Executive Summary

SJF Institute, which made news two weeks ago with its strategic merger with Investors Circle, has released a new report, “Employees Matter: Maximizing Company Value Through Workforce Engagement.”

The report profiles two dozen fast growing entrepreneurial firms that utilize employee ownership and engagement strategies which their executives say are closely linked with improved business performance. It uses these company profiles to frame and illustrate 10 best practices for engaging employees at all levels for increased business success. 

“We chose companies that are less known but that have great stories to tell about how they engage all team members for maximum business success,” said Anne Claire Broughton, SJF Institute Senior Director and author of the report. “These strategies are of critical importance with today’s well-informed, creative workforce.”

The companies profiled in "Employees Matter" represent a range of sectors and geographies across the United States. They range from 50 to 3,500 employees and have average revenues of $35 million. Seven are venture backed, and all but three have entry-level employees. All of the companies profiled have low employee turnover and very high customer satisfaction rates and strong year-to-year customer retention. Ten of them describe ways that employee engagement practices directly helped them survive and sometimes even thrive during the recession.

Among the companies featured in the report are Advanced Circuits, Better World Books, CleanScapes, Dancing Deer Baking Co., Full Sail Brewing Co., Namaste Solar, PrintingForLess.com, Red Door Interactive, Redwoods Group, SmartPak Equine, Southern Energy Management and Tweezerman.

Two top employee engagement strategies detailed in "Employees Matter" are communicating the company’s core values clearly and consistently and sharing ownership broadly via stock options, restricted stock, ESOPs (employee share option plans), or co-ops. 

“When team members understand their company’s core values, they can be empowered to act quickly and make good decisions,” Broughton explained. “And when employees think and act like owners, they provide better customer service and find every possible way to build company value.”

The full report is also available electronically on the SJF Institute website.