What Is An ESOP and Why Is It Important?

For Our Employee-Owners

Money in your pocket
Better prepared for financial security at the end of your career
100% of contributions are made by the company - it's free money for you!
True sense of pride and ownership in the work you accomplish
Long-term peace of mind for you and your family

For Our Customers

Because of our ESOP, our amazing team members finish the job on-time and on-budget. This saves our customers:

Time
Money
Hassle
Reputation
Brand image

For Whitaker Holdings

An ESOP benefits our company in numerous ways. As a result, our ESOP:

Reduces turnover
Increases productivity
Puts our money back into our employee-owner's pockets
Nurtures loyalty
Builds morale

Our
ESOP
Story

The Whitaker Way

Jim Whitaker, the founder of Whitaker Construction, always wanted his company to be different in the way it treated its employees. He valued the meaning of a team, and he knew that if people are treated fairly and given opportunities to shine, they work harder and have more pride in their work.

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The Numbers Don't Lie

92%

The median household net worth is 92% higher for employee-owners.

33%

Employee-owners have 33% higher median income from wages.

53%

Median job tenure for employee-owners is 53% higher.

2.6x

Employee-owners are more than twice as likely to receive tuition benefits.

50%

50% of the working population is at risk of retiring without enough money to maintain their current standard of living.

We Sweat The Small Stuff

For more than 70 years, we've honored Jim Whitaker's vision to keep Whitaker Holdings' focus on our most valuable assets -- our people. By functioning as an ESOP, our employee-owners are able to benefit directly as a result of their hard work and are able to truly own a part of this company built on the ethics that Jim held so dear.

We sweat the small stuff, because the small stuff allows us to do the big stuff. We work hard, keep our equipment clean and in good repair, smile when others walk by, and create an atmosphere that encourages collaboration and communication. It's all part of The Whitaker Way.

Our ESOP, unlike a publicly-traded company, is evaluated and appraised each year by an independent firm that works closely with our ESOP manager. Each employee-owner has access to view their account via mobile app whenever they would like, although the balance only updates once per year. Click on the image or scan below to get the Principal app:

Each year, we hand out ESOP statements for each employee-owner to review and keep for their own records. Over time, our ESOP outperforms the stock market by a large margin. See the proof below!

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All contributions are entirely made by Whitaker Holdings and begin after you have worked for four months. You never have to contribute a single penny...it's on us!

An ESOP is intended to be a long-term benefit. By operating as a 100% ESOP, we are putting our money where our mouth is and proving to each of our employee-owners that we care about you, both now and in the future. After all, we do Build the Best: People, Communities, Future!

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Jan. 1st

Jul. 1st

After working for four months, employee-owners will be added to the ESOP at either of these dates, depending on when they were hired.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Work hard and earn your paycheck...plus $1,000,000.

With our ESOP, our goal is to make every employee-owner that stays with us for 25 years a millionaire. Of course, this is a goal and not a guarantee, but so far we have been able to see our employee-owners ESOP balances skyrocket. This is due to the pride of ownership and hardwork that is put in on a daily basis. When each one of us succeed, the entire company succeeds, which helps each one of us succeed! It's the ESOP cycle of success!

One challenge that we face in this industry is retaining skilled employee-owners because a different employer or industry may offer an extra dollar or two per hour. It pains us to see these talented and ambitious workers leave, not understanding what they're giving up because of our ESOP structure. Look at it this way: