The Flood Company adopted an open-book management approach when the ESOP was established in 1993. But symptoms of trouble were quickly spotted. "Gordon Anthony, then the Executive VP at Flood and since retired, knew his financial reports at company meetings were over when the third person fell asleep," recalls Bill Gradisher, a Technical Service Representative at Flood. Anthony realized there was a yawning gap in knowledge, so to speak.

Established to promote employee involvement in the firm's prosperity, the ESOP is part of a long history of growth at the company. Current company president Peter Flood represents the fourth generation of family leadership at the Hudson-based firm. Founded in 1841, the Flood Company manufactures paint additives, clear wood finishes, and wood care products for industrial, commercial, and consumer applications.

Anthony sought to close the 'yawning' knowledge gap by linking Flood's TQM and ESOP philosophy together, through financial education. He began to research workplace-based financial education programs at the same time the OEOC launched the "Teaching Financials to Employee Owners" train-the-trainer workshop program.

Anthony and Bill Gradisher attended the pilot train-the-trainer workshop in 1994. Though equipped with a business degree, Bill was selected because of his communication skills and personality to co-teach the sessions. "I deal with customers all day," says Bill, "so, I know how to communicate complex technical information and deal with peoples' confusions and concerns. My wife says I missed my true calling as a teacher."

Together, Gradisher and Anthony, cooked up a two-day "Understanding Financial Reports" class for all Flood Company employees which began in January of 1995 by customizing an electronic version of the OEOC's basic format.

Their goal is to educate employees about what they really need to know. Why is my bonus twice as high this year compared to last year? How can I affect the numbers? The instructor tips included in the OEOC's Teacher's Manual were a big help in their course design. Classes involve no more than 20 participants in 12 hours of instruction over a two-day period, with an extra 2-3 hours for discussion.

The Shareholder's Equity portion of the balance sheet is the hardest concept for people to grasp; cash flow and contra-equity are challenging topics too. Games, like Jeopardy, work well to promote learning.

Since Anthony retired, Gradisher partners with Cheryl Baldwin, Accounting Assistant/Head of Payroll, to offer the classes as an orientation for new employees and refreshers for others. Baldwin has brought her own creativity into the teaching of complex ESOP stock transaction concepts. Participants represent individual shares and literally walk through the processes of ESOP stock contribution and allocation.

Interaction is a key ingredient. All Flood employees have been encouraged to participate in the classes, managers and production workers together, which produces tremendous interaction and learning. As Gradisher explained, "people loosen up by lunch on the first day."

"I felt that financial training was a Necessary Evil," commented a participant, "but I was pleasantly surprised with this informative seminar." Others liked the way the course was taught, moving from an uncomplicated version of the basics to the more complicated Flood Company version. Many employees learned that business financials were not as complicated as they appeared to be.

"We try to plant the seeds -- that financials can be interesting and fun," recounts Gradisher, "we teach the basics so everyone can continue to learn on their own." He sees participants leave the class with a clearer understanding that they are truly a part of The Flood Company.

What is the most obvious result? People display a higher level of attention and interest during financial reporting sessions since the classes began. "Financial information is presented more frequently now," notes Gradisher, "people ask much better questions, and their questions are aimed at a higher level; they really want to know what they can do to make a difference."

Overall the company is applying the same principles of long-term investment to building an employee ownership culture at Flood as it has used in building a very successful customer service culture over the past 100-plus years. Continual education, support, and innovation are key. Like Flood's free product sample program (the first in its industry), "800" services, and customer-oriented operations staff, a similar spirit is at work supporting the growth of the employee ownership culture through interlinking goals and projects.

One recent project of Flood's Pride and Ownership Committee is an Ownership Culture survey to benchmark the progress towards cultural change. The survey, a pilot project of Ohio's Employee-Owned Network during 1996, measures teamwork, trust, communications, commitment, and cultural aspects of employee ownership.

"Benchmarking is important to us," explains Mike McEnroe, Flood's Product Manager and an ESOP Trustee and advisor to the Pride and Ownership Committee which organized the survey project at Flood, "this survey shows that we are doing well in many respects. Our goal is to survey ourselves again in about 18 months. We hope to see greater involvement and improvement in some areas."