Introduction
Transition by Design has been a workers co-op for over 10 years and with the recent Mutual Economy Report indicating that cooperatives are on the rise we wanted to share more about what being a worker co-op means to us.
So we’ll begin with a definition. A worker’s cooperative is a membership based organisation where workers collectively own the business they work in and make decisions democratically – essentially you are your own boss. Under capitalism workers are exploited so that bosses make bigger profits and accumulate wealth, however, a workers co-op’s main function is to provide the best possible working conditions for it’s members. This can look different depending on what is important to members, from paid overtime to generous parental leave, shorter working hours or better pensions. This can be defined by the members, who have control over how the business is run.
Within the UK there are over 9,000 worker co-ops, who have a combined income of over £165 billion and employ more than 1.3 million people1. This article aims to celebrate the cooperative governance model and highlight its benefits to anyone who’s interested or would just like to better understand how we work. The following headings reflect the seven internationally agreed principles that every cooperative must apply in their work.
1. Voluntary and open membership
The basis of all cooperatives is owning the means of production. This means there are no shareholders, no external owners, no bosses – just collective ownership. To do this workers need to become members. After three months of joining T/D as an employee, you are given the opportunity to become a member. We actively encourage people to become members so they have ownership over their own work and can shape the direction of the organisation. But it is not compulsory and we have had instances where people choose to remain as an employee, ultimately you have autonomy over the way you want to work. If someone does become a member, we provide them with training on democratic decision making, how our governance structure works and other core areas (see section 5). We believe that our cooperative is stronger with lots of different perspectives but how do we ensure all these perspectives are heard?
2. Democratic member control
Our answer is to organise using sociocracy. Sociocracy is essentially where teams self-manage in different areas called ‘circles’ that have autonomy to make decisions, at T/D for instance we have an Architecture circle and a Research circle among others. This means people within these circles develop that part of the business, without needing to involve everyone else. Certain roles also have autonomy to make decisions within their area of responsibility. Anything that affects the whole cooperative is decided democratically with the entire membership. We take into account different perspectives and as a collective we work out the best way forward. As workers.coop succinctly states, “worker cooperatives succeed when all members participate in transparent, fair decision making; but also where members are given delegated authority to act on behalf of the collective”2.
While this process can sometimes take longer, we believe the outcomes are better and more inclusive. The Mutual Economy Report highlights that cooperatives are more likely to promote gender equality and inclusivity, with 76% of co-op members reporting a strong sense of belonging. At T/D we also encourage our members to continually reflect on their positionality in the world and how different systems of oppression benefit or disadvantage them. It is our intention to create a more equitable workplace by proactively addressing these structural power dynamics.
3. Member economic participation
Member economic participation doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue but it is a very important principle in a coop. It means that members democratically control the finances of the organisation and decide how to use any surplus (profits) they make. Some cooperatives use this as bonuses for workers, others reinvest this money into the community. The Mutual Economy Report shows that cooperatives are more likely to reinvest profits into their workforce and communities, with 86% of co-ops reporting a focus on social and environmental impact.
By participating in the finances of a co-op, members can agree a pay and benefits structure and ensure any profits are distributed equitably between members. The Mutual Economy Report notes that cooperatives are more likely to adopt fair wage policies, with 70% of co-ops reporting pay ratios of less than 5:1 between the highest and lowest earners. At T/D we have a transparent pay structure, which we have altered several times and are due to be revising this again in the summer of 2025. We are continually developing the way we run the cooperative to be as radical as possible, and we hope to share a follow up piece on our transparent pay structure later this year.
4. Autonomy and independence
As a cooperative we have to maintain our autonomy and not heavily rely upon any one source of income. Cooperatives are 2.5 times more likely to survive their first five years compared to traditional businesses3. This is most likely because members collectively navigate any financial difficulties they come across, rather than taking a ‘hiring and firing’ approach of typical businesses.
It is important to have good financial controls in place, forecasting income streams and working to mitigate any risks. At T/D we have a finance circle and a robust financial management plan in place which is reviewed every quarter. We developed this with support from organisations like Cooperatives UK and the Cooperative Bank and we are now supporting new coops to set-up. Within our model specifically we are a CIC and a non-profit meaning we can access funding streams. We tend to have a blend of private client based work and research projects to mean we can, at times, offer our services pro-bono or at a significantly reduced rate to grassroots Oxford community organisations.
5. Education, training and information
When we are financially planning we also make sure we have enough provision for a generous member training budget. When I joined the cooperative, it was a steep learning curve to understand how to actually run an organisation, where in previous jobs I had a very narrow set of responsibilities. We want to make sure that our members become multi-skilled so they can meaningfully participate in the development of the cooperative. At T/D we provide members with training in sociocracy, conflict-resolution, leadership, technical qualifications like becoming a Passivhaus Designer, financial planning and other areas. While we have some compulsory training topics, members can decide what areas they want to develop into.
6. Cooperation among cooperatives
This principle is the key to working as a cooperative under capitalism. In order to outperform businesses operating for profit and exploitation we have to build a thriving mutual economy where we work together locally, regionally and internationally. As a coop you should always trade with other cooperatives whenever possible. We have found that sometimes cooperatives will choose to engage a private company with the lowest quote rather than engage us or another cooperative in their work. There will always be companies that can undercut a cooperative because ultimately they are not prioritising good and fair working conditions. We know this can be hard to enact in times of increasing financial instability but by supporting one another and broadening your networks these difficulties can be overcome. An example of successful cooperative networks is Mondragon in the Basque region of Spain, which is made up of 90 employee-owned companies and cooperatives in the finance, industrial, retail and knowledge sectors.
We would really encourage any social and environmental purpose organisation to consider becoming a cooperative, that way your business model will be actively aligned with your values. There is so much power in cooperative networks, with co-ops collaborating to share resources, knowledge, and best practices, strengthening the wider cooperative movement.
7. Concern for community
Last but by no means least is concern for the community. Cooperatives should be connected to their communities through the work that they do, minimising environmental impact, building ethical supply chains, engaging communities with cooperative principles in mind and have a positive social impact. Transition by Design is heavily rooted in Oxford and we are well connected to community groups across the city as well as local activists focusing on housing and social justice. Our aim as an organisation is to enable a socially and environmentally just transition to a sustainable and convivial future. We want to be a known and trusted organisation within Oxford, where we support and contribute to our community.
Conclusion
There are so many benefits of being a workers cooperative and we want to celebrate all of the organisations that have cooperated and collaborated over the years. Worker coops are resilient, inclusive and collaborative and at their core are the values of equity, democracy and solidarity. If you are considering becoming a coop or want to find out more we would recommend looking at the International Cooperative Alliance, Co-operatives UK, and the Democracy at Work Institute.
We love being a coop and really we are only just getting started. But what we can say is that the way we work has fundamentally been shaped by becoming a cooperative. Our approach is community-oriented, inclusive and collaborative and we believe that this combined with good design and research can solve multifaceted challenges and improve the world we live in.
- Mutual Economy Report ↩︎
- Workers Co-op Code ↩︎
- Mutual Economy Report ↩︎
