Katrina MacKay is chair of the Employee Forum at Scott & Fyfe, the next host company of our Successful Succession series, which takes place on September 30th at their facility in Tayport, Fife.

Here, Katrina explains what employee ownership means for her company.

I love my job and working for Scott & Fyfe.  It is rewarding being part of a company that has such a rich history, with a global reputation for quality and innovation.

Scott & Fyfe 06Yes, we operate in a challenging market and we are constantly looking at how we can be one step ahead in anticipating and meeting our customers’ needs.

When we were told about the move to employee ownership two years ago, I have to confess I didn’t have much of a clue as to what it meant – and I think that’s true of almost all of my colleagues.  We did suspect something was afoot.  I guess like most workplaces, you can sense when changes are imminent.

We were all issued with boarding cards, indicating we were going on a journey.  The announcement of the change in ownership was followed up by a series of workshops that explained more fully what employee ownership is, and what it would mean for Scott & Fyfe.

A specially designed website, Tayport Works, explained the mechanics of the new structure more fully.

The biggest concern in the minds of employees was that the family would close the business, or sell to an overseas company.  Scott & Fyfe is such an iconic company in this local area that this would have been bad news.

Scott & Fyfe is a family business in the widest sense; we all felt part of the family.  As well as the employment going, we would have lost that team spirit that makes going to work worthwhile.

For me, the most positive outcome of employee ownership is that our future is secured in a stable business structure that will allow us to prosper and grow.

I’m thrilled we’re part of the CDS Successful Succession campaign. It will be a pleasure to tell our story and show people around our site.  We are still on the first stages of our journey, but I’m convinced employee ownership was the right move for Scott & Fyfe.

The event on September 30th is an opportunity for us to show other businesses what can be achieved.