Vermont Employee Ownership Center 2012 Conference Burlington, Vermont June 8, 2012 Alex Moss | Praxis Consulting Group Jane Moss | Hypertherm Michael Allan | Gardeners Supply Participation Up and Down the Organization: Where, Why, & How

Goals  What do we really mean by “employee participation”?  By whom, in what decisions, through what structure, with what support, etc.  2 case studies – neither one is calling itself the “right answer,” but lots of good experience  Discussion  What are you already doing that we can learn from?  What are we learning about what works? 1 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Individual Owners ESOP Governance ESOP Trustees select Leadership Team Board of Directors appoint and oversee elect hire and oversee Shareholders Employees CEO / President hire and oversee June 8, 2012 ESOP Communications Committee: Promote Ownership VEOC Conference | Participation ESOP Participants when meet eligibility requirements are represented by ESOP Fiduciary Committee 2

Company Case Study Introductions  Your basic business  You yourself – your job, how long you've been there and how you got there, the different roles you've played  Your ESOP – how old, what percent, how meaningful is it to employee-owners 3 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Your Experience So Far: Quick Examples  What's working best so far? Why?  Imagine that it’s 3 years from now and things are working just the way you want – what is different? 4 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Participation: Shop Floor  How do employees participate in *shop floor* decision making?  Examples  Structures  Successes  Challenges  Training & support  Future evolution?  Do you have an ESOP Communications / Education Committee?  What decisions do they make? 5 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Participation: Management Decisions  What decisions are typically made by management?  Is there employee participation in  Strategic planning  Major equipment purchases  Hiring/firing  Others?  What training and support is needed? 6 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Participation: Board of Directors  Do employee-owners vote for the Board?  Is there an employee rep?  How are they selected  How long do they serve  What have been the benefits?  Any downsides and how did you handle?  Do employees have an opportunity to meet the Board? 7 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Participation: ESOP Trustees  Who are your Trustees?  Do employees have a voice?  Have you ever had a "pass-through" vote to ESOP participants?  How did it go, what did you learn?  Do any employees serve as Trustees?  Management or non-management  Training & support  Managing perceived conflicts 8 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Impact  In what ways have these different forms of participation actually helped your company succeed & sustain itself?  Cost savings?  Sales growth?  Improved profit & stock value?  Morale?  Better feeling of connectedness / reduced turnover?  Better health and safety record?  Better corporate citizenship?  Other ways in which people have benefited? 9 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Speed bumps  At what points have you gotten off track?  How, what happened?  How did people respond?  Were you able to turn it around positively, how?  What did you learn? 10 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Recommendations  What are your top recommendations – things you would do now, if you were starting from scratch, or things you wish you could do? 11 June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation

Questions June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation 12

Contact Information Alex Moss Praxis Consulting Group, Inc June 8, 2012VEOC Conference | Participation 13