Answering Questions, Speaking, and Consulting

Whether or not you are a member, if you have a question about membership, publications, meetings, or services, email us at customerservice@nceo.org or call us at 510-208-1300.

Answering Technical Questions

One of the benefits of NCEO membership is that you can call or email us any time with any question about any aspect of employee ownership. Usually, we know the answer because the question has been asked before. (In fact, we offer the ESOP Q&A, an online database of over 500 questions and answers on the topic.) If we do not know the answer, we contact people who are experts in that field and get back to you.

We get a lot of calls and emails from members, but not enough. Calling us can save you a lot of heartache. We have seen so many situations where we were called too late, and heard so many more from professional consultants, that we assembled some of these into the books Don't Do That (for ESOPs) and If I'd Only Known That (for equity compensation).

Not all our calls are about technical issues. Many people want to know how other companies get employees more involved. In some cases, people have gone to some lengths to design a survey, set up a work team, or create a communications process without ever talking to anyone else first. After problems arise, they call us, and we point them to materials, advisors, or other companies who have already invented these wheels.

Not a member yet? You can go ahead and join, or contact us to see whether membership would be worthwhile in your case.

Who to Contact

For general information and questions, email us at customerservice@nceo.org or call us at 510-208-1300. For detailed technical questions, you may wish to contact Loren Rodgers by email at LRodgers@nceo.org or by phone at 510-208-1307, or Corey Rosen by email at CRosen@nceo.org or by phone at 510-208-1314.

Our speakers (profiled here) tailor their presentations to the needs and interests of each audience. They can effectively reach a wide array of audiences, including business, academic, and governmental groups, both large and small. They have spoken to the following audiences:

• University audiences and student groups (see the video on our page with speaker profiles)
• Company meetings for employees and executives
• Representatives from domestic and international government agencies and business groups both in the U.S. and elsewhere
• Conferences for expert professionals in the field of employee ownership and compensation
• Social entrepreneurship and socially responsible investment organizations
• Trade shows and conferences

Representative topics include, but are not limited to:

• History and Broad Overview of Employee Ownership in the United States
• Ownership Culture and Communication Issues in Employee-Owned Companies
• Effective Employee Ownership: Principles and Best Practices
• Research highlights
• Succession planning
• Advantages and Disadvantages of ESOPs or Equity Compensation Plans
• Employee Ownership as Public Policy

We also have conducted training programs on specific technical and ownership culture issues, both live and in Webinars. If you would like someone to speak on a different subject, let us know.

Who to Contact

Contact Loren Rodgers by email at LRodgers@nceo.org or by phone at 510-208-1307, or Corey Rosen by email at CRosen@nceo.org or by phone at 510-208-1314. Travel reimbursement and an honorarium are required.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership and research organization, not a consulting firm, and we do not provide long-term consulting. Neither do we set up plans or provide any legal, accounting, or other professional services. We can help you find such advisors, however: of our thousands of members, hundreds are service providers who provide a wide variety of services, and many of them are listed in the Referral Service in the members-only area of this site.

Having stated that, we do provide limited consulting services for both companies considering employee ownership and those that already have plans. We also can assist professional consultants with some topics. Consulting can cover topics such as:

• Helping to assess employee ownership alternatives
• Explaining how employee ownership plans work to managers, owners, directors, and/or employees
• Speaking to employee groups (see the section on speaking on the left)
• Advising on ownership culture issues and other considerations in helping an employee ownership plan work effectively

We also can conduct specific one-day training programs for inside fiduciaries or ESOP committees.

Consultation can be arranged on an hourly basis over the phone, live one-way or two-way video via Skype (the software and video connection are free), or in person. Engagements can be as short as a one-hour phone conference or as long as a one-day in-person meeting. Contact us for pricing.

For profiles of available staff, see our page with consultant biographies and a video of Corey Rosen.

Who to Contact

Contact Loren Rodgers by email at LRodgers@nceo.org or by phone at 510-208-1307, or Corey Rosen by email at CRosen@nceo.org or by phone at 510-208-1314.