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What happens when a family-owned business becomes employee-owned – and adds birthdays off, a tax-free bonus, and ‘Wellness Wednesdays’ to the mix? DJS Research, a global market research company, is finding out. HR Manager Lucy Pawson explains how giving employees a genuine stake in the business has protected the company’s legacy, supercharged collaboration, and introduced people-first perks – from extra festive leave to walking meetings in the Peak District.
How has becoming employee-owned affected culture and strategy?
We firmly believe that giving our partners an interest in the business will have a positive effect on our ability to grow. We also believe this structure will help build on our great culture, making us even more collaborative and inclusive.
As a people-focused business, our success over the years has been down to our employees. Moving from a family-owned to an employee-owned model has been a natural progression for DJS Research. It ensures that the future of the company remains firmly in the hands of those who drive the business forward and share our values and vision. Restructuring in this way protects the long-term legacy of DJS Research, maintaining integrity, continuity, and sustainability.
Alongside Wednesday Wellbeing, we’ve introduced ‘walk and talk’, which encourages partners to consider whether catch-up calls with colleagues – or even clients – can take place outside instead of on screen. If we’re in the office together, we consider scrapping the meeting room in favour of outside collaboration.
