Let co-workers take ownership
When Twoday was established as an independent company, the management set a requirement for the new owners: all employees in Twoday should be able to buy shares in the new company and have the same opportunity for value development as the investment funds.
"I believe co-ownership is one of the keys to retaining the brightest minds," says Kristin Nyberg, Managing Director at Twoday Norway.
The consolidation in the IT industry has accelerated in recent years. It's difficult for small companies to survive, and larger companies are growing quickly. Private equity funds generally structure the companies they buy, sell them, or take them public after a few years. The profits that the owners extract are primarily due to the value development the company has experienced during these years.
In such companies, ownership programs for managers are common, but it is rare for non-management employees to have the opportunity to buy shares. As a result, they do not get to participate in the value growth they help to create.
When CVC Capital Partners acquired Visma's consulting business and established what is now Twoday, a co-ownership program was created that applies to all employees who have worked for the company for more than six months. They get to invest on the same terms as the main owner. As a result, 900 out of 2200 employees are now co-owners in Twoday.
More women than men invested
What's particularly interesting is that a higher proportion of female employees have invested in the company than their male colleagues. In the Norwegian subsidiary Twoday Analytics, almost eight out of ten women have invested.
"When we know that more men than women invest in all other contexts, I'm glad we can help close some of the gap," says Nyberg.
Nyberg believes that the most important aspect is what co-ownership can contribute to Twoday as a company and to each individual employee. The industry is characterized by increasingly larger entities, which means that we have to think differently about recruiting and retaining staff. Several reports show that co-ownership contributes to both culture, results, and a sense of belonging.
Letting employees share the returns
As IT consultants, employees spend a lot of time on projects, often at customer sites.
"When we want to build Twoday as a leading consulting company in the Nordics, we believe it is important to provide all employees a meaningful everyday life. This means offering employees exciting and developing tasks, but also giving the opportunity to have a good life outside of work. It is much more important to work efficiently when we are at work than to spend many hours every evening and weekend. But it also means giving employees who take risks the opportunity to get a share of the return they have contributed to through their work," says Nyberg.
"I hope more large consulting companies do as we do. But until that happens, we are satisfied with being the only large consulting company owned by a private equity firm that can offer employees the opportunity to participate in the value development we aim to create for the owners."
FACTS ABOUT TWODAY
- Twoday is a newly established IT consulting company with 2500 employees in the Nordic region and Lithuania that delivers specialized consulting services to 8000 public and private enterprises.
- The company was established through the purchase from Visma of 22 consulting firms that have strong positions in their respective markets. Through organic growth and acquisitions, the company aims to triple its revenue within five years.
- Twoday is owned by the investment fund CVC Capital Partners. Carsten Boje Møller from Denmark is the CEO.
- Twoday in Norway has around 500 employees. The Managing Director in Norway is Kristin Rotevatn Nyberg."
For more information please contact
Kristin Nyberg, Managing Director in twoday Norway on kristin.nyberg@twoday.com or +4799168779
