Marketing company Wolfgang Digital is to move its business to an employee ownership trust (EOT) model, giving staff ownership of the business.
Best known as the structure used by British retailer John Lewis, the EOT model sees workers share in the profits - and decision-making processes - of their employer.
While many other companies in the UK - as well as Australia, Canada and US - have already introduced this model, Wolfgang Digital says it is the first to do so in Ireland.
"Our big bet is that, as their relationship with their workplace changes from renter to owner, performance in work improves and the business grows in strength," said Alan Coleman, CEO of Wolfgang Digital.
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The newly-formed 'Wolfgang Talent Trust' will acquire 25% of the business today - while a portion of its future profits will be used to acquire further shares in the coming years.
It is hoped the trust will become majority owner of the business within the next decade.
Employees will become partners in the trust once they are there for at least a year, and will receive a profit share every three months.
"That's going to be paid as a percentage of their basic salary, so it's really transparent, really regular," said Mr Coleman. "This is an increase - this is a pay rise for people."
However the structure is about more than rewards, as it also puts a responsibility on staff regarding the future direction of the business.
"The board of directors still has a fiduciary duty - they're still in charge of the day-to-day running," he said.
"But we now have a new body and a new voice who has influence within the company. Every team has elected their representatives; the representatives can take their insights, their ideas to any decision-maker in the business," he explained.
But while the trust model gives staff a stake, they will automatically lose that if they leave the company.
Mr Coleman said it was a "naked in, naked out" system - meaning staff do not pay to acquire a stake, and are not paid when they give it back.
He said the new structure also makes the company far less attractive to potential acquisitors, however he believed this was for the best.
"We've been swatting away offers for over a decade - now we'll have less offers to swat away because we've become less attractive to them," he said. "If you take the responsibility for the work and the rewards for the work, and you move it further away from the work, I believe the work gets worse.
"We're moving that closer to the work and I believe, inevitably, the work gets better."
Mr Coleman said that Ireland's tax system is currently unfavourable to EOTs, meaning they will face a higher tax bill than a traditional ownership model.
He said he believed this would be more than made up for by the benefits, however he also hoped that the system here would adapt to make the structure more attractive.
"The tax is quite punative - you'd need to be quite optimistic to do it right now," he said. "We will pay more tax on selling in to our employees than we would have paid if we sold out to a multinational.
"I'm optimistic that the Irish Government will see that this is better for all of the stakeholders in the business and will legislate to incentivise entrepreuers to sell into their employees - and not sell out to multinationals."
The UK introduced EOT legislation a decade ago, following a review by independent advisor Graeme Nuttall.
Mr Nuttall worked with Wolfgang Digital in its move to the EOT structure and has been appointed independent chairperson of the Wolfgang Talent Trust.
