ImpactAlpha Features WORC’S CEO, Ellen G. Frank-Miller, PhD On The Power of Workers

“[Private equity firms] see the returns-generating power of making jobs better all the way down the org chart.”

— Ellen G. Frank-Miller, PhD, WORC

WORC’s Founder and CEO, Ellen G. Frank-Miller, PhD, was featured on ImpactAlpha on May 23, 2024. The article, “Blackstone’s embrace of employee ownership signals a shift in private equity – and in the power of workers”, by Roodgally Senatus, says that Blackstone will grant equity shares to most workers at its next U.S. private equity purchase.

Read an excerpt:

Employee ownership has emerged as a key strategy for improving business performance and retaining workers, especially in this challenging labor market. The embrace of shared ownership by another large private equity firm “suggests they see the returns-generating power of making jobs better all the way down the org chart,” Ellen G. Frank-Miller, PhD of Workforce & Organizational Research Center, or WORC, tells ImpactAlpha. 

Last week WORC released a study highlighting an increased emphasis on value creation through human capital management at TPG, Blackrock and other private equity firms.

Shared ownership isn’t a magic wand, she warns. “Without improving lower-level jobs in ways that generate the kinds of above-and-beyond behaviors that drive returns, PE firms leave money on the table.”

Read the full ImpactAlpha article here.