An Employee Owned company is one where each employee shares in the success and achievements of the company. Our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) allows Miklos to deposit company stock into a plan so that employees own a part of the company. At Miklos, Employee Ownership is part of our overall benefits package and drives our non-competitive and collaborative culture.
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Miklos believes those who contribute their energies to the company should benefit directly from its success. All Miklos employees are eligible to participate in Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The plan is designed to:
Being employee-owned creates a direct link between company interests and employee interests. At Miklos, all our employees are owners, not just a few. To support our employee-owners making the right decisions, we practice “open books management.” This practice is used to inform and educate our employees about the company’s financial status, the impact of their performance, and our future plans. Our consensus-seeking culture encourages open discussions of questions and issues facing our employees and the company. Our management team is always available to our employees if they need assistance with any issue.
IT’S FREE! At Miklos, the ESOP has no direct cost to the employee and all MSI employees are eligible to participate. This allows everyone to share in the growth of our company, to gain a beneficial interest in the stock of our company, and to accumulate funds for retirement.
Each year our employee owners receive shares of MSI stock and/or cash in their ESOP account, based on their compensation and length of company service. The 401(k) match is also given in the form of shares of MSI stock and/or cash. The benefit each employee ultimately receives from the ESOP depends both on the company’s success and on each employee’s length of employment with MSI. Our four year vesting schedule is designed to reward long-term company employment.
We note that our plan is a tax qualified benefit plan and any growth in its value is tax-deferred until retirement.
So you may be thinking “that sounds great, but does anyone actually like being a member of an ESOP?” Read what some current employees had to say:
Certified Employee-Owned® ensures that Miklos has met rigorous independent standards of significant and broad-based employee ownership. In fact, just 0.5% of companies are eligible for this designation. It means that not only are we sharing the ownership of the company with all of our employees, but that we practice our employee-ownership model. This approach provides open-book reporting and regular discussions of the company’s business and finances. We firmly believe that every employee should have insight, input, and influence in the company’s current and future direction. To learn more, please visit www.certifiedeo.com.
Certified Evergreen businesses are built to be profitable, enduring, and market-leading businesses that make a dent in the universe. Evergreen businesses put their people first and avoid raising capital that puts money before mission and imposes a growth-at-all-costs or exit-oriented mindset. They measure success by how well they deliver on their mission and they embody the Evergreen 7Ps: Purpose, Perseverance, People First, Private, Profit, Paced Growth and Pragmatic Innovation. Learn more at Tugboat Institute.
MSI’s Employee Ownership Committee helps to promote MSI’s employee-ownership culture, educates staff on the ESOP, and hosts several ESOP-related activities throughout the year.
Katarina is a software developer for MSI. Recently graduated from BJU with a degree in computer science, she has experience in a variety of programming languages ranging from C to Python and specializes in front-end web development. Working or not, she’s always in the mood for a good latte.
Kim is a Project Manager for MSI. She has worked on a number of contracts supporting MSI clients and has advanced knowledge of agile methodologies, project and program management, and requirements analysis.
Monica is a business analyst for MSI. She has worked with agile development and user experience teams, and manages the business analysis process. Monica has also provided support as a software engineer and system administrator. She currently leads the Employee Ownership Committee.