Houston, TX, April 7, 2008 - HCSS was one of three recipients of the Innovations in Employee Ownership Award, administered jointly by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) and the Beyster Institute (BI). HCSS President, Mike Rydin, accepted the award Thursday, April 3 during their 2008 Employee Ownership Conference in Chicago, IL.
HCSS has been an employee-owned company since 1998. At that time, Rydin sold 25 percent of the company to the employees via an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) with the idea of getting HCSS employees to think and act like owners. HCSS now has a three-tier approach to employee ownership with annual cash profit sharing, Stock Appreciation Rights (SARS), and ESOP. Through these tools employees are rewarded financially for the positive impact they have on the company and are able to see how their work affects company performance. For the past 10 years, employees have received substantial profit sharing, both in cash and ESOP stock.
“Having ownership in HCSS is a constant source of motivation for me not only in my specific job, but in any area that will help our company grow,” said Blake Driskill, who has worked at HCSS since 1998. “Knowing that my co-workers are also owners means that we all have a shared interest in working together for the benefit of HCSS.”
The Innovations in Employee Ownership Award (the "Innovations Award") is an annual award recognizing creative ideas that help make employee ownership stronger, and publicizing those ideas so others can learn from them.
This is the latest in a series of honors from the business community. HCSS was published in several of the Houston Business Journal’s lists, including Top Software Development Companies, Technology Employers and Houston Fast 100. HCSS was also named #6 in the Best Companies to Work for in Texas, which was published in the February 2008 issue of Texas Monthly magazine.
About HCSS
Founded in 1986, HCSS develops estimating, field entry, dispatching, and related software for the heavy/highway/utility construction industry. In addition to high quality software, HCSS provides implementation planning, training, and instant 24/7 support. Thousands of contractors rely on HCSS to turn their estimators, foremen, superintendents, dispatchers, project managers, and equipment managers into knowledge workers via software, implementation planning, and training.
