Data & Research May 17, 2011

Education is Critical in Equity Compensation Plans

A UBS Survey found that a large majority of equity compensation participants feel strongly that a comprehensive understanding of their plan will help them reach a secure retirement.  
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In its Participant Service Survey, UBS found that more than 94% of 9,000 respondents said education was critical for them to fully understand how stock plan assets fit into their overall financial situation. From these findings, UBS concluded that companies and service providers must play an active role in educating participants about their equity compensation benefits.

“Equity compensation plans can be complicated and can represent a considerable concentration of a person’s wealth. Therefore it is key for participants to fully understand how their plan works.” said Jim Hausmann, Managing Director, and Head of Corporate, Institutional and Middle Markets. “When you educate participants about the value of their awards and the role they play in their overall financial situation, plan sponsors maximize the corporate investment in their equity compensation program.”

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In Practice May 17, 2011

Social Media Should Be Conversational

Financial research firm, kasina, asserts that financial services companies who interact with customers online have a winning social media strategy.  
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In researching financial services firms’ social media strategies, kasina found that what distinguishes top firms is their “willingness to listen to and engage with audiences, integrate social media sites, and develop novel, useful, and varied content.”

What this means is having an actual conversation with people, says Julia Binder, Senior Research Analyst at kasina. Financial services firms that are considered to have a successful social media presence “post questions that are seasonal (perhaps related to taxes, holidays, the academy awards, whatever is in the news), they’re engaging, they get comments, and then they respond; they keep a conversation going,” she says.   

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Most firms are using social media to repurpose content, Binder says; content such as a manager’s commentary or a news release, or to announce a speaking engagement, “but it’s not really thought-provoking content or something that invites a response from a reader.”   

The best social media strategies “develop a persona” for each of the social media sites, says Binder. A Facebook presence is different from a Twitter presence or LinkedIn; Facebook is better situated for a conversation, whereas Twitter is intended to swap ideas or news. Binder points out that developing a Facebook or Twitter persona is often a company-wide effort; employees from human resources, sales, marketing, and public relations, should all pitch in. “Usually there is a ‘community manager’ to initiate the conversation,” and keep a coherent tone, she says.

kasina also believes that companies that have adopted social media strategies in these early stages will start to see a return on investment in the next one to two years. “Users who are able to engage with companies on social sites are more likely to share that info with others; they feel better served by the company; and eventually purchase its products. What’s there to lose?” Binder says, adding that it’s a similar investment to brand and reputation management.

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