Annual & Long-Term Incentive Program Design

Many companies are now adopting or considering long-term incentive plans where value realized by participants is contingent on achievement of specific performance goals, which are often not based on stock-price. While these types of plans provide opportunities to focus management on results that will drive shareholder value, they don’t come without significant risk of unintended consequences. Read the transcript of Roger Brossy and Richard Semler as it appeared in the WorldatWork Society of Certified Professionals Member Chat. Read more

For the last decade, the toughest question many companies faced about long-term compensation was: "How many stock options should we give out, and to whom?" Today, we are in the midst of unprecedented change in every aspect of long-term and stock compensation, and plans and practices need to be examined in light of new accounting rules, increasing shareholder scrutiny, and changing employee attitudes. As U.S. companies review their current stock option or other long-term compensation plans, the tried and true assumptions on what's right or even what works are already problematic at best. Companies need to plan how to adapt now, or evolution is likely to pass them by. Read the entire article (PDF) written by Roger Brossy and Richard Semler. Read more

Explore a number of tried and true solutions as well as creative new solutions for designing an equity incentive program that emphasizes performance and motivates employees through better line-of-sight. Includes a comparative review of various equity incentive structures, encompassing strategic goals and design considerations, tactical considerations, as well as the cost of those solutions. Read more

Momentum is building to require expensing of stock options. Companies cannot afford to merely participate in the debate - they should begin thinking now about how they might change their reward strategies if options become an income statement expense. Read the entire article (PDF) written by Richard Semler. Read more