Time to Hit the ESOP Committee Reset Button?
Is your ESOP Committee stuck in neutral? Are your company’s Committee members struggling to engage employees as owners or make the most of October’s ESOP Month? If that’s happening – and it does, even for the most successful teams – it’s time for you to “hit the reset button”. Explore practical ways to “unstick” your ESOP Committee in this article. Click here to read the full article.
Changing up ESOP annual meetings at D-C Elevator
“We’ve changed it up quite a bit over the years,” says Renny Ross, HR Manager at D-C Elevator Company, Inc. “When we started doing them, ten years ago, we really needed to cover the nuts and bolts and the basics. We wanted people to understand how paying down debt mattered for our success.” These days the company’s ESOP communication needs are different but Ross says that the in-person annual meetings are still an extremely important part of connecting with ESOP participants. Click here to read the full article.
Holding an annual meeting when you cannot meet
“We created the ESOP to attract and, more importantly, retain talent so that we can meet the ongoing needs of our clients. By running part of our annual communication by webinar, we were able to connect with our professionals who work at client sites in 18 different states and 11 countries,” explains Dolores Connolly, CEO of Sterling Engineering. Click here to read the full text of the article.
President-Elect Trump: Seize the Ownership Solution
Last week, the Wall Street Journal editorial page urged President-elect Donald Trump to liquidate his business holdings to avoid being “accused of a pecuniary motive [...]
Communicate the Deeper Meaning of a New ESOP
A collective gasp filled the room when employees heard Bernie and Pam Veldman announce last January that — after careful consideration — Dienen Inc. was being sold to new owners. The room was bursting with mixed emotions: fear of the future, sadness, confusion, and shock. Employees of this South Bend, Indiana, company fell silent for a few moments, then mustered a smattering of uncomfortable applause. Click here to read the full article
Seeing the Power of a Dollar
Employees see things differently when they understand the line of sight between job level actions and company results. Actions at a job level that save a few dollars, improve efficiency, collect invoices a bit faster, or attract future customers are powerful building blocks in growing ESOP rewards. Shared ownership through an ESOP can only be engaging if employees can see and understand their own connection. This article outlines steps ESOP-owned companies can take to make those connections. Click here to read the full article.
Multi-location ESOPs can learn from Pokémon launch
This month the creators of the Pokémon Go smartphone game inspired millions of people all over the world to hunt for imaginary creatures and treasure. Given their success, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) leaders and communication committees with multiple locations may want to consider how the game creators were able to generate engagement and excitement even though none of the users share a geographic location. Click here to read the full article.
Winners Quit
NFL Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi, countless parents and untold rubber-chicken-circuit motivational speakers have lectured us that “quitters never win and winners never quit.” Quite the contrary. As Dave Fitz-Gerald, Janet Edmunson and I shared during the “Putting Yourself Out There” panel at the ESOP Association’s 39th Annual Washington, DC, conference: Winners quit all the time. Click here to read the full article.
Factors in ESOP Committee Success at Robin Industries
The ESOP Communication Committee at Robin Industries started their first year with a bang! Sometimes ESOP committees struggle for years to get activities going. What’s the secret to getting a committee launched with energy and purpose? It is not one secret but instead a combination of factors. Click here to read the full article.
ESOP Account Projections: The Third Rail of ESOP Communications?
Some people believe in making projections about future ESOP account balances. Others see them as the proverbial “subway third rail” of ESOP communications; something to never be touched (i.e., stay away unless you want the equivalent of fiduciary electrocution). A recent encounter with a successful ESOP company illustrated a dilemma of sharing ESOP account projections. Click here to read the full article.
ESOP Ownership, the Meow Solution
We strolled past a brick wall, turned a sharp corner and the glowing, green eyes twenty-feet away stared at me. Atop a four-foot high stack [...]
Can you bribe people to act like owners?
“Eat your vegetables and you can have dessert.” The purpose of this well-known incentive is pretty clear. The incentive, or bribe, inspires short-term compliance but it does not engender any internal motivation or understanding about the big picture. Is this how short-term financial incentives, bonus programs, and recognition are supposed to work in an ESOP-owned company? Is it about compliance or should it be something different? Click Here to read the entire article.
