McMaster Swapping Desks

Pioneering Business Succession Via Employee Ownership
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-925952-48-3
Verlag: Vivid Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 376 Seiten

Rob McMaster poured his heart and soul into his father's business for 38 years, but at 54 was concerned that he lacked a successor. Intent on early succession planning, Rob established a formal Employee Share Ownership Plan to transfer ownership of his company to his employees. Then the unthinkable happened: Rob was struck with severe and debilitating health challenges just as the economy faltered and manufacturing industries were struggling. When his fledgling employee ownership plan failed, Rob had no option but to liquidate the business. To his horror, he found that his company, turning over $5 million pa with $2.5 million in assets and 43 highly skilled staff, was valued by the open market at...NOTHING! Refusing to give up, Rob undertook a nine-year journey that changed the lives of all involved in the business. The resulting employee-owned cooperative business structure has been hailed as a 'proof of concept' and offers others a business succession model that could make a significant difference in the lives of company owners and their employees. Rob's ground-breaking experience has the potential to change the future direction of succession planning for individuals and businesses in Western Sydney and across Australia.

Autoren/Hrsg.

McMaster, Robert

Leseproben

ENDORSEMENTS

“This is an immensely readable account of C-Mac’s transition to employee ownership, and the trials and tribulations along the way. One quality that imbues the book throughout is Rob McMaster’s honesty in discussing the challenges, successes, and some failures as the company tried one form of employee ownership before eventually moving to another. There is a lot to learn here about the challenges of business succession, and what employee ownership has to offer. As a newcomer to employee ownership in Australia, I got enormous value from this book.”

Professor Andrew Pendleton, Head of School of Management, UNSW.

“Hopefully, this book will save a lot of wasted time and money for the next company that transfers ownership to their tradesmen. It helped me get an understanding of the big picture vision for employee ownership. Not only did I learn a lot about the McMaster family and their side of the transfer, I learned a lot about the beginnings of C-Mac and its philosophy of giving their workers a sense of community, which has permeated throughout our workshop to this day.”

Ivan Mihalj, Fitter & Machinist and former member of the C-Mac Staff Buyout Committee.

“In Australia, it is an unfortunate reality that governments, regulators, investors and many in the business community do not understand, and are less supportive of, co-operatives and mutuals than they are of “normal” companies. There has been a trend for co-operatives and mutuals to become “normal” companies and for Australia’s corporate structures to become less diverse and more focussed on profit maximisation. This trend has been accompanied by a loss of purpose, customer focus and engagement, employee welfare and community engagement. “Swapping Desks,” tells the story of one man’s journey in the opposite direction. Rob McMaster’s passion to improve and preserve a small business founded by his parents and honour their legacy, to care for his employees and their families, to ease the burden on his customers and suppliers and to be an agent for positive change by helping those around him to grow their skills and abilities is a stimulating read. The struggle to establish a worker co-operative to ensure a viable succession for C-Mac highlights the need for continuing the reform of our attitudes, laws and regulations to support a variety of business structures. Rob was motivated by his love of Jesus, and there is much to be learnt about servant leadership from his story. I warmly commend this book, not just for leaders thinking about succession, but for all leaders who want to make a difference in their company or community.”

Greg Hammond OAM, Lawyer and author of the Independent Facilitator Review Report on Reforms for Cooperatives, Mutuals and Member-owned Firms.

“Rob’s vision and perseverance in implementing the transition of C-Mac from a family-owned company to an employee-owned enterprise is to be commended. This was not an easy path to take. Rob acknowledges Jesus as Lord and the one who bestows wisdom and integrity on those who seek. Rob is still very much involved in the business encouraging and guiding the new owners. (Working one day per week). Rob has produced a valuable ‘Handbook’ on how to achieve this type of succession. It is helpful and inspiring and may expedite the process for those thinking of following his example.”

Russell Ricketts, RKR Engineering, business peer considering retirement.

“The power of co-operation runs through this book. Co-operatives have great stories of economic empowerment and solidarity to tell, and the tale of the beginning of this co-operative is inspiring and a significant contribution to the co-operative movement in NSW and Australia. Business succession can often be the most challenging part of the business cycle. Robert is a pioneer and here is the example many others can follow.

Sam Byrne, Secretary, Co-ops NSW

“Robert McMaster took over his family’s engineering business and helped it to grow and increase in profitability. At the back of his mind was the consideration of who would take over the business, but it did not become an urgent issue until he had a significant health issue. After much thought and examination of options, he desired to pass the business over to the workers. Employee-run businesses are more likely to succeed and have great financial benefits for employees with higher income and lower turnover. It seemed like a relatively easy transition but would take nine years to come to fruition. In this book, Robert provides a detailed handbook for the creation of an employee-owned cooperative. It is an honest book that will provide shortcuts for business owners and employees. For the 70% of Australian family-owned businesses, this important work reveals an opportunity to provide greater certainty, continued employment, increased productivity and successful succession. I am impressed by Robert’s integrity, tenacity and humility through this process, and warmly recommend this record of what was achieved by the new C-Mac Cooperative. It is instructive for business owners, regulators, employees, and consultants, with clear warnings and recommendations, all of which have been scrupulously researched or experienced.”

Kara Martin, author of Workship: How to Use Your Work to Worship God, and Workship 2: How to Flourish at Work and is also a lecturer with Alphacrucis College and Mary Andrews College.

“After a thorough evaluation of possible exit and succession strategies for their family business, Rob and his family finally chose the worker co-operative option. They found it the most appropriate, mutually beneficial, and win-win for both their family and their employees. As an advocate for worker-ownership, I am inspired by Rob’s and his families bold and noble move to transform their endeared company into a worker-owned enterprise. Rob’s book is an essential reference for social-minded business owners and entrepreneurs contemplating their succession plans.”

Leo Parma, Founder and former CEO/member of Asiapro Multi-Purpose Co-operative, the pioneering, leading and largest worker co-operative in the Philippines.

“Swapping Desks” is Rob McMaster’s memoir of his nine-year quest to preserve with his beloved family business, by converting it into one that is employee-owned. He shares his experiences to help others prepare their business succession plans and, in particular, to encourage them to consider employee ownership as a neat exit. The obstacles encountered show how Australia desperately needs an official framework for employee ownership as a succession solution. If C-Mac was a UK company, it could have been sold to an employee-ownership trust (EOT). Introduced in 2014, the EOT formalised a tried and tested succession solution and, in addition, provided a capital gains tax exemption for sellers and income tax-free bonuses for employees. Without precedents such as the EOT, it was Rob’s pioneering spirit and faith that led him to work out, eventually, how best for C-Mac’s employees to each become owners, for the benefit of the business, its customers and employees.”

Graeme Nuttall OBE, Partner at Fieldfisher LLP, United Kingdom and author of the Nuttall Review which instigated employee ownership throughout the UK.

“This book details the succession journey of an Australian owner-manager and provides an excellent guide for those seeking hands-on information about employee ownership and business succession planning. A must-read for both Australian and international readers searching for the practical values of employee-owned cooperatives based on the author’s personal experiences in his pursuit of business succession.”

Professor Seungkwon Jang, Department of Management of Co-operatives, Graduate School, Sungkonghoe University Seoul, Republic of Korea

“What an amazing journey: from childhood dinner-table conversations about the early C-Mac business to its General Manager, and then on to a role in business chaplaincy! Rob McMaster has insightfully and beautifully captured his lived-experience of the succession journey. In this book, Rob brings together a series of deeply personal and often moving vignettes woven into the general theme of his exploring the options for his business succession.

Prompted by his own health “scares” and an overarching desire to find a way that the business could continue even after his exit, Rob was always driven by a sense of stewardship and legacy. Having worked with and walked alongside Rob for a reasonable part of the journey, I was struck by his commitment to authenticity, fairness, and justice to the various stakeholders of C-Mac.

It is not surprising that he has found a new sense of meaning for his life after C-Mac in his new role as a business chaplain. Rob always demonstrated a deep faith and a commitment to act in business according to his values and principles. This book provides key lessons to anyone serious about their own business transition.

Rob’s courage to look beyond formula-driven (and relatively easy) succession options and his enthusiasm to find a lasting...