The Importance of Communication When Implementing Global Share Plans

Abstract

More and more companies have implemented globally standardized share plans. From 2008 on, Siemens has offered an equity portfolio for all employees across the globe. Today, more than 148,000 employees are part of the Equity Culture, following an overall positive trend. However, on a local level, participation rates are sometimes declining. A likely explanation for this trend is a lack of effective local communication measures. A possibility to halt the downward trend can be an effective internal communication strategy on a regularly basis, using the limited available budget and facing local conditions. The Siemens case introduces a process designed to tackle these challenges using a localized communication strategy. In the first place, the “Equity Culture Enhancement Project” targets equity awareness using local and target group–oriented communication to establish a global and sustainable Equity Culture. Effective monitoring revealed that employee awareness and plan participation were successfully increased by the chosen communication strategy, which is the first step to increase participation and Equity Culture in share plans in the long run.