Success stems from a culture that values and rewards its employees. It might sound contrary to the adage “the customer comes first,” but putting employees first leads to an environment of trust, respect and empowerment that is passed on to the customer. And what better way to build mutual trust than to let employees share in a company’s financial success?

This is a value Windover Construction, a Massachusetts-based construction management firm, recently put to the test. When CEO Lee Dellicker began succession planning, he wanted to ensure the company he helped grow had a clear plan in place and its existing culture would be safeguarded for future generations of leadership.

After diligent research, the choice to create an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) became clear. Employees have always been empowered to act like owners at Windover Construction, so it was a transition that made sense.

However, culture cannot be manufactured after such a major shift. An ESOP doesn’t create a thriving company culture, it merely reinforces an ownership mentality among employees. Windover’s culture has translated into success and client loyalty and the transition to an ESOP improved its already strong culture.

But it didn’t happen overnight. The company planned well in advance and educated leadership on the process. In fact, its first conversations on ESOP began five years before the ESOP became official. For companies that are considering implementing an effective ESOP conversion, following are a few tips.

1. Communicate Constantly

Communication is a pillar of strong company culture. Develop both internal and external communication plans so messaging to employees and clients/partners is consistent.

Employees need to know where to turn for answers to their questions or concerns. Host an internal presentation from leadership—an all-hands meeting—so every employee is hearing the same message at the same time. Don’t overload them with information; keep it simple. Have a take-away resource for employees following the meeting such as a one-pager on how this transition impacts them. Establish an open-door policy among leadership so employees can come to them for questions later.

2. Don’t disclose until you close

While it’s important to have key members of leadership involved in transition planning, employees should not know about the change until it’s official. The fewer people who know, the better. It’s not because leadership is keeping secrets from employees, but because they need to prepare messaging and education ahead of time. And then leadership needs to share the news all at once with the entire organization.

3. Create an employee ESOP committee

Once the ownership has officially transferred, a good way to keep the lines of communication open is to establish an in-house ESOP committee filled with employees at all levels. For a company such as Windover Construction that values all employees, it’s important that everyone be heard. The committee should meet quarterly and bring employee issues, concerns and recommendations to the Trustee and Board of Directors.

Windover Construction completed its conversion to ESOP in December 2017 to mark its 10th anniversary. The ESOP news has empowered employees at every level to play a larger role in the organization’s future. Employees now have a direct stake in the company’s growth and success, which will net benefits for years to come. Windover Construction no longer has 90 employees, it has 90 owners.