5 Ways to Use Communication Channels to Increase ESPP Enrollment

Employee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP) enrollment is generally higher in Canada than in the U.S. due to how the plans are structured. But until your company reaches 100% enrollment, there is still room for improvement. You can use your organization's existing communication channels to increase ESPP enrollment and help reach your participation goals.

1. Communicate and educate

The more your employees know and understand the benefits of your plan, the more likely it is they will enroll. Determine a communication schedule quarterly or bi-annually and map out the messaging and channels you will use to reach employees.

• Email campaigns – Determine the features of the ESPP you want to highlight and write messages supporting these points. If your campaign will run during a specific time of year, for example, during RRSP season, this could drive the messages.
• Posters – Create posters to support each message in the campaign and place them in prominent locations such as the cafeteria or lunch room, on doors and in high traffic areas. This is especially important if you have employees who don't have regular access to email.
• Videos – To pique interest, consider delivering the email content as a video series. A different format can be more appealing, leading to greater engagement.
• Intranet – Posting the campaign messages on the company intranet not only offers another channel, it also provides a one-stop repository for the full series.
• Lunch 'n' Learns – Knowledge is power and educating employees on your ESPP is essential. Hosting an in-person session allows the presenter to gauge interest, and also provides a forum for people to ask their questions.
• Webinars – if you have a dispersed workforce and can't get everyone together in the same room, webinars are a good solution. Be sure to leave lots of time for questions.

2. Customize messages

Employees at varying career and lifecycle stages will have different financial needs and goals. Use information from human resources to assess the demographics of those employees who have not enrolled. If they are from a specific age group, do your current communications address their pain points? If not, creating messages that more closely align with their concerns and the benefits could increase enrollment.

Also, consider the communication channels for different employees. While older employees may prefer email or the intranet, video and webinars may be more effective to reach younger workers.

3. Gather and share testimonials

People like real life stories they can relate to. Enlist the help of employees to tell their personal accounts of how they benefited from the ESPP. You can record these as videos and include a transcript for those who prefer a written version.

4. Schedule non-participation notices

Set up a schedule to review plan participation and send out reminders. You may want to time this with annual events such as RRSP season. Make a note of questions being asked and if you are encountering the same ones often, consider incorporating the answers into your ongoing communications.

5. Increase share ownership among participants

While you may want to focus your communications on signing up more employees, don't forget about your plan participants. Create messaging for them – for example, communicate the RRSP and TFSA options available as a way to potentially minimize taxation, how vesting works, or how to align ESPP contributions and withdrawals with their personal financial goals. If you find numerous plan participants are asking the same questions, answering these could provide good message content or a frequently asked questions (FAQs) document.

Finally, you have to make enrollment easy. There is nothing that can discourage people more from enrolling or increasing share ownership than overly long and complicated instructions and forms.

If you’re planning an ESPP campaign, download the ESPP Communications Tools Checklist by filling out the form below. This helpful planning guide outlines the best use for each communication channel with suggested messaging.

Boost participation in your employee share purchase plan

When offering an ESPP, employees need to understand the benefits of the program and what's in it for them. The good news is, using your company's existing communication tools is an effective way to educate your employees with the important information they need to make the right decision.

To help you plan your campaign and choose the relevant channels to reach different employee groups, download the "ESPP Communication Tools Checklist". It lists the channels available, how they are best used, and proposed messaging for each.