The NASPP Blog

Last week I discussed the importance of including your ESPP in the communications to employees on how their stock compensation is impacted by a merger or acquisition. This week I take a look at how to ensure that your communications to employees are effective.

First, how will you deliver your communications? Be sure you consider your audience; the same communication method may not work for all employees at your organization.

• Small group meetings (my favorite): Face-to-face communication is the most effective way to reach employees. Smaller groups help create closer bonds and put employees at ease to speak their minds. Consider using posters placed in highly visible areas of your company, such as the cafeteria or near walkways and elevators, to spread the word about these informative meetings and ask managers to encourage their teams to attend.
• Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s): Written communications are very effective because they are permanent and you can be sure that your message won’t change as it goes out. As a participant in our M&A program, you will have access to a bank of common M&A FAQ type equity questions together with sample responses.
• Intranet site: Making use of your company’s intranet can enable you to put invaluable information online and regularly update it. This can be especially important if your employees are geographically dispersed. An intranet site can be useful, for example, to publish recorded presentations.
• Leverage your managers: Consider communicating important information to your managers before other employees. Managers can help you relay messages to their team.

Second, determine whether you need to allot additional resources to communicate some of the considerable changes happening at your organization.

Third, don’t forget that even positive change can backfire if it’s poorly communicated to employees. Avoid withholding information from employees to the extent possible.

Fourth, timing is critical. Your communications need to arrive in time to make a difference.

Fifth, send regular updates informing people about any changes to your prior communications, but only send information when you have something new to say.

I can’t say it enough, effective internal communications during a business combination is vital. The communication strategy you follow during this time can mean the difference between an employee who decides to ride out the upcoming days and months of uncertainty or not. An effective communication strategy also decreases your own workload by proactively addressing employee questions and reducing the inquiries you need to respond to.

There is the strong possibility that mergers and acquisitions will increase later in the year; it is a mistake to assume you are immune to this trend. You don’t want to wait until you are in the middle of a deal before finding out how your stock plans are impacted. Your participation in our program, Tackling Equity Compensation Issues Related to Mergers & Acquisitions, will ensure you are poised to address the issues that come up when this time arrives. Early bird registration for this program was extended to Friday, February 20th; register now so you don’t miss your last opportunity to save $100 on this program.

-Robyn