Fostering strong connections with your employees is more challenging than ever, particularly with the increase of remote and hybrid work environments. Organisations with highly engaged employees often perform better, and their success largely depends on how effectively they foster these connections.
While many companies offer various share plans to align ownership with performance, they may face difficulties in overcoming obstacles that contribute to siloed teams, disengagement and diminished productivity.
Knowing how to tackle these issues and cultivate an environment where employees feel connected, supported and engaged on their share ownership journey can be challenging. Let’s look at the importance of having a clear strategy and best practice for spreading awareness of your share plan.
Does a communications strategy really matter?
Your people are your organisation, and they will have different ways of learning and absorbing information. It’s important that they are all represented. Your communications strategy should consider why, how and when you’ll reach your existing participants and potential new participants. It should take your colleagues on a journey, educating and empowering them along the way. You’ll also need to consider what you’re trying to achieve – what are your goals and objectives?
To help them see the value in your share plan, communicate your company vision and values, ensuring that they feel like an important part of the story. Once they’re emotionally invested, they’ll be more inclined to engage with the information they’re receiving.
And when it comes to messaging, put yourself in their shoes by using everyday language. Avoid complicated terms, jargon and abbreviations, as that could confuse or intimidate colleagues. If you have an international element to the share plan, make sure you consider what translations you’ll need, so every colleague receives the same timely information. Meeting everyone’s needs is a key factor in getting that all-important buy-in.
These are just a few elements to consider in your communications approach. Ultimately, with the right strategy in place, you’ll be one step closer to bridging the communication gap.
Staying on the share plan journey
Your communication efforts shouldn’t grind to a halt once your colleagues have enrolled into the share plan. Instead, keep them informed throughout the lifecycle of the plan. You can structure touch points around key events in your calendar – such as general meetings or significant economic changes like inflation rates. The more information they have, the more they’ll feel empowered.
Engaging new starters
New employees will be familiarising themselves with your business first, so joining a share plan may not be top of their priority list. Over time, they’re likely to benefit from information about your company’s vision and values, how the share plan works, and how they can benefit if they choose to invest. This is where targeted or personalised communications based on their roles, interests or locations could be useful to build greater awareness, intrigue and understanding.
A buddy system can help to bridge the gap too, especially in larger or remote organisations. By pairing new employees with someone more experienced or who is already in the share plan, it can help them integrate into the company culture. And by fostering these one-on-one connections, they may be more inclined to engage in the longer-term benefits that your company offers.
Information sharing
One of the easiest ways to demystify your share plan is to run a Q&A session with your share plan team. An “Ask Me Anything’ session with leadership is another informal way to start new conversations and get a deeper understanding behind the ‘why’. It’s a great way to build trust and transparency, engaging employees at all levels of the business. You can do these virtually or in-person depending on the logistics.
Digital solutions such as microsites, e-learning modules and online calculators can keep your online colleagues connected to your share plan. We often use microsites for our clients – a dedicated place for all resources, key updates and share plan details. Colleagues can access it on-demand, empowering them to self-serve and control their own journey.
How Eximia can support you
We’re an award-winning team of share plan and reward specialists, passionate about simplifying the complex. Our focus is on crafting clear, consistent, and accessible communications for both new and existing employee share plans. Whether you’re looking for a tailored communication strategy for a launch or want to dive into the dynamic world of video and animation, we have the expertise and experience to help you achieve success.
Interested in our services? Book your free discovery call to get started!
