From the The Employee Ownership Update
Corey Rosen
February 1, 2010

...Another employee ownership company with such a program is Staples, which piloted a program offering free tax preparation for up to the first 500 low-income employees who participated and $30 for those coming after that. The average participants got an additional $522 in tax credits. At the same time they were getting help with their taxes, the providers offered help in explaining other benefit programs they could sign up for, including the 401(k) plan and the employee stock purchase plan, which offered a 15% discount. Staples' employee ownership program is an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP); participation in the Staples ESPP increased 15% as a result of the assistance to low-income employees. Turnover among those who participated dropped 32% compared to those who did not.

For details on programs like the one at Staples, contact John Hoffmire at the Center on Business and Poverty and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business (hoffmire@wisc.edu).