If you want to motivate your employees, few tactics are as effective as giving them an equity stake in your company. But for employees to fully benefit, they need to understand how the plan works, how much their equity could be worth and how equity grants can help them achieve their life goals – information that’s hard to share in a dense document or highly technical presentation.
Here is a five-step plan to help your company create regular conversations and high-impact learning around equity.
Step 1
DEFINE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCES
By creating a unique equity strategy for different groups within your company, you can engage a larger swath of your workforce.
Know your Audience:
- Everyone
- C-Suite
- Global Employees
- Younger Employees
- Employees nearing retirement
Step 2
GET EVERYONE INVOLVED
Sometimes you need a little help from some friends. Get the entire organization involved in communicating key plan information and benefits.
Key Stakeholders:
- Human Resources
- Internal communications
- Compliance
- Influential leaders
- Key managers
Step 3
SEIZE EVERY OPPORTUNITY
It’s important to share plan milestones once in a while, but having more regular conversations about equity can help your employees understand the value of their stock plan and get more from it.
Potential Equity Plan Milestones:
- Plan launch
- Enrollment dates
- New grant issues
- Vesting schedules
- Proxy season
Different Ways to communicate:
- Intranet postings
- Company-wide emails
- Town halls
- Offsite training
- Performance reviews
- Internal quarterly updates
Step 4
MAKE IT EASY TO ACCESS EQUITY INFORMATION
Your workforce absorbs information differently. You should communicate across various internal channels so people can engage with plan materials in the way that works best for them.
Webinars
Self-serve portals (Intranets)
Email Campaigns
Step 5
MEASURE YOUR RESULTS AND REFINE YOUR STRATEGY
Your communication goals will determine the message you'll emphasize. Here are some examples of how to tailor a message to your goals:
Increase plan enrollment TACTIC
Clearly explain the benefits of enrolling and the potential cost of missing out.
Increase participant engagement TACTIC
Use the Shareworks mobile app so your participants can engage with their equity shares on their time.
Improve plan understanding TACTIC
Clearly deliver key facts about your plan and the value it can provide. Make it relatable to your participants by thinking about what matters to them the most.
Employee retention TACTIC
Make the connection between the company’s equity plan, its culture and an employee’s total compensation.
Still need a Shareworks Academy account?
Reach out to your Relationship Manager.
About the Author
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