Business View Magazine - August 2023

162 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 8 Looking out for its employees Kuhlman oversees FST’s ESOP (or employee stock ownership plan) and its related long-term sustainability, as well as the company’s 401(K) responsibilities. “Our corporate culture is like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” she said, praising the company’s workers[ML1] . Hartman said FST is all about delivering excellent service––quite literally. Hartman added that the company has made major investments to improve the working conditions of its employees. He said this includes state- of-the-art, top-of-the-line trucks. “That’s their home away from home,” he said, “so we want to create a great environment for them to exist in.” Investing in FST employees just makes good business sense, as Hartman observed. Kuhlman spoke further about the company’s employee stock ownership plan. The ESOP is a benefit plan that enables employees to own part or all of the company for which they work. ESOP’s are most commonly used to facilitate succession planning, allowing company owners to sell their shares and transition flexibly out of the business. The implementation of an ESOP means overall positive growth for any company that opts to use such a method, as Kuhlman pointed out. However, “it is complicated,” she acknowledged, especially for people “coming on board that are 18, 20 years old, and they’re not interested in retirement.” One way to encourage new employees and get them thinking about the ESOP is to offer them free stock options, as she explained. She added that FST employees own their careers.