As you know, this year’s NASPP Conference is completely sold out! It’s a first for the NASPP. Luckily, this year not only can you purchase the audio online with the course materials; you can even choose how much of the Conference you would like to receive! Of course you won’t want to miss out on any of the spectacular sessions we have for this year, but if your budget is limited, you can opt for a single-session or five-session package. If you order before the Conference, you will receive a 10% discount off the standard pricing!

Barbara Baksa, Robyn Shutak, and I will be hosting a timely session on encouraging ESPP participation in a down market. Now is the perfect time to get your employees excited about your company’s ESPP program! In the spirit of that, I’d like to offer you my top five ways you could be drumming up participation for your ESPP, but probably aren’t.

Tip #1: Put notices in employee paystubs.

This is a great way to reach all employees, especially those that do not spend time at a computer and won’t be able to access your more technology-driven approaches to ESPP communications. Congratulate those that are participating in the ESPP, announce your open enrollment, or distribute an FAQ.

Tip #2: Get managers involved in your enrollment campaign.

Circle the wagons and get all your managers on a unified message! Provide managers with talking points and require them to spend time with the employees on their team promoting your ESPP program.

Tip #3: Create employee focus groups to test new communications strategies.

Your ESPP campaign is a marketing campaign; why not treat it like one? As you brainstorm ideas, get focus groups of employees from different segments of your employee population together and run your ideas past them. This is especially helpful when trying to explain your ESPP to employees and offers you a perfect opportunity for feedback in a personal and dynamic setting.

Tip #4: Publish or record short interviews with ESPP participants.

You have employees who are excited about the ESPP, who understand it and value it. Let them tell their peers in their own words why they participate, how long they’ve held their stock from ESPP purchases, what they’ve done with their sale proceeds, or how the return from the ESPP compares to their other investments. Once you have enough interviews, put together a short advertisement with an inspiring soundtrack with a clip from each interview!

Tip #5: Get creative – Blog it!

I’m sure you know that we’re a fan of blogging here at the NASPP. Don’t be shy; you can get out there and blog, too! You can include questions you get from employees, participation increases you are excited about, announce when purchases are complete, and include quotes from happy participants.

Want more? This is just the tip of the iceberg on all we have in store for you at our session, Leveraging Your ESPP in a Down Market. We also have great supplemental materials for this session including a second slide deck on communicating your ESPP to your employees. I’m really excited to get my hands on the final Conference materials this year! Almost all of our sessions include supplemental information you can’t get anywhere else–like sample documents, extended outlines, additional slide decks, checklists, and articles. If you made the cut-off and you’ve already registered, I’ll see you in San Francisco!

-Rachel