WET’s Commitment to Employee Ownership

In 2014, WET created an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) and became an employee-owned company.  The reason for this move was obvious: we have great people at WET who have dedicated their professional lives to our company and our clients, and we wanted them to share in the benefits of ownership.  It was also a smart business decision: studies have shown that companies with ESOP’s grow at a faster rate than those without.  A 2000 Rutgers study found that ESOP companies grow 2.3% to 2.4% faster after setting up their ESOP than would have been expected without it. Companies that combine employee ownership with employee workplace participation programs show even more substantial gains in performance. A 1986 NCEO study found that employee ownership firms that practice participative management grow 8% to 11% per year faster with their ownership plans than they would have without them.

Since our ESOP was formed, WET has grown from 28 to 44 employees, so needless to say we are believers in the benefits of employee-ownership.  With employee growth has also come the ability to provide additional services to our clients.   We have significantly expanded our engineering geoscience, and Civil 3D capacity, we have a licensed surveyor on staff, and we now provide UAV surveying.  Exciting stuff!

Along with our ESOP we created a Communications Committee consisting of nine employees that meet regularly and keep employees educated on ESOP issues.  We want all of our employees to wear their “owners hat” and bring new ideas to the table on how we can do things better.  We proudly wear our “Employee Owner” stickers on our hard hats, and take our commitment seriously.

Overall, our firm has become a more tight-knit group that is working together to become more efficient, improve performance, and grow our business, which translates directly into increased value for our clients. We’ve also increased our commitment to serving the communities we live and work in by donating our time and money to charities and causes around Butte, Anaconda, and Great Falls.  It’s a WIN-WIN for everyone!

Water & Environmental Technologies – Client and Community Dedicated, Employee Owned.