Congratulations from ifs ProShare to all those companies who have won one of our 2009 awards or who have been commended. You should be proud of your achievement in demonstrating best practice in the employee share plans arena.
With a clear link to company strategy BG Group impressed the judges with their imaginative approach to using SIP Free Shares as a discretionary alternative within a flexible benefits programme. Communication was key to the success of this plan and included presentations and Benefit Fairs. The latter helped employees understand the programme and enabled them to decide on the elements of the benefits package best suited to their individual needs. 82% of employees chose to accept Free Shares as part of their flexible benefits package.
A strong communication programme for their SAYE plan led to this commendation. With 2,599 eligible employees the sheer scale of presenting to over 92% of them was no mean feat. Success was demonstrated by a take-up approaching 60%.
With the backing of the CEO this SAYE plan aligned with one of the company’s core values of ‘thinking and acting like owners’. After careful consideration they decided SAYE was the best fit to meet their objectives. Country Business Heads introduced sessions in each jurisdiction demonstrating real commitment at a senior level. The judges felt this was a tremendous effort by a smaller company to go the extra mile and with high take-up levels was clearly a success.
The introduction of a global all-employee CSOP to compensate employees for reduced cash awards at a time when the share price was low led the judges to commend this entry. With no employees opting out a subsequent employee survey showed 84% of employees were happy with their award.
This category attracted a significant number of entries from the large multi national companies with BAE Systems coming out on top. The level of compliance work undertaken to enable free shares to be awarded to their global workforce was truly amazing. Simple and uncomplicated were two of the words used by the judges to describe how BAE Systems have created global employee shareholders. With three different administrators ease of participation for employees was provided by IVR or online applications which led to high take-up levels across the globe.
This entry showed a real desire to overcome obstacles. With Diageo’s unique concept of administering their share plans in-house the smooth and effective operation of their international share plan made this entry stand out. 39% of eligible international employees now participate in at least one Sharesave plan.
With a comprehensive range of communication materials and tools the judges described this entry as a highly professional communication programme displaying a great amount of imagination and fun. Impressing the judges was the Olympic ‘Go for Gold’ theme used for the 2009 SAYE invitation which will mature in 2012. A party was also held to celebrate the fifth birthday of their ‘Buy as you Earn’ plan leading to increased interest in the plan.
A communication strategy designed to meet the needs of employees saw an impressive take-up of 39% for this SAYE launch. Considering the economic climate and the make-up of their workforce this was a great achievement. Senior managers were used as ‘champions’ demonstrating to employees their commitment to the plan. Good use was made of their own Employee Communications Team to draw on their experiences of communicating with a diverse workforce.
ASDA have retained the title they won last year. A ‘back to basics’ approach lifted this entry above other contenders in this heavily contested category. Rebranding of internal communications this year added further complexity and the need to create a fresh SAYE identity. Using professional copywriters was key to ensuring that the copy was spot-on and easy to understand by all colleagues. Segmentation led to tailored brochures which also used a ‘thought bubble’ concept to look at the end goal of joining SAYE. ASDA has an embedded culture of cascading information via People Managers giving the launch the personal touch. An increase of 20% in take-up is testament to the success of this communication campaign and 50% of ASDA colleagues are now a member of the SAYE scheme.
This entry caught the judges’ attention with the ‘Powering your Investment’ strapline. Communicating both SAYE and SIP simultaneously and using less words and more examples led to impressive increases in take-up with the judges saying this was ‘a great example of re-branding kick-starting interest in the plans’. Employee surveys featured in this entry alongside radio broadcasts for their mobile employees.
Vodafone are always strong in this area and employee involvement plays a big part in the design of documentation. The ‘Not just for a rainy day’ campaign led to an increase in take-up for SAYE. Impressive use of SMS texting, two-way communication channels on the intranet and a share plan blog all led to the judges awarding Vodafone this commendation.
A small company with an impressive link between employee share ownership and business which is building to become an employee owned company. Now in its fourteenth year Sharesave is clearly supported by the Board. As this is a mature plan particular emphasis is placed on new joiners at the time of invitation with the Finance Director taking the time to speak with staff. Black Sheep Brewery is an unquoted company with an impressive 80% of employees holding shares. Low turnover rates are evidenced by 48 of the original 54 option holders still being employed when the 2006 SAYE matured earlier this year.
Having won this award last year BT fought off fierce competition in a very strong category to retain their crown. Ahead of a change to their plan rules and with a falling share price BT decided on a Monday to launch Sharesave and invited over 100,000 employees on the Friday! The speed of the launch to so many employees was quoted as being ‘frankly staggering’ by the judges. Without effective use of technology this would not have been achievable. Always looking for ways to improve, e-tax vouchers for SIP cash dividends were introduced and hosted securely on the intranet and saved the company mailing 55,000 employees. E-contract notes for share sales saved mailing to a further 3,500 employees. Innovation is very much business as usual for BT.
Technology was used to good effect in splitting employees into 54 different segments and using Digital Variable Print (DVP) to tailor brochures to individuals. DVP was also used to re-brand documentation for the RAC population. Advanced e-mail tracking technology, a social networking site and a post-launch electronic survey for feedback made Aviva worthy of a commendation and shows they are truly forward thinking.
The judges had no hesitation in awarding Henderson Global Investors winners for the second year running. 'The sheer breadth of information accessible to employees is awesome' is how one judge described this entry. A wide range of external providers are used to harness expertise in particular areas and a raft of communication methods are used including presentations and one to one sessions. Their financial education programme is fully integrated within the organisation and continues to grow from strength to strength and sets the standard for others to follow.
Completing the hat trick this evening, Henderson Global Investors once again walk away with this award. ‘A fantastic example of how a company can engender employee share ownership’ was how they described this entry. Both small and large companies could learn much from their approach. Prudent share ownership is an integral part of their financial education programme and ensures employees are aware of the risks. Imaginative communication campaigns fully engage employees who are at the heart of everything Henderson Global Investors do.
The linkage of their SIP to KPIs was seen as innovative by the judges. Severn Trent’s Board of Directors are fully supportive and believe that the link to KPI’s has been key to improved employee engagement and the significant business results achieved to date. Free shares under the SIP are supported by an annual invitation under the company’s sharesave plan, now in its twentieth year. With a clear link to corporate objectives, impressive communication methods backed up by weekly e-mails from the CEO re-in force the KPI message and the high levels of take-up. Severn Trent can feel justifiably proud of what they have achieved.
An enthusiastic entry from a new entrant. Employee share ownership is a key aspect of company culture and embedded into the fabric of the organisation. Used as a motivational tool employee share ownership is used to good effect. Relatively new to all-employee share plans SThree is likely to be contending for this award in future years.
Backed by the CEO, Tesco know the importance of their people and have designed their share plans accordingly. Share plans have been offered to employees since 1981 when the first Sharesave invitation took place. Innovation is clear throughout the entry from obtaining HMRC approval to automatically register new employees for free shares to seeking endorsement of the plans from the Muslim Council of Great Britain with a view to providing assurance to Muslim colleagues. As the UK’s largest private sector employer communication is tailored to suit the needs of workforce with applications being made online or via IVR and more recently by text for SAYE. High take-up, given the employee profile, is evident across all the share plans with over 207,000 UK employees holding shares in the company through the employee share plans and over 39,000 employees holding shares in certificated form.
Another high class entry from BT who won this award last year. A recent annual survey showed that over two thirds of employees felt that owning BT shares made them more interested in BT’s performance and less than one third would sell all their shares on maturity. Around 2.9% of BT’s equity is in a corporate nominee set up to accommodate employee shareholdings arising from share plans. Once again excellent use was made of technology and communications with employees.
Over many years National Grid have kept with their philosophy of employee share ownership. Despite dramatic corporate change employees remain extremely engaged with the share plans as evidenced by the high levels of take-up and consistently low voluntary staff turnover of 0.5%.Employee feedback is important to National Grid and internal Share Scheme Co-ordinators meet twice a year to consider employees’ views. Employee share ownership is considered to be an integral part of the company’s success with 6,026 (57%) employees holding an average of 715 shares in the company outside of the share plans.
