SSG wins CWCF award for democratic and inclusive approach to worker compensation

In 2021, after years of collaborating on climate action projects, whatIf? Technologies and SSG decided to merge into one organization. While both our worker-owned businesses shared a strong commitment to fair compensation, our approaches to paying workers and their salaries differed significantly. Our process for resolving our differences reflected the cooperative principles and we are honored that the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation (CWCF) felt our approach was worthy of recognition.

In November, the CWCF honoured us with their Best Practices Award for the democratic and inclusive approach we took to develop our compensation package. Our process was intensive, involving a working group with employees from both organizations, an external consultant, benchmarking and research, and extensive worker engagement.

The Worker Co-op Balancing Act

Worker compensation is not just a line expense for our co-op, it is a stark example of the tension between individual needs and collective well-being that we navigate as a worker-owned business. Like other consulting companies, salaries are our largest expense; however, as a worker co-op, we must weigh the importance of fair compensation against the financial health and long-term viability of the cooperative.

To address this challenge, we took a collaborative approach. We formed a working group to assess the facts, think through scenarios of different compensation packages, and test assumptions. We also brought in GIA Consulting Co-op, a consultancy that specializes in operational and governance support, to offer an objective perspective. GIA helped us benchmark our compensation package against other worker co-ops and the broader market.

A Collaborative Approach

Most importantly, the process involved extensive member engagement, including one-on-one interviews, surveys, and multiple all-member meetings. Here, our experience with public engagement from our climate planning work helped shape a process that enabled us to meaningfully integrate input we received from workers. This led to a final product that workers could understand and live with, if not fully support.

We couldn’t have asked for a better “cherry on top” than to be recognized by our peers in the worker co-op movement. Receiving this beautiful trophy—crafted from recycled glass by the Old Town Glassworks co-op—felt especially meaningful. We know that this is an ongoing process and that we will continue to refine and revisit our worker total rewards package. This makes it all the more special to be celebrated by those who truly understand the complexities we face as a worker-owned enterprise.