____________________________________________________________________________________ KE & G Construction Inc.
and in 2023 the business won the American Public Works Association award for Public Works Project of the Year for transportation.
Driving performance
Recognizing that the future of the company is tied to the security of its highly skilled workforce, the business has implemented an industry leading apprenticeship scheme. The program consists of 6000 hours of on-the-job learning paired with 432 hours of classroom learning over the course of three years. The course teaches a variety of operational skills necessary to become a well-rounded operating engineer.
Employee retention hugely benefits from the security and opportunity facilitated by the company’ s structure as an employee-owned operation. Every full-time employee has a unique opportunity to become a shareholder, with no cost to them. One hundred percent of the company’ s stock is owned by its employees; a distinction that only one in 200 businesses in America can claim. This shared ownership fuels the business’ commitment to excellence and sets it apart in the industry.
The employee stock ownership plan( ESOP) is more than just a retirement plan, it gives the staff a stake in the company’ s success. It all started when the KE & G owners sold 49 percent of the company’ s stock to the newly formed ESOP, with the help of a significant contribution from the business and a loan. By 2014, with the original owners retiring, KE & G made the bold move to purchase the remaining 51 percent, completing the journey to 100 percent employee ownership.
One significant advantage of operating as an ESOP is that it creates a powerful connection between the company’ s success and its employees’ financial success. An employee’ s ideas, effort, and teamwork all directly fuel the company’ s growth. The collective work of employee-owners drives the business’ performance, increasing the value of the business. And as the business thrives, so do employees; this success flows back to them in the form of shares, turning their hard work into real dollars in the bank, beyond the value of a simple salary with typical benefits. ■
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