The NASPP Blog

Global stock plan administration is more complex than ever. As more companies venture into foreign jurisdictions, more stock plan administrators become tasked with managing this new and ongoing growth relative to the company’s stock incentive programs. The NASPP recognizes the importance of identifying and understanding global stock plan practices and trends; that’s why, in partnership with PwC, we’re conducting the most comprehensive industry survey on this topic: the NASPP-PwC 2012 Global Equity Incentive Survey.

The last global survey was conducted in 2008 (in partnership with Deloitte), and even back then more than 60% of respondents had at least 2,500 employees based outside of the U.S. That’s a good sized population, and I’m betting those numbers have only increased since then, meaning that understanding global practices is even more important than ever. Back in 2008, non-qualified stock options ranked as the most popular form of stock compensation for employees outside of the U.S.; it will be interesting to see how much the use of Restricted Stock Units has risen in usage since that time.

In 2008, about half of responding companies indicated they make adjustments to the size of grants for their non-U.S. employees. 42% of companies had reported having recharge agreements in place with subsidiaries for stock plan arrangements. Have those trends continued to rise since then? This past year, our 2011 Domestic Stock Plan Administration Survey (in partnership with Deloitte), revealed some domestic trends that were somewhat surprising – for example, a dramatic rise in the use of stock ownership guidelines. Certainly we had expected this trend to continue to penetrate organizations, but the percentage of companies in 2011 (73%, vs. 54% from the prior survey in 2007) that had implemented such guidelines surpassed even our own informal projections. A lot can happen in four years, and we’re expecting to see some new trends on the global front, even some that may surprise us. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to have the full results available at your fingertips.

Time is running out to complete the survey (you must complete it by May 25th,) and, if you are an issuer, you must finish the entire survey to obtain the full results. To help you get started, I reiterate some tips to help submit your survey:

1. Don’t wait until the last minute. This is the industry’s most comprehensive survey; it includes loads of valuable information but it takes a while to complete. Start now, so you have plenty of time.

2. Don’t try to complete the whole survey in one sitting. The survey is divided into seven sections so that you can complete it in several sittings. If you complete just one section at a time, you’ll be done before you know it.

3. Get some help. Ask others at your company to complete the sections related to their responsibilities–everyone at your company will benefit from this data; there’s no reason for you to do all the work.

Incentives

There are benefits to completing the survey. First, as mentioned, you’ll have access to the full results (non-issuers who are NASPP members will also have access since they can’t complete the survey.) Second, you’ll receive a 10% discount on your registration to the 20th Annual NASPP Conference*, to be held this year from October 8-11 in New Orleans. This is a great opportunity (and added incentive) to attend the industry’s premier conference!

I hope I’ve given you enough reasons to click on over to the survey and start it today. I know I personally can’t wait to see the results.

-Jennifer

**The 10% discount applies to the rate in effect at the time you have both completed the survey and registered for the Conference.