Taking Ownership: Pool Covers, Inc. Empowers Employees

Believing that “nobody provides service like an owner,” Pool Covers, Inc. implemented an employee stock ownership plan in 1997.

In 2014, original owners Bill and Bonnie Pickens sold their last remaining stock, making the firm 100% employee-owned. Today, Pool Covers Inc. is California’s largest independent cover company, thanks to 40-plus employee-owners who are personally and financially invested in the firm’s success.

To fuel a sense of ownership, the Fairfield, Calif.-based business operates with an open-book policy that allows each and every employee to track revenue and expenses. A bonus program motivates them to meet projected goals.

But such transparency is only helpful if employees actually know how to read income statements and balance sheets. That’s why Pool Covers Inc. puts new hires through a Certified Employee Owner program to give stakeholders the business acumen they need to be valuable contributors. It’s a multistage process wherein newcomers work with mentors to learn financial literacy. The CEO program begins with an overview of bare-bones business principals and ends with an assignment asking students to conceive ways to improve operations or increase revenue. Most ideas center on ways to make money in the off season. (Pumpkin and Christmas tree farms are frequently pitched.) But one suggestion warranted serious consideration.

“One idea was to open our own gas station to save on fuel costs,” recalls Claire King, CEO.

That’s the kind of forward thinking that will go far at Pool Covers Inc.—a company not averse to experimentation.

And, ultimately, the company rises and falls with the decisions employees make each and every day.

“We’re giving people the tools to understand how business works, how their actions effect the bottom line,” King says. “It’s about being able to make good, educated decisions, not just for customers, but for the business, as well.”

Stock in the company proves to be an effective carrot. The average tenure is 10 years — and that’s a conservative estimate, says King, who counts 21 years at Pool Covers Inc. Her husband, Jay King, who is VP of sales, holds the record at 27 years. Many others hover around the 16- to 20-year range.

“I think it benefits our customers that we have employees who have been here for a very long time,” King says. “What we’ve been able to maintain for many, many years is a very good reputation.”