"It’s not enough to say you want to increase awareness. Be as specific as possible and make your goal measurable."
As with any strategic endeavor, determining the objectives of a communications plan is vitally important, and yet most people skip this step and go straight to a tactical brainstorm. It’s easy to get so carried away with all the cool ways to communicate your plan that you lose sight of your objectives. And considering that stock plan administration often involves cross-functional teams – you might be collaborating with payroll, legal, HR and even the executive suite – articulating a clear goal and gaining consensus throughout your organization is essential.
Start by determining what channels, not to mention resources, are available to you. First of all, do you have a communications team you can consult with? Since equity compensation is a specialized topic, your in-house communicators may not be comfortable taking complete responsibility for your comms plan, but suggesting a collaboration is a nice place to start. For our purposes, we're going to assume you are going it alone since that's the case for most of our clients.
So, where do you start? Make a list of all the communications channels that already exist at your company. Your list should include a mix of face-to-face, print and online channels. Realize that every medium has its pros and cons. For example, posters and tent cards might be great for creating buzz around the office, but they’re not the right media for conveying the finer (read: legal) details. That information is best communicated in a plan booklet that’s permanently available on a shared drive or company intranet. And don’t think that email is the solution. Though it’s fine for a quick alert, it’s not practical to have your employees sifting through their in-boxes searching for answers to their ESPP questions. Keep your foundational documents in an accessible location. This has the added advantage of making them easier to maintain.
If this scenario sounds familiar, read on. We'll take you through communications planning 101.
The ESPP is a Section-423 qualified plan with a 15% discount, and it has some of the sweetest benefits that an ESPP can have, so you know plan design is not to blame. Of course, you sent an email and posted an intranet article when the plan was implemented. And you think the ESPP information sheet you prepared for new hires is getting read, but staff changes and a dispersed employee base make it tough to track the effectiveness of your communications.
With all the consistent effort it takes to run a plan well, never mind promote it, uptake in your plan has a way of slipping. Imagine one morning you receive an email from your VP of HR. She’s concerned about the fact that your company’s ESPP enrollment is down 20% since last year, and she feels that poor employee communications are to blame, and the results from the recent employee engagement survey confirm the hunch. She's asked you to come up with a plan to rev up plan participation because, after all, the company is taking an expense for the plan regardless.
Whom are you speaking to? If you’re tackling widespread disengagement, your answer is likely “everybody.” So everyone can get the same email, right? Not necessarily. Take the time to segment your audience, especially if your company has disparate employee groups. Do your field staff on the rig have the same audience attributes as mid-level managers at HQ?
Step 1: Take stock of your channels
Step 5: Craft your strategies and tactics
Write one clear, key message for each audience you’ve identified. For example, let’s say you’ve determined that knowledge of the plan is low among your line managers and they’re not comfortable talking about the ESPP with their staff. Your key message might be, “Our equity compensation plan is a benefit that you should encourage your staff to learn more about.” Your supporting points may include the benefits offered by your ESPP – a 15% discount on stock, simple payroll deductions and the ability to decrease contributions at any time. If you feel that your employees are finding the ESPP complex, a key message might be, “Participating in the ESPP is easy and intuitive,” and your supporting points might include the simple steps to enroll and exercise.
Tender offer (n)
A company-wide, broad-based and controlled liquidity event open to all employees deemed eligible by the company.
Step 2: Identify your goals
Step 3: Know your audience
Step 4: Craft a message for each audience
But if your participation problem is more localized – say uptake is low in a certain geography or among your Gen Y staff – that answers your audience question. Audience specificity is key to developing appropriate tactics. It’s important to understand this diversity of thinking, but also the different information needs these groups have so that you can provide the most meaningful, relevant information to each segment.
It’s not enough to say you want to increase awareness. Be as specific as possible and make your goal measurable. The goal of your equity compensation plan may have a productivity or retention target, but it’s likely that your communications plan will have a participation or enrollment target. For example, if you’re running a Stocktoberfest re-engagement campaign, you may set a goal to achieve a 15% increase within 60 days of the campaign.
You’ve done your homework and created a plan with short-, mid-, and long-term strategies. You’re proud of your phased, multi-channel approach.
Strategy: Create buzz with a Stocktoberfest campaign
Developing your key messages is an essential part of the planning process. They’re not necessarily the exact words you’re going to use in your posters, emails and speaking points, but you will use them as a guide as you develop those tactics. That’s where the fun begins!
Email
Intranet
Videos
Social media
Instant messages
Re-engagement events
Team meetings
Town hall meetings
New hire packages
Onboarding programs
Online
Offline
Boxout on Standard Bank's GEO award
Tactics
Ensure all foundational materials are up-to-date prior to the awareness campaign launch. Review Intranet page, plan booklet, new hire onboarding presentation, to ensure information is correct.
Obtain approval for an ESPP enrollment drive with a Stocktoberfest theme; apply for budget approval if necessary. Present your goal to increase enrollment by 10% the 0-5 year tenure group and 5% overall.
Write an article for the newsletter or internal social network all about #Stocktoberfest – a celebration of the company’s stock compensation program. Your theme is, “Our stock plan is worth celebrating!” Invite staff to rediscover the plan they thought they knew. Keep technical information to a minimum. Include information about the staff events. Use Stocktoberfest logos and characters for visual interest.
Interview an employee who has made great use of the ESPP and post the story on the employee social network (e.g. Yammer, Tibbr) or the intranet. Encourage employees to join in and share their stock plan story, whether they used the ESPP to help pay for a trip to Disneyland, a Vera Wang wedding dress, their children’s little league fees… you name it!
Work with facilities to book a room and catering for an internal staff party in each major office.
Write 5-10 trivia questions about the ESPP and how it works.
Write a message for the CEO to deliver.
Print Stocktobefest banner through third-party printer.
Order door prizes, such as Stocktoberfest steins.
Hurrah!
Stock!
Foundational pieces
Staff event
Digital communications
Once a year is not enough
It's been reported time and again that people are not saving enough for retirement. Headlines such as these can make stock plan professionals cringe, especially when seen in the context of low ESPP participation rates. No one likes to see money left on the table. Themes like Stocktoberfest can help create an annual enrollment drive, but the truth is that you also need an "always on" campaign. For assistance with your plan communication and promotion,
Partnering with the Shareworks team can help you reach your communications goals faster and more effectively. US clients can take advantage of an array of specialized services designed to engage and excite your participants, resulting in greater interest in your equity programs and improved understanding of these valuable benefits. Fill your communications toolbox with custom videos, webinars or in-person training, creative marketing materials, participant engagement surveys, and much more to draw your participants in and keep them wanting more.
We've got your back
GET IN TOUCH
Ensure all foundational materials are up-to-date prior to the awareness campaign launch. Review Intranet page, plan booklet, new hire onboarding presentation, to ensure information is correct.
Obtain approval for an ESPP enrollment drive with a Stocktoberfest theme; apply for budget approval if necessary. Present your goal to increase enrollment by 10% the 0-5 year tenure group and 5% overall.
get in touch with us today.