In employee ownership circles, the term Open Book Management (OBM) is often discussed and there are numerous companies that incorporate the practice and theories into their workplaces.

 

The theory behind OBM is that all employees are provided information on the financials so they can and, hopefully, will make better and more informed decisions as workers and in the case of an ESOP company, as owners. The employees are also provided with training so they can properly read and understand the financial information and then provided with a forum to discuss the information.

 

Each ESOP company is different in terms of what information is shared and how much. There are no hard and fast rules as to the right amount but most people in the employee ownership community can agree that the sharing of some information is important for an ESOP company to fully develop an ownership culture and mindset.

 

Does your company practice OBM? Do you think it makes your company more proactive and able to handle crises better because of the open environment?