Offering employee equity is a gamechanger\u2014it turns employees into owners.<\/p>\n
But employee ownership itself can be quite complicated\u2014or at least it can come with a lot of paperwork and processes. And that\u2019s where a lot of employees start to lose enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
In this article, we\u2019ll talk about<\/p>\n
Suddenly, your employees become the company\u2019s owners. It\u2019s a big change for them. The main difference is mission alignment.<\/p>\n
Employee ownership ties together all of the missions in your company, across all departments, and aligns them toward one common goal. So, it\u2019s important to clearly communicate it.<\/p>\n
Nobody wants a benefit if it\u2019s too complicated. If employees don\u2019t understand what a reward does or what it\u2019s worth, it\u2019s hard to feel rewarded. Besides, some employees might believe that they have to do a lot more work in order to access the reward.<\/p>\n
So, a comms plan should spell out the how, what, when, and why of equity compensation to allow employee-owners to actually feel the benefits so that you can make the most of it and bring out the best in your employees.<\/p>\n
So, communicating your equity plan effectively and convincingly is absolutely mission-critical. But what should be considered in the comms plan?<\/p>\n
An equity compensation plan can vary from company to company, so there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all comms plan. But there\u2019re some basics every employee would want to know. They are:<\/p>\n
A good comms plan should be customizable and address likely questions from employees. After deciding on the elements that need to be communicated, you\u2019ll now need to consider how to talk about them?<\/p>\n
At Global Shares<\/strong>, our dedicated team knows what is involved in designing a communications strategy geared toward you achieving your goal \u2013 maximizing participation in your stock plan. Speak with us today<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t To communicate a plan well, you first need to define objectives \u2013 do you aim to raise awareness, understanding, or appreciation of equity compensation? Then, align your comms strategy with them and refine the elements in the last section.<\/p>\n Other considerations to help you deliver an effective comms plan are to:<\/p>\n To grant an award, there\u2019re usually multiple key dates an employee needs to know. You can plan some communications for each key date or milestone to guide them through step by step. But don\u2019t forget to include some \u2018\u2019equity 101\u2019\u2019 sections to educate them on the basics before introducing the awards.<\/p>\n When making a schedule, think about timing. If you send a communication too far in advance of an event, people might forget. And if you send them too late, then you don\u2019t give anyone a chance to act on the information, or follow up with questions.<\/p>\n Give sufficient notice – Nobody likes surprises<\/p>\n Although we\u2019re trying to communicate something important here, the tone of voice doesn\u2019t need to be strictly formal. The communications can be friendly and still be trustworthy and professional.<\/p>\n Communicating in an inclusive, kind way allows others to feel more psychologically safe, which translates to higher levels of trust (Source:<\/b>\u00a0Gianna Driver<\/u><\/a>, Chief Human Resources Officer, Exaheam)<\/p>\n A single approach doesn\u2019t work because we process information differently \u2013 some prefer to read while some prefer to listen.<\/p>\n It\u2019s ideal to use a variety of channels to reach your employees such as a brochure, company intranet, email, town hall meetings, zoom meetings, well-designed newsletters and videos, and coffee mornings. You should also have regular channels for employees to engage directly with your company\u2019s plan experts.<\/p>\n By engaging with your employees on a personal level, your plan will see a lot more success.<\/p>\n Companies have shifted from in-person presentations to webinars for communicating an equity compensation plan. 63% of the companies used webinars for plan communication in 2020 compared to only 38% in 2017. (Source<\/b>: NASPP 2020<\/a>)<\/p>\n When you\u2019re showing the participants how an equity award works, make sure to explain it all in clear, jargon-free language. Nothing sinks a plan faster than employees not understanding what exactly they\u2019re enrolling in.<\/p>\n You can also utilize different forms of media to educate employees, e.g. using a timeline to explain the entire process from grant issuance to vesting and selling. Check out our ESPP guide which has a timeline illustrating the plan process and tables explaining its features and tax events with examples.<\/p>\n Every great communication has a clear call to action. When your audience is convinced, they want to do something. So, make sure there\u2019s a concrete call to action that tells them exactly what to do next.<\/p>\n A great call-to-action should be along the lines of: \u2018Do it now and do it here,\u2019 with a direct link.<\/p>\n Still not getting a good result? We get it..<\/p>\n Communication is a two-way street. Too often, companies focus on throwing out as much information as they could. But the other side \u2013 what employees think and feel \u2013 is arguably more important.<\/p>\n So, make sure you get feedback from your employees and encourage them to ask questions so that you can improve your communication strategy.<\/p>\n At Global Shares<\/strong>, we\u2019re experts in communicating the benefits of equity plans and employee ownership \u2013 we\u2019ve seen first-hand how they can transform both companies and employees for the past 15 years.<\/p>\n Contact Global Shares to see how we can help transform your employee ownership offering today.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nHow to communicate an equity compensation plan to employees?<\/b><\/h2>\n
1.\tMake a schedule<\/h3>\n
2.\tFind the right tone and communication language<\/h3>\n
3. Diversify communication channels<\/h3>\n
4. Make it clear with examples, charts, and a timeline<\/h3>\n
5.\tPut it into action<\/h3>\n
6. Measure, get feedback, and improve<\/h3>\n