Welcome to Ownership Associates.


The jury is in. Employee ownership gives companies a potential competitive advantage. (Want proof? Click here for an index of research or here for a compilation by Dr. Douglas Kruse.)

But the research is also clear that most companies only achieve minor performance improvements -- and some find the ownership advantage erased or even reversed by a number of common pitfalls.

Ownership Associates is a consulting company dedicated exclusively to employee-ownership companies. This website describes our services, which include direct on-site strategic support, training design and delivery, and do-it-yourself downloads for trainers and company leaders. We also offer an extensive library of free resources for the employee-ownership community.


Making an ESOP Work for You

Making an ESOP Work for You: Cover This booklet covers the major "human side" issues of employee ownership from a practical, hands-on perspective designed to help you avoid common ownership mistakes, broaden understanding of ownership, and successfully pursue one of the three viable ownership strategies.

The book covers communications, training strategies, organizational culture / psychology, the key role of middle managers, and the basics of employee involvement. Excerpts from the table of contents include: "Research Highlights," "Common Pitfalls," "Basic Strategies," and "Sample Year 1 Timeline." This book is available at no charge from Ownership Associates.

Version 1 is for companies that are considering adopting an ESOP, and covers issues from before ESOP establishment through the first year.

Version 2 is for companies with an existing ESOP. It is designed for companies who think they could be getting more benefit from their ESOP, who want to rebuild enthusiasm, or who simply want an overview of a successful training or communications schedule.


Frontiers and Boundaries Handbook

Zone Chart imageThe Frontiers and Boundaries Handbook is a comprehensive how-to guide for companies that want to communicate their decision-making systems clearly and effectively, engaging employees' expectations of involvement and participation.

For free resources on employee involvement, see the Participation & Decision Making section of this website or our index of articles on participation. Our most popular article is Participation: Decision Making and Employee Ownership.


The Ownership Culture Survey™

Ownership Associates is the sole source for the Ownership Culture Survey™, an employee-attitude survey designed for and used exclusively by employee-ownership companies to gauge the strength of their ownership cultures. The OCS may be used as a stand-alone survey, or companies may integrate OCS items into their own existing surveys. Contact us for a no-obligation proposal, or choose individual survey items from our limited set of items available online.

Want to try some OCS items for free? Take our online mini-survey.

Free resources, including case studies, published and unpublished analysis, and how-to guides, are in the Using Surveys Index and the Ownership Culture / Psychological Ownership Index.


Other Resources

Ownership Associates offers training and materials to support understanding of Ownership Facts, acceptance and enthusiasm about Ownership Culture, Ownership Strategies, communication tools, and more!

The Ownership Associates website's online resources page includes over 60 no-cost resources, including published articles, research results, working papers for managers, and much more.


About Ownership Associates

Ownership Associates was founded in 1987 to help employee-ownership companies discover and adapt best practices to engage their employees as owners and benefit from improvements in performance and quality of work life.

Contact us for more information or to speak to an experienced ownership culture consultant about how OA can help you make the most of ownership.