Advertising, Marketing & PR
Published: June 23, 2023 | Updated: 23rd June 2023
Arabella Lewis-Smith, Founder and Managing Director of Salad, is not your stereotypical leader – and that’s by design.
“There’s old fashioned leadership which is autocratic – it’s do as I say – whereas my style of leadership, modern leadership, is much more about empathy.”
Bella founded Salad, a creative and digital marketing agency specialising in brand strategy, identity, web design, web development and digital marketing back in 2001.
In 2019, Bella and her fellow director reviewed their plans for the future.
Bella had been planning to build the business and eventually be in a position to sell, but at a certain point she started wondering if that was really what she wanted.
That was when their Finance Director, Andy Brown, said he’d heard about something called an employee ownership trust
When they looked into it they knew immediately it was right for them.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on a strong culture, when we asked for feedback from the staff it was consistently top of the list of great things about working at Salad.
“The worry about selling the business privately was that new owners might kill that culture. So it felt like a selfish decision – yes, I would benefit, but the people who made our business what it is wouldn’t.
“Employee ownership has allowed us to realise some of the value in the business while also benefitting the people I love the most: my colleagues and team members.”
Having taken advice not to spring the change on the team immediately, around a year before making the transition they shared their plans with the Salad team.
“Their natural response was ‘what does this mean for me?’. It was good to have a year to listen to their concerns and worries and reassure them.”
Bella went into it feeling positive, but not completely sure how she’d feel on the other side when she wouldn’t have the final say anymore.
“What’s been really interesting for me is that it turns out ownership doesn’t overly matter to me.
“I still love my job and the business just as much as I always did – if not a little more.
“It feels tighter, and our people have stepped up to being aware of, and contributing to, business decisions.
“I love that. I’m still taking full responsibility but the load is better shared, which is pretty rare as a leader.
“Since transitioning we’ve had two phenomenal years. The questions we keep coming back to are, ’why should the team care, and why should a client care?’. Of course the answers to these questions will vary, but we’ve focussed a lot on thinking through possible opportunities.
“We’ve spent a lot of time on engagement. Trying to ensure that everyone in the team sees the benefits of Employee Ownership.
“That’s translated into us feeling compelled to better integrate our culture through our brand. And we’ve seen the results.
“So now we feel passionate about helping other Employee Ownership organisations do the same – increasing the connection between brands and their customers, through empowerment, education and encouragement of their people
“One really good thing is that our team members now have a deeper sense of what it means to run a business, including a new level of empathy with their clients.”
Salad are not the only employee-owned business in Dorset.
Other examples in the Dorset area which are either partly or fully employee owned are:
Bella concludes: “If you are thinking about going employee-owned or are newly employee-owned, and are concerned about how you embed it into your business, there’s a lot of information out there to help you.
“Speak to the Employee Ownership Association and remember the mantra that ‘communication is key’.
“Employee ownership is a philosophy which I love and want to champion as much as possible.
“Through continuing to champion Employee Ownership, we will be a part of a movement adopting this ownership structure, which we wholeheartedly support. The real win will be a sustainable succession plan and that, when I’m no longer MD, Salad will continue to thrive.”
