ESOP 101: Understanding the Basics of Employee Ownership

on Thursday, April 9, 2015 in ESOP

Employee-Owned. Employee Stock Ownership Plan. ESOP.  You’ve probably seen these terms splashed across our website and advertisements, but what do they mean? As an employee-owned company, now ALL of our eligible employees are part-owners at no cost to them through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP.) This comes in the form of a long term retirement savings plan.  This plan is similar to a 401(k), which we also offer our employees, except unlike a 401(k) our employees do not have to contribute any of their own money. 

Who at TMC is eligible for this Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)? 
All TMC employees are eligible and automatically enrolled once they’ve met the following requirements:

1.)    They must have at least one year of employment with TMC and worked at least 1,000 hours in that first year of service.
2.)    They must be at least 21 years of age.

What determines the employee’s shares?
The amount of shares allocated is based on their eligible compensation and years of service with TMC. 

How does this affect our employees?
The truth is, not a whole lot about the culture of TMC or our employees’ day-to-day has changed since we switched to being an Employee-Owned company. Office employees are not suddenly getting bills for the supplies they need, nor are our drivers getting billed for their equipment, truck repairs, or fuel.  Simply put, TMC employees are now able to have a personal investment in the way of shares. ESOP adds financial motivation and ownership responsibility while also providing a more rewarding retirement plan for our employees. 

Research studies consistently show that employee-owned companies perform better than companies that are not employee-owned. The success of a company’s ESOP depends on how well the company performs in the future.  ESOPs do not guarantee any minimum value, however TMC has had a strong track record of solid performance and we hope to continue to be successful. As employee-owners, we all share both the upside and the downside.