Fast Lane
Buying in
How to allow your employees to take ownership in your company’s direction
By Erik Cassano
Smart Business Cleveland | November 2009
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Llevelyn Rhone, owner, president and CEO, Geneva Pipeline
Employee ownership has become a catchphrase in the business world, to the point where it has become something of a cliché. But to Llevelyn Rhone, there is a method behind the concept.
The owner, president and CEO of Geneva Pipeline — a 50-employee pipeline construction and maintenance company that generated more than $5 million in revenue last year — says the whole idea of employee ownership needs to stem from the policies that you lay out at the top of the company. If you set the pace by giving employees a sense of purpose and continually communicate your vision and core values, your chances of building an engaged, unified work force increase dramatically.
Smart Business spoke with Rhone about what it takes to give employees a true sense of ownership in your company.
Q. How do you plant the seeds for employee ownership?
You need to start by setting the tone and pace of the organization and the whole idea that you do value everyone and what they bring to the table. Here, we promote the idea that everyone brings value to the organization, whether it be a crew member who has been with us for 25 years or more, who has vast experience and knowledge of putting pipe in the ground, to working with our controller, who brings a different skill set to the table in his 20 years of being a CPA. All of those things come together to help you form a strong, vibrant company that is positioned for growth, and you need to make sure everyone recognizes that.
You can help set the tone and pace through good communication. After acquiring this business, which had been around for 50 years at the time, I needed to let everyone know what I am all about as a business owner, give them a feel for my direction and where I want to take the business.
