In the March issue of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ magazine, BL Companies was profiled as an exemplary ESOP firm for engineers. VP of Operations Derek Kohl was quoted throughout the article and explained why the ESOP model is much more than a retirement plan and is beneficial for employee-owners and companies as a whole. ESOPs also increase productivity and boost retention.
Kohl is quoted in the piece: “Employee ownership is a great business model, a great cultural model, and can be a huge competitive advantage for firms. We have highly motivated and engaged employees, and that directly translates into improved quality of work and creativity on fast-paced, challenging, complex projects for clients.”
BL has been lauded numerous times over its almost 20 years as an ESOP, most notably twice being named ESOP company of the year by the New England chapter of the ESOP Association. The article points out that in 2024, of the nation’s 100 largest employee-owned companies, architecture and engineering firms accounted for nearly a quarter of them. Here is an excerpt of the article:
At BL Companies, through quarterly employee-owner meetings and weekly CEO audio calls, employees stay informed about the company’s performance and strategic goals. An annual “ESOP Year in Review” meeting is designed to enhance understanding and engagement, revealing financial information at a detailed level.
“A lot of ESOP companies embrace this more transparent approach to communication—to share company performance, how they’re growing, and what their future plans are,” Kohl said.
That transparency is not as apparent in large, publicly traded companies that must cater to shareholders, or in privately held companies owned by investors, founders, or a small group of shareholders.
Employees in privately held companies, for example, “may not know about strategic plans or be informed about succession planning,” Kohl added. “I’ve seen examples where even project managers are not aware of the financial performance of their projects.”
Read the full article here.