SCOTT
BADER
Scott Bader is a small company within the chemicals
industry employing 650 people world-wide. The company was
founded in 1920 by Ernest Bader operating as the sole agency
for Swiss celluloid in Britain. In 1951 the Scott Bader
Commonwealth was formed. Over 90% of the shares of the company
were transferred over to the employees. They all became
members of the Scott Bader Commonwealth and thus co-owners of
Scott Bader Company Limited.
Partnership
Philosophy
Scott Bader has been shaped by the beliefs of its
founder Ernest Bader. He believed that 'we are all equal as
human beings and therefore we all have the right of human
dignity'. In his view this aspiration was not widely achieved
in conventional industry. When the family transferred the
ownership of the company to the employees, Ernest ensured that
his beliefs and values became enshrined within the
Constitution, along with certain other safeguards to secure
the continuation of the enterprise. The company is run under a
Code of Practice which lays out the conditions under which the
business is organised and run.
Partnership Practices
Communications
Scott Bader operates on the principle of open, direct
and honest communications. Monthly briefings are compulsory in
all sections and are explicitly geared to generate feedback
from the workforce. There are quarterly general meetings of
Scott Bader Co Ltd which all employees are invited to attend
and which report on the overall plans and strategy of the
company as well as reporting progress to date against the
annual budget. An individual Executive member each quarter
will do a specific report for their area of responsibility.
Management Style
As you would expect given the ownership principles of
the company, Scott Bader has a commitment to open management
and describes the management style within the organisation as
one of participative leadership.
Employee Representation: The Community
Council
The main employee voice mechanism within the company is
the Community Council, which has significant decision making
powers. The Community Council represents the interest of all
staff in the UK and Ireland. Representatives are elected to
the Community Council by geographical area to enable elected
people to have regular contact with those that they represent.
The Community Council approves the appointment or removal of
the Chairman of Scott Bader Co Ltd and all its Directors, as
well as approving Directors salaries. It also has the final
say on internal disciplinary matters. The Community Council
carries out many tasks within the areas of working conditions
and employee welfare and works closely with management on
these issues. They also raise budgets and administer funds for
social and educational functions.
Employee Development
There is a strong programme of self development set out
in the Principles of the Commonwealth which advocates learning
from Day One. Learning includes secondment opportunities. The
company recently conducted a major programme in association
with Ashridge Management Centre in which 40 managers looked at
their own careers and developed their own personal learning
strategies. The company has a long-standing commitment to
education and training and has developed a Learning Centre,
which offers dedicated learning resources to its employees.
Scott Bader has a number of continuous improvement systems and
working practices which have been in operation since the early
1990s. The company is accredited to ISO 9001 throughout and is
an Investor In People.
Pay and Reward
The company believes that pay is in line with the
marketplace. Pay is based on: individual performance reviewed
at regular appraisals; company performance, related to a
persons salary, and an annual bonus related to the share of
profits and distributed according to the Constitution. The pay
system, pension scheme and holidays are all harmonised.
Reward and Profit
The financial participation and reward practices of
Scott Bader are firmly enshrined in a set of rules. A minimum
of 60% is ploughed back into the business for future
investment and development. Of the remaining 40%, a maximum of
half could be paid as bonus to staff. However, whatever
percentage is set as a bonus, an equal or greater amount must
be given to charity. Over the years substantial amounts of
money have been allocated to charitable purposes as part of
the profit sharing process. The charitable giving has been
enhanced by allocating £200 to each employee to allocate
themselves to the charity of their choice.
Employment Security
Scott Bader is firmly committed to a policy of no
redundancies. There is a specific policy - set out in the Code
of Practice - of job sharing and agreed pay cuts as an
alternative to redundancy.
Environmental Sustainability
The company has a long-standing environmental policy
concerning responsible management of the earth's
resources.
Commonwealth Membership
Membership of the Commonwealth and with it co-ownership
of the company is open to all employees after a specified
period of time. It is by application, and rights of membership
are confirmed by the Commonwealth Board of Management. Not
every employee chooses to apply for membership, but the vast
majority do.
The Future
While the principles will remain the same, the company
is examining its structure to try and make it less cumbersome.
Scott Bader is also looking at ways of extending the
Commonwealth to their international subsidiaries as far as
possible, within the constraints imposed by the different
cultures and legislative frameworks of the countries involved.