How I hire the best executives and employees using equity

As an executive in the field, my goal is to hire the best talent to fill open roles at my organization. And over the years, what I've noticed is the talent pool really is fierce. To attract top talent, our talent strategy must stand out. For executives, senior management and key management personnel, that means offering a competitive executive compensation package, with equity as a key component. And for all levels of employees, an ESPP is a must. Both are a great way to attain your business goals and objectives while keeping you a competitive force in the employer market.

As mentioned, each of these share plan schemes targets different levels of employees. An executive compensation package is usually geared to upper-level management while an ESPP is available to all employees no matter their position held at your company.

An executive compensation plan typically includes share options or share awards being granted to executives, senior management, and key management personnel once certain tenure requirements or performance metrics are attained. Because this type of compensation is attractive to potential employees, you're likely to see increased productivity and performance achieving goals faster and with greater results. According to our most recent research, the proportion of equity in executive remuneration varies by industry. For example, 42% of companies in the healthcare industry offer executive equity. Understanding what's common practice in your industry can help drive the right executive compensation packages and therefore increase the chances of potential employees wanting to work for your company.

An ESPP is a broad-based share plan allowing employees to purchase shares, typically at a discounted rate, through after-tax payroll deductions. ESPP matching ratios can play a role in overall employees' participation rates in its ESPP. Our research provides data on different matching ratios and how that affects the participation rate. For example, those companies who offer a 2:1 matching ratio tend to see between 40-50% employee participation. Creating a sense of ownership while encouraging regular savings, offering an ESPP builds an employee-centric, high-performing culture where employees who participate are more motivated to work harder and foster greater loyalty.

While I've shared some important data and key points with you above, the truth is there's so much more. Our research and analysis of share plan schemes across Asia provides details on the growing share plan trends across companies in different industries and of different sizes and scale. I'd be happy to discuss this further with you or, download our latest report giving you greater insight into the trends of today and how it can help your talent strategy.