This July marks four years since Craftsman Technology Group became a 100% employee-owned business. This milestone is worth reflecting on, not only for how we’ve endured, but for how it has made us a better company.
I wanted to take a moment to share what employee ownership means, how our model works, and why I believe it continues to make us a stronger partner to the organizations we serve.
A Quick Refresher: What Is Employee Ownership?
Employee ownership is a broad term for any arrangement in which a company’s employees hold a stake in the business itself – whether through shares, profit-sharing, or a formal role in governance. It can take many forms, from stock grants to fully structured trusts.
At CTG, we structured our ownership as an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). A trust holds the company’s shares on behalf of all employees, collectively and in perpetuity. It’s a model still fairly uncommon in the United States, though it’s the dominant form of employee ownership in the United Kingdom.
We chose the EOT model over the somewhat more common Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), because it better fit our situation. An ESOP functions more like a retirement plan, with value gained gradually and typically realized at the end of someone’s career. Given the pace and nature of our industry, we wanted a model that delivered more immediate, tangible benefits alongside a real voice in how the company is run.
What Our Model Provides
Four years on, three commitments continue to anchor our ownership model:
A mission-based firm, in perpetuity. Our founding trust documents ensure CTG remains committed to serving mission-driven organizations. That commitment is no longer just a value we hold. It’s written into our governance structure.
An employee-centered business. Employee-owners directly elect representatives to our Board of Directors, giving our team a genuine say in the strategy, direction, and financial decisions of the firm.
Shared financial reward. As a modestly profitable, mission-driven company, we distribute profits beyond what’s needed to sustain the business equitably among our employee-owners.
Day-to-day, the business runs much as it always has. Our management team leads daily operations, and our CEO remains accountable for the firm’s performance. What’s different is the layer above that: broader decisions facing the company. Our strategy, direction, and any future decision about ownership now rest with the people who do the work, not with a single owner or an outside investor.
Why We Believe This Makes Us a Better Business
We didn’t pursue employee ownership as a symbolic gesture. We did it because we believe it produces a better company – for our team and for our clients.
Aligning Incentives with Impact
Because our employee-owners share directly in the firm’s success, everyone has a stake in doing excellent work, retaining great clients, and growing sustainably. That alignment shows up in the quality and consistency of the service we deliver.
Providing Business Continuity for Our Clients
Nonprofit technology partnerships depend on institutional knowledge and long-term trust. In our industry, acquisitions are common with private equity and larger firms regularly buying up mission-driven consultancies. Once acquired, social sector work tends to shrink in favor of higher-margin industries.
Our ownership structure was built to guard against that outcome. Any major decision about CTG’s future, including a possible sale, requires the involvement of our employee-owners and board. There will be no “Monday morning surprise” for our clients or our team. The firm cannot be sold without knowledge and direct input.
Strengthening Staff Retention and Engagement
Talented people want more than a paycheck. They want agency and a genuine stake in the organization they work for. Our ownership model gives our team real influence over strategy and a share in our financial success. I believe that translates directly into higher engagement, longer tenures, and better outcomes for the clients we serve.
Codifying Our Mission
Because our mission to serve mission-driven organizations is codified in our trust documents, that focus doesn’t depend on any one person’s discretion. It’s structural. As we grow, evolve, and welcome new colleagues, that commitment endures.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
When we made this shift in 2022, we described it as a “seismic shift within” as a sense of ownership became literal ownership. Four years later, that shift has become part of who we are. We now have an active, high-functioning board that helped us navigate serious disruption in our markets – most notably climate finance and green energy. We run a mature, values-driven, small business.
Being values-driven is not something that changed four years ago. What has changed is who is responsible for that mission’s future. We believe that responsibility, shared broadly, makes us a more resilient, more engaged, and more trustworthy partner to the organizations we serve.
Thank you to our clients for the trust and confidence you continue to place in us, and to the many colleagues, past and present, whose contributions have shaped what CTG is today.
To learn more about employee ownership, visit the National Center for Employee Ownership.