Employee Ownership of public services - A Success Story

Co ownership is fast becoming a hot issue in the forthcoming election.  As the parties argue over who thought of it first, what the model will be, whether the focus should be on public sector, private sector or both, they cynics are saying it can't work.  How can people run their own company, become truly involved in the strategy and direction of the business, and have real accountability in their leaders?  How can that work in the public service sector?

One company achieves all these as well as delivering an excellent service to its service users, and provides a great place to work.  Highland Home Carers became employee owned five years ago when the founder and managing director was looking to take a step back from the business but did not want to sell to one of the national agencies.  Highland Home Carers has always had a very special culture; it is a culture of mutual respect and dedication to the highest standards of service delivery.  It is a "caring" company in every sense of the word. If Nick Boyle had sold to one of the competitors, there is every likelihood that all this would have been lost. By selling to the employees, Nick has ensured that the company will continue to strive to be the best provider of care services in the Highlands.

[caption id="attachment_246" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Highland Home Carers employees with Philip Baxendale"][/caption]

So how does it work?  It's not easy - the company covers a vast geographical area and many of the employees work in isolation.  At the highest level of the organisation, three employees are elected to the Board of Directors, each serving a term of three years.  The Board -as with any other business - report to the shareholders. In this case the shareholders are represented by the Trustees of the Employee Benefits Trust.  These elected employees can be carers or office staff and are given support and training to help them get to grips with the financial reporting and director/trustee responsibilities.

The company also invest a lot of time in ensuring that all employees are involved in communication.  There are employee meetings, and regular focus groups held in different areas to ensure that everyone's opinion is heard.  Of course, communication is not something that can be "got right" all the time - but the commitment to getting it right is there.

Too much effort?  Bear in mind that this is a company that works to a low margin, in an undervalued sector, and only earns money when the carers are delivering services.  Highland Home Carers put that effort in because it's important - and because it works.

The company received its Care Commission Inspection report yesterday.  The company had achieved fives - very goods - across the board.  Apart from one mark which was the very rarely awarded six for excellence - and this recognised the company's leadership.  A remarkable achievement.

Of course, the other issue is the level of involvement of customers or service users in the organisation.  Should external interested parties have an ownership stake?  Highland Home Carers is owned solely by its employees, but manages to include and involve many of its stakeholders; the service users and their families, the relevant agencies, the community and local government.  The companycontinuously solicits feedback from all areas to continually monitor how it's doing.

This is a business model that can work in both private and public sectors.  Congratulations to all the employees at Highland Home Carers on an excellent report. You really are such a strong argument for employee ownership.