I was pleased to be a panellist during Shareworks’ Virtual Share Plan Summit 2020. Our session looked at how companies are adjusting their equity compensation and employee engagement strategies during the current economic climate.
The conversations covered a range of topics under the theme ‘offering equity in troubled times and beyond’. I left with some valuable insights, and had the chance to delve into Eximia’s approach to employee communications.
1. It’s good to talk
Eximia is all about inspiring conversation, so it was great to hear that Spanish on-demand courier service Glovo is doing just that. After the business discovered many of its people didn’t understand the jargon associated with share plans, they delivered ‘back to school’ events, including tutorials and opportunities for employees to have their queries answered. The result? Fantastic feedback and a spike in participants.
2. Timing is everything
No industry has felt the effects of Covid more than travel, and Head of Global Share Plans Matt Connor shared trivago’s story. With its reason for existence halted, the company put survival plans in place, including focusing on local instead of international travel. Another decision was to pause several internal campaigns not deemed appropriate to launch considering they were in the fight of their lives.
A huge amount of work goes into planning, building and promoting initiatives – such as new share purchase schemes – so resisting the temptation to plough on with plans is tough. However, gauging your audience’s mood is a skill all communicators must learn if they want to deliver successful campaigns and avoid an employee backlash.
3. Know your audience
I was delighted to share the employee engagement trends Eximia has seen during the pandemic, including the rise of digital strategies, companies embracing a people-first culture, employees striving for a better work-life balance and accessibility and inclusion being at the heart of communications.
I also explained businesses who want to not just survive in 2021, but thrive, need to better understand their audiences. This includes giving employees the opportunity to provide regular feedback on what communication channels work for them and what content they want to engage with. Annual communications audits are great, but you still need regular pulse surveys to adjust your strategy throughout the year. When you truly know your people, you can create bespoke share plan communication plans that drive real, positive change.
If you like the idea of improving your share plan communications for greater employee engagement, book your free discovery call to chat through your current challenges.
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