How Being an ESOP Makes us a Better Corporate Housing Provider

Corporate housing has been around since the 1960s. Founded to provide temporary lodging for traveling and relocating business people, the industry now offers corporate apartments for guests of all varieties. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you have several choices in corporate housing providers.

But how do you choose just one?

Well one difference to look for is whether the corporate housing provider you’re looking at is employee-owned or not. Employee-owned companies offer numerous benefits to clients from direct benefits like speaking to the same contact throughout your time working with the company, to indirect benefits like receiving greater care.

At Viciniti, after being in business for over 20 years, we became an ESOP in 2014, becoming one of just a handful of 100% employee-owned companies in the Midwest. But just what is an ESOP? What does it mean to be employee-owned? And what does us being an ESOP do for you?

We’ll explore what an employee-owned company is and how working with one can make all the difference in your stay over another corporate housing provider. Let’s get started!

 

What is an ESOP?

ESOP stands for Employee Stock Ownership Plan. When you’re working with a furniture provider that is an ESOP, that means they utilize this type of plan for their business.

In an ESOP, a company provides shares of stock in the business to its employees that meet certain requirements. Generally all full-time employees over the age of 21 are given a percentage of these shares. Any employee who has some of the company’s stock is considered an employee owner and a company that has all of its shares in the trust or employees’ accounts is considered 100% employee-owned.

 

What Staying with an ESOP Means for You

Since we’ve become an employee-owned company, we’ve found some incredible benefits that can really make a difference for our customers. Here’s some of the ways working with an ESOP works for you!

• Employee-owned companies emphasize training and expertise, concern and care for the bottom line and providing you the best product for a win-win scenario.

At Viciniti, we believe this throughout every fiber of our company. Angie McDonald, our Human Resources leader and President of our company’s ESOP Communication Committee tells us that, “When you are doing business with an employee owner, chances are you are going to work with someone who cares about the success of the company.  This means they are going to take better care of the customers and have better knowledge of the product or service than someone who just comes to work to collect a paycheck.”

• Employee owners tend to offer better customer service because they are invested in the success of the company – which means they are all about your satisfaction and delivering the best service possible.

 “Customers who choose to work with an employee-owned organization will likely notice elevated service at every touchpoint from reception to the C-Suite, a tangible result of working with stakeholders who are motivated by customer success.” – Cindy Schneider from the Dayton Business Journal

That means no matter who you are or what your position is, when you’re working with an employee owner, you’re going to be the most important person to that representative.

• Employee owners have a better sense of investment in the company because they are literally invested. There is usually more of a team/family atmosphere with everyone working together for the same end goals.

Everything is transparent – from the CEO to the delivery drivers, all the numbers are available. This is not a direct client benefit, but if the employee owners all have access to the same info, it fosters the team spirit that’s important to delivering a superior product as well as innovation from every level of the company.

• Companies that are employee-owned produce more creative solutions and have an entrepreneurial spirit. We’re empowered to go above and beyond to ensure customer success with our furnishings.
• Employee-owned companies are more reliable and have staying power to be here for you when you need us even through tough times when other companies may not be able to meet your needs.

According to the Harvard Business Review employee-owned companies foster “inclusive workplaces that, again, often perform better, especially during recessions or slowdowns.” By focusing on the employee owners and the customers, employee-owned companies are able to excel where other companies fail, including in reaching lofty standards of clients.

• Employee-owned companies tend to have higher retention rates and more familiarity with the company’s products and services – allowing you, the client, more confidence and overall satisfaction when doing business with the employee-owned company.

Extended employee-owner tenure also assures you will have a long-term relationship with your primary points of contact and not being moved from one rep to another.

 

Where Are You Staying?

If you’re making a choice between corporate housing providers, then chances are you have your travel plans pretty well locked down, minus one of the most important parts… where you’re going to stay!

With locations in 15 cities throughout the Midwest, our employee owners would love to put you in a corporate apartment we know you’ll love if your travels are bringing you to one of our hometowns. Each of our cities has a local team of employee owners ready to help make the most of your stay. Select your city to find the perfect temporary home for you!

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