This business model, which runs alongside traditional work organisation, seems to be on the right track. Globally, members of cooperatives represent at least 12% of humanity, the International Cooperative Alliance tells us.
David Dorez, founding member of La Chope Angus, a craft microbrewery employing 27 people, introduces his co-op as a human-scale company that wants to be close to residents of the Rosemont neighborhood of Montreal.
Taking advantage of a break after a visual inspection of the tanks, Mr. Dorez passionately explains the adventure he has been living with his colleagues for the past year, while the pandemic crippled the economy and tested the most solid companies.
The word inter-cooperation often crops up in his speech. Our brewery is part of the neighborhood, right in the middle of where it is, he likes to repeat.
The cooperative is also a business that comes with its difficulties.
Our challenge is to combine the aspects of a traditional company with those of a social economy, notes Mr. Dorez. The issue is also linked to democratic management within the cooperative. The most important decisions are the responsibility of all members, unlike in an SME, where the boss can decide everything alone in his office.
“The cooperative is a different lever for entrepreneurship than the AG model. »
— A quote from David Dorez, founding member of the La Chope Angus cooperative
However, he admits that he and his colleagues have benefited from a lot of support. In addition to the Réseau Coop du Québec, the other cooperatives were also there, each with their own expertise.
Things are looking good, according to Mr. Dorez, who plans to increase the number of employees before the summer.
The cooperative that survives its founders
Molotov, a communications agency founded 15 years ago that claims to promote social, environmental, cultural, local and ethical initiatives, is among the companies that have helped La Chope Angus through the collaboration.
Nicolas Bonnet, General Coordinator, Molotov
Photo: Radio Canada / Karim Ouadia
Here, too, we advocate know-how, democracy and camaraderie as values and a recipe for success.
Its general coordinator, Nicolas Bonnet, is quick to explain that none of the founding members are currently on the agency’s staff list. Several teams have followed one another over time.
“It’s the magic of the cooperative formula, structured around the people, that makes it work. »
— A quote from Nicolas Bonnet, General Coordinator, Molotov
The cooperative’s breakthrough difficulties are more or less similar to those of a traditional company, explains Mr. Bonnet. It’s about looking for the markets and positioning yourself in your field of activity. We don’t get a gift, he emphasizes.
The task of the cooperative is also to ensure good working conditions for its members. But it also needs to offer accessible services to its customers, who don’t always have big budgets. […] Our results may be lower than those of a standard company, adds Nicolas Bonnet.
“The challenge is to generate enough revenue to be able to offer good salaries to all colleagues, while offering services at reasonable prices. »
— A quote from Nicolas Bonnet, General Coordinator, Molotov
The cooperative is present in all sectors. Engineering is no exception. This is the case of ALTE, which has been on the market for five years and defines itself as an actor of change, an accessible, co-creating company while optimizing the social and environmental impact of the projects submitted.
Frédéric Léveillé-Guillemette, responsible for energy efficiency and life cycle analysis, ALTE
Photo: Radio Canada / Karim Ouadia
Several engineers have come together to practice their profession in line with their values, a choice that has been embraced from the start.
It wasn’t a path like any other, it really was the path we wanted to take. This corresponds to the values we wanted for the company, such as interoperability and fair distribution, replies Frédéric Léveillé-Guillemette, cooperative member and responsible for energy efficiency and life cycle analysis at ALTE.
The choice of the cooperative model also corresponds to the desire to give the company more resilience.
“We didn’t want an executive at the company to completely change direction overnight. We have social values and we stick to them. »
— A quote from Frédéric Léveillé-Guillemette, responsible for energy efficiency and life cycle analysis, ALTE
This is the right model for us, adds Mr. Léveillé-Guillemette. When it comes to important decisions, everyone works together. This helped us during the pandemic where we had to put some projects on hold to get through the crisis. […] We were not at the mercy of a boss to make decisions for us.
A strong tradition in Quebec
The cooperative is nothing new in Quebec, recalls Rafael Ziegler, associate professor in HEC Montreal’s Department of Management.
Quebec has more than 3,000 well-established cooperatives in various sectors of activity, which accounts for about 14.5% of the province’s GDP, he says.
Rafael Ziegler, Associate Professor, Department of Management, HEC Montreal
Photo: Radio Canada / Karim Ouadia
However, Mr. Ziegler specifies that there are different types of cooperatives, from the smallest to the most well-known in terms of size, such as the Mouvement Desjardins in the financial sector or in the agricultural sector. But the majority, he says, are small cooperatives.
What distinguishes this association of cooperatives, according to the cooperative economic system, is a philosophy that consists in meeting a need by counting on the solidarity of the members of this cooperative.
He cites the example of Mouvement Desjardins, which initially tried to make the financial system more accessible to French-speaking Quebecers.
The 5 types of cooperatives
- work cooperative
- Shareholder workers cooperative
- consumer cooperative
- producer cooperative
- solidarity cooperative
Viable and reliable
Cooperatives are resilient in crisis situations. Here we understand the importance of mutual aid, confirms Mr. Ziegler.
Mathilde Linossier, coordinator for communication and club life at Réseau COOP du Québec, talks about a viable model that is in no way inferior to traditional business.
According to a study conducted in 2022 by the Quebec Council for Cooperation and Mutuality (CQCM) and 2020 by Cooperatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC), the 5-year survival rate of traditional businesses is 35%. For worker cooperatives it rises to 56%. And it is 84% of them that between 2019 and 2020 kept all their members or increased the number of members, the study specifies.
Mathilde Linossier, Communications and Community Life Coordinator, Réseau COOP du Québec
Photo: Radio Canada / Karim Ouadia
Ms Linossier is quite proud to point out that the coops that have followed her network’s Parcours COOP program have a survival rate of 74%.
We need to debunk the myths, she says.
We may think that a workers’ cooperative is less professional or that it doesn’t make much money. However, we have cooperatives that operate in very innovative sectors, such as architecture, engineering, consultancy services, Ms Linossier points out.
“These are very solid companies with very profitable business plans. »
— A quote from Mathilde Linossier, Communications and Community Life Coordinator, Réseau COOP du Québec
On average, worker cooperatives have 13 employees (ie more than 74% of companies with 9 employees or fewer) and nearly $1 million in sales. In addition, 25 to 30 worker cooperatives are created every year, the model has real potential, we explain to the Quebec COOP network.
Conversion and transfer for the future viability of the company
In Canada, many family businesses operate in a context where baby boomers are being encouraged to retire to enjoy their retirement. And some of them will not have successors.
Converting the company into an employee-run cooperative then appears to be an interesting option. In Quebec we know 200, says Mr. Ziegler.
The Center de transfert d’entreprise du Québec (CTEQ) estimates that by 2025, 34,000 entrepreneurs intend to sell their business; Transfer intentions have doubled between 2021 and 2022.
This business model, based on job safety and member welfare, can be very attractive and could even be a trend, concludes Professor Ziegler.
But why isn’t such an attractive model more present in the province’s economic fabric?
In terms of their structure, cooperatives are not companies that spend a large budget on marketing, counters Professor Ziegler.
For him there is no doubt that this business model will last, but he wonders if cooperatives will influence companies to become more social and local.