and Smile Together CIC, as well as hearing insights on the latest research into governance.

As well as the latest news on events we have coming up, the episode ends asking someone from within the EO sector ‘why do you love employee ownership?’

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk 

The employee ownership (EO) sector has seen unprecedented growth in recent years and in Episode 2 of the EOA Podcast we explore this topic around the growth of the EO sector and how being employee-owned has helped our member businesses to grow.

As well as an announcement about the theme of this year’s EO Day, the episode hears from a firm of architects, a financial planner and a campervan conversion company who offer their insights in this area, alongside highlighting their own growth ambitions and EO stories.

Each podcast episode hears the latest news and events coming up at the EOA, and ends asking someone from within the sector: ‘Why do you love employee ownership?’.

To find out more about employee ownership or the EOA visit: www.employeeownership.co.uk