In 2007, Spiezle Group, Inc. (SGI) successfully transitioned from a privately owned firm to a 100% Employee-Owned entity via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

Scott Spiezle strongly believed that an ESOP was the best strategy for his ownership transition. The ESOP fulfilled his desire to reward the firm’s employees for their dedicated service and hard work by offering ownership potential to eligible team members.

An ESOP is a tax-qualified employee benefit plan that invests primarily in employer stock. As Spiezle employees’ tenure increases with the firm, their shares continue to accumulate. Along with seniority comes an increase in acquired shares in a process called vesting. When the firm meets or exceeds its goals and objectives, eligible team members are directly rewarded for their contributions with annual share allocations, as permissible.

The ESOP is a win-win for team members and clients. Most employee-owned firms outperform their competition as staff becomes business and customer service savvy as they recognize the impact of their day-to-day performance on the corporate bottom line.

SGI is proud to be a member of the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO). For additional information on ESOP’s, visit the NCEO or The ESOP Association websites at:

http://www.nceo.org/library/esops.html
http://www.esopassociation.org/about/about_esop_overview.asp