DOLLARS AND SENSE
Construction Company-
Employee Share Ownership
Plans and Profit Sharing
Building resilience and bench strength for changing times
By Mark O’Rourke, CPA, CA; MNP LLP
It’s no secret Canadian construction
companies are experiencing change
at an unprecedented pace – fueled by
almost daily shifts due to the impact of
COVID-19, compressed margins, an aging
workforce and bidding processes.
At the same time, a seismic demographic
shift is taking place. Millennials will
soon overtake baby boomers as the largest
generation in the Canadian workforce,
with qualities and work styles that may
differ from their predecessors. This generation
is demanding a clear career path,
a more collaborative work environment,
more information and more work/life balance,
and this trend will only continue.
In fact, the battle to attract and retain
capable, motivated people – of any age
– remains a challenge, even in today’s complex
environment. This is where employee
share ownership plans (ESOPs) and profit
sharing can come in.
The road to
employee ownership
There are a number of concerns common
to construction business owners looking to
implement an ESOP, including challenges
such as:
• How to retain the brightest and best
people? The need for capable people
who can bring value to the business is
more important than ever to ensure a
strong bench strength is maintained.
• The want to share some profits with
their teams in a way that makes sense,
tied to the real performance of the company.
How is this determined?
• The need to develop more training
time and invest in upcoming leaders to
increase the likelihood of them staying
with the company.
• All of the goodwill in the business
is in the people, and so it’s possible
employees could buy all or parts of the
company one day. How is this done in
a way that makes sense and ownership
retains control?
Mark O’Rourke
IRSTONE/123RF
BUILDING RURAL MANITOBA | 49