Business View Magazine - July 2023

79 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 7 GRI FFI TH COMPANY ESOP,” said Aukerman. “It will give them a very robust and hardy retirement package when they leave the company, especially in a well- performing ESOP model like ours. It’s a really great hiring tool for us, because 401-K’s don’t match up to what an ESOP can produce. It allows our employees to feel really empowered. They are sharing in the successes and profits of the company along the way. We were a family-owned company until the 1980’s, when we became an ESOP. Switching over to employee ownership from a family- owned company is a very good transition in the sense of a family atmosphere here. Everyone feels that they are sharing in the success in what they are helping to produce. From a cultural standpoint, I couldn’t ask for a better dynamic to give us the great culture we have today. ESOP contributes to why the culture is the way it is. It gives them that sense of power and ownership in the company. With us, they feel as if they have a voice; as if their decisions matter. And I think that means a lot to our employees. “We try and focus on teaching (younger employees) and why it works and why it is so beneficial to them,” he added. “We put tools into place to show them. We tell them, ‘Look, you are still going to get a great salary. But you are not going to have to put a portion of that salary into a 401-K. We will do that for you through the profits of the company. You’re never going to have to worry about it, and some day, when you retire, you are going to have a lot of money sitting there. It could be double or triple what you would generate from a 401-K plan.’ We try to emphasize how important it is, but it is definitely a challenge. We try to give them a lot of insight into the program, train them and give them exposure to it. If they choose to stay with this company, it will be very profitable for them.” Aukerman informed that there’s also a lucrative bonus program for employees, meaning getting more money into their hands.