Cooperative Development Scotland (CDS) Learning Journey

In February 2023, we were delighted to take part in an employee ownership event run by CDS. This was designed as a learning journey for businesses and business owners considering a move to Employee Ownership. Over the course of two days, over 40 delegates visited a range of employee-owned businesses from Perth to Aberdeen.

We joined the group at Woollard and Henry, an Aberdeen-based engineering company who started out in the paper industry but since employee ownership have expanded into a range of sectors. Each company presented their story – what led them to EO, the issues encountered and the benefits the model brings to the business. Gordon Inglis and Rebecca Mackenzie presented from Accord.

Some interesting topics covered included:

• Employee Representation on Trusts and Boards – at Accord, we have employees elected onto both;
• Best practice for communication channels;
• Direct and indirect share ownership models;
• How employee ownership delivers stable businesses.

A common route to employee ownership is through retirement of Founder Directors, but Accord is unusual in that we were set up to be an employee-owned business from the start. However, we found lots of common ground across a diverse range of EO business all fully committed to make the most of this expanding sector.

A really good opportunity to learn from others and share our own experiences with those who are considering this option.

Find out more about this Learning Journey event on the Cooperative Development Scotland website.