Funnily, large multi million dollar organizations don't understand what small breweries in rural Colorado can! This is from the website of the New Belgium Brewery. I was only there 'coz they make my favourite type of beer, but I stumbled on something golden. Excerpt from the website:
My logic is plainly this, If you can't trust your own employees with your company's financials and other vital data, there's pretty much no one else you can.
A Culture of OwnersIn this information age, transparency and confidence in your employees would go a long way building the feeling that they're contributors to the performance and growth of the company. What a lot of senior managers don't understand is that most employees today are willing to accept a company's strategy, actions and policies a lot more if the underlying causes, data and events are communicated efficiently to them. I honestly believe building ownership amongst the workforce in this manner will do wonders to the quality to their productivity and creative utilization of the organization's resources.
Early on, Jeff and Kim knew that it would take more than the two of them to accomplish their vision. When Brian Callahan, an aspiring brewer, came knocking at the door, they had their first employee owner. It seemed natural to bring in people and give them a vested interest in the company.
“It’s important that we share in all the benefit,” says Kim “and, frankly, in the risk too.”
These days, ownership is awarded at one year’s employment (along with a one-year, commemorative, neat-o cruiser bike!).
Ownership mentality often inspires people like warehouse technician, Douglas Miller, to search out new ways to recycle and reuse. Doug spends a percentage of his time rebuilding wooden pallets to help balance the bottom line.“
Once Kim and Jeff decided to let us know where everything was going,” Doug explains, “it made it really important for us to keep track of every keg.”
Furthermore, New Belgium’s practice of open-book management, a policy of fiscal transparency throughout the company, has translated into Doug’s personal life.
Kim believes that giving employees ownership and opening the books encourages a community of trust and mutual responsibility.“We have tried to make our relationship with our co-workers – in terms of the business of running the business – very transparent,” Kim explains, “and I think that’s a foundational piece of who we are.”
My logic is plainly this, If you can't trust your own employees with your company's financials and other vital data, there's pretty much no one else you can.
