From its inception Quintessa has been an employee-owned company. For the first 15 years employees held shares directly in the company, but in July 2014 all shares in Quintessa were transferred to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) that holds these shares for the benefit of all employees. The purpose of the EOT is to provide a sustainable future for Quintessa as an independent company with an employee-owned ethos.
Employee ownership is about much more than who owns the shares. It is essentially about employees having more control over their working lives. A paramount principle underlying how we interact is respect for each other and for all stakeholders in Quintessa. This is reflected in our vision that all employees should be empowered to contribute to all aspects of the business including the development and implementation of strategy and business processes, and interaction with clients and other stakeholders. To facilitate this empowerment, all employees have ready access to information about the company and participate in company meetings and decisions. The practical impact of this approach is that we make better decisions by drawing on the knowledge and experience of all employees.
Employee ownership benefits our clients in a number of ways including:
- the strong commitment to Quintessa means that employees ‘go the extra mile’;
- the stability and sustainability engendered by the Employee Ownership Trust business model facilitates long-term business relationships;
- the culture of engagement and openness within the company supports innovation, and the recruitment and retention of talented staff; and
- business decisions are not influenced by external shareholders.
Quintessa is a long-standing and active member of the Employee Ownership Association, which allows us to learn from and contribute to other employee-owned companies, and to support the growing contributions that the employee-owned sector makes to the UK economy.