Indiana Professional Management Group (IPMG) is expanding its employee-ownership model into New Jersey through a partnership with Infinity Today, a support coordination agency serving more than 900 people and families with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The transition will make Infinity Today the first employee-owned support coordination agency in New Jersey and comes as the state expands resources for businesses considering employee ownership.
Employee ownership is moving into another corner of the human services sector as Indiana Professional Management Group prepares to transition New Jersey support coordination agency Infinity Today to a 100% employee-owned structure.
The partnership will bring Infinity Today under IPMG’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), while allowing the organization to retain its existing name, leadership and workforce. Infinity Today supports more than 900 individuals and families navigating New Jersey’s Division of Developmental Disabilities system.
The arrangement is notable for HR leaders because it combines succession planning, employee retention and organizational continuity in a sector where relationships and institutional knowledge can directly affect service delivery.
Founded in 2006, IPMG has developed an employee-owned operating model with more than 500 employee-owners. Rather than acquiring Infinity Today as a conventional outside owner, IPMG is using its ESOP structure to transfer ownership to employees while providing additional organizational and back-office resources.
Infinity Today Executive Director Errol Seltzer will continue leading the organization, and the company says individuals, families, provider partners and community stakeholders will continue working with the same staff and support coordinators.
That continuity is central to the model. In human services, employees often build long-term relationships with the people and families they support. A change in ownership that disrupts staffing or management can therefore have consequences beyond the organization itself.
Employee ownership is increasingly being examined as a tool for addressing that challenge. Research from Rutgers’ Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing has found that ESOP companies can have stronger employee retention outcomes when ownership is combined with supportive workplace practices. One Rutgers research brief found annual voluntary turnover fell from roughly 13% to about 2% in companies combining broad-based employee ownership with supportive and empowering workplace cultures.
Those findings do not mean an ESOP automatically produces better retention. Employee ownership structures vary considerably, and outcomes depend on factors including employee participation, communication, management practices and the financial value of the ownership benefit. But the research suggests ownership can become a meaningful component of a broader employee-experience strategy.
For Infinity Today, the timing also aligns with a policy shift in New Jersey. On September 4, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation expanding state resources for businesses transitioning to employee ownership. The state’s initiative is intended to provide financial assistance, education, feasibility-study support and financing access for companies considering employee ownership.
That creates a potentially more favorable environment for business owners considering ESOPs or other employee-ownership structures as part of succession planning.
Succession is particularly relevant for privately held human services organizations. Owners approaching retirement can face a choice between selling to an outside buyer, transferring leadership internally or pursuing an employee-ownership structure. Each option can affect organizational culture, employees and the continuity of services.
IPMG is positioning its model as another option for owners who want to preserve local leadership and institutional knowledge while providing employees with an ownership stake.
The approach also gives IPMG an opportunity to extend its HR and operational infrastructure beyond Indiana. The organization says its partnership with Infinity Today will provide expanded back-office resources, allowing local leaders and support coordinators to focus more heavily on individuals and families.
For HR teams, that back-office component is important. Employee ownership is not simply a change in how equity is held. It can require new approaches to employee communication, financial education, governance, performance management and workforce engagement.
An ESOP can also become part of a company’s total-rewards strategy. Employees may receive a long-term financial benefit tied to company performance, potentially giving them a stronger connection between organizational success and their own financial interests.
Rutgers research has found that employee ownership is associated with higher job satisfaction, organizational commitment and lower intentions to seek alternative employment in several datasets, although researchers caution that the evidence varies by study and employee-ownership structure.
That makes communication especially important. Employees need to understand how the ESOP works, how ownership is valued, when benefits vest and what the arrangement means for their day-to-day work. Without that education, the theoretical benefits of employee ownership may not translate into stronger engagement.
The Infinity Today transaction also illustrates how employee ownership can intersect with the future of work beyond traditional technology companies. While ESOP discussions frequently focus on manufacturing, professional services and other commercial sectors, human services organizations have a particular incentive to explore models that can support workforce stability.
The broader HRTech ecosystem could play a role here. Employee ownership programs generate workforce data that can be incorporated into compensation, benefits, engagement and retention systems. HR platforms can also help organizations communicate benefits, track eligibility and provide employees with greater visibility into their total rewards.
For service organizations operating under tight labor-market conditions, retaining experienced workers can be especially important. Technology can improve administrative efficiency, but it cannot easily replace the trust and institutional knowledge built between support coordinators, families and community providers.
IPMG’s expansion therefore represents more than an ownership transaction. It demonstrates how succession planning is increasingly being connected with employee experience and workforce strategy.
If the model succeeds, employee ownership could provide Infinity Today with a way to preserve its existing culture while giving workers a direct economic stake in the organization’s future. For other human services agency owners approaching succession, the partnership may also serve as a case study in whether employee ownership can offer an alternative to conventional acquisition.
Market Landscape
Employee ownership is gaining attention as both a succession-planning strategy and an employee-retention tool. New Jersey’s September 2026 legislation adds state-level support for businesses exploring conversions, potentially lowering some of the financial and educational barriers associated with employee ownership.
The model is particularly relevant to privately held service organizations where leadership transitions can threaten institutional knowledge and employee stability.
Research remains nuanced. Rutgers’ employee-ownership research has linked ESOP participation with stronger job satisfaction, organizational commitment and retention in various studies, while also emphasizing that outcomes depend on the broader workplace culture and how ownership is implemented.
For HR leaders, the emerging opportunity is to treat employee ownership as part of a broader workforce strategy rather than simply a financial structure.
Top Insights
- IPMG is bringing its 100% employee-owned model to New Jersey through a partnership with support coordination agency Infinity Today.
- Infinity Today will retain its existing name and leadership while transitioning employees into IPMG’s ESOP structure.
- New Jersey recently expanded state support for businesses exploring employee ownership as a succession and wealth-building strategy.
- Research suggests employee ownership can support retention and engagement when paired with strong communication and employee participation.
- Human services organizations may increasingly consider employee ownership to preserve institutional knowledge and continuity during leadership transitions.
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