Golden Valley Company Taking Bold Step, Becoming Employee-Owned
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Golden Valley company is taking a bold step to set itself apart from the competition.
Solution Design Group announced Wednesday they are 100 percent employee-owned. SDG is an IT consulting firm with about 150 workers. Over the last few months, company leaders developed an employee stock ownership plan.
The program will provide ongoing ownership to workers through stock allocations each year. Angela Davis tells us what the change means for the company and its clients.
SDG already stood out from the crowd. It's been named one of the best places to work eight times by Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.
"I think it is a pretty employee-centric culture. It is one of our core values and we live to it. We have an employee experience committee that is sort of the protector of the culture," Jeff Daniel with the Solution Design Group said.
When the founder of SDG decided to retire last year, the CEO and COO began working on a plan to share the ownership with employees.
"Each year the employees will get some allocation of stock and it's all funded through future profits of the organization," Daniel said.
"This should really empower them and reward them for their contributions over the years. Everyone striving to build a company that will stand the test of time," Keith Martin with the Solution Design Group said.
SDG is proud of its employee perks, like a company-owned lake cabin that workers take turns using. They do volunteer work together and often show random acts of kindness to their clients, like giving out cold and flu season care packages.
"I see us operating as we've always operated. I'd like to think this extra incentive for folks will help even us perform better," Martin said.
Their clients include Best Buy, Target, Health Partners and several colleges.
Matt Leising is an IT consultant with the company.
"It's fun to be an owner now and to feel more tied to our success. And to see that success as an owner," Leising said.
Angela says the change creates another long-term retirement plan for their employees, in addition to their current 401(K) plan. And yes, they are hiring.
