How the long-standing relationship and the diversity of services that BDO offers convinced Enersol
Development of a new governance and tool for indirect employee ownership
What are your short and long-term goals?
Marc : “Our main objective in both the short and long term is to increase retention among our employees, both white- and blue-collar workers.
Another goal we have, and one that has always been clear to our long-term partners, is that our employees should contribute to the value of the company, through their work and their involvement. This is both with regard to the environment as well as on social and economic levels. It therefore seemed obvious and logical to invite our colleagues to become Enersol shareholders.”
What challenges are you currently facing?
Marc : “There are many challenges we face, because the energy sector has historically always been very volatile, as has the renewables sector. Such volatility and, as a consequence, large fluctuations in demand are characteristics that are inherent to our market. Furthermore, as is the case in many sectors, finding the right skills at the right time remains a constant challenge. That's why we are investing more and more heavily in internal training, thereby strengthening our commitment to employee retention, while offering them the opportunity to become company shareholders.
We are also facing increasingly fierce competition, competitors who are understandably attracted by a fast-growing market - that of zero-carbon solutions. Even if there are calmer periods, such as the one we are currently experiencing, characterised by higher interest rates and low grid energy costs, it is vital to have an experienced team capable of adapting to the fluctuations in the market. This is one of the other advantages that pushed us to offer our colleagues the opportunity to become shareholders of Enersol.”
What project did you work on in collaboration with BDO?
Marc : “Throughout the years, we’ve worked with BDO on many projects. The two most recent ones have been one that focused on the development of our governance model (new statutes, shareholders’ agreements, etc.) and another that focused on the launch of “Part-Ener” , which allows our colleagues to become indirect shareholders in Enersol. On this last project, all the legal, tax, social and financial aspects were carried out with the support of the BDO experts.”
What was the objective? ?
Marc : “Our objective was to encourage as many colleagues as possible to join the Part-Ener structure, which holds part of Enersol’s capital. In the first year, we achieved a conversion rate of around 60%, which really exceeded our own expectations. During the first round in June 2023, no less than 58 employees signed up. We obviously hope to see this rate increase over the years. Each year, eligible colleagues will have the opportunity to subscribe to Part-Ener and therefore become indirect shareholders in Enersol.”
Why did you choose BDO? Did you consider another competitor? If so, what convinced you to choose BDO?
Marc : “We have a long-standing relationship with BDO and we had already worked with them on the Enersol governance model between 2019 and 2020. We were already familiar with the different parties involved in the legal, tax, social and financial aspects. What was clear from our very first discussions was the high level of mutual awareness, and the fact that BDO had all the skills needed for this project under one roof. These two elements were decisive factors behind our choice.”
How did the collaboration go? What were the different project phases?
Marc : “Very early on, there was an initial phase, as soon as the new model had been developed, where we explored the possibility of sharing the capital. That was back in 2019. Between 2019 and 2020, with a dedicated mixed project team (BDO-Enersol), we revisited in depth the various documents (agreements, statutes, conventions) that govern our Enersol governance model. From the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, we started to develop the first models and concepts linked to the creation of Part-Ener internally.
It soon became clear that we would need BDO's expertise once again to bring this project to fruition. They supported us in all the essential aspects of setting up this tool. Including the constitution for Part-Ener, the valuation methods, the practical aspects of transferring shares (sale and purchase of Part-Ener shares), and the process for repeating this operation annually for new eligible colleagues.”
What is the most important thing that you took away from our collaboration?
Marc : “BDO was always there to follow up when necessary to make sure we met our deadlines. They also had the necessary in-house expertise to advise us at each stage of the project.”
What aspect did you like the most?
Marc : “BDO’s ability to adapt to our structure, which has an atypical form of governance and operation that strongly favours participative decision-making. They also proved to be very flexible during the various stages of the project.”
What were the results achieved? Can these results be seen throughout the organisation?
Marc : “The structure was effectively launched in June 2023, with the first subscriptions happening at that time. As mentioned previously, we achieved a conversion rate of around 60% with 58 employees who are now company shareholders. We also set up a participatory body representing the workforce, both employees and workers, to enrich the long-standing partners’ and management’s vision.”
Were you satisfied with the results?
Marc : “Yes, the results lived up to our expectations. We hope to further improve this conversion rate in the future, but we will be patient.”
How would you describe our collaboration in three words?
Marc : “Expertise, perseverance, vision.”
Do you have anything else to add?
Marc : “Receiving help and support from experts that are all working ‘under the same roof’ in order to deal with these complex issues is quite simply essential for success.”
