Co-ownership — the new normal
Nowadays, change happens on multiple levels—all at the same time: Technology, working models, and business models.
The key challenge is rarely the strategy itself. It’s whether people understand where the company is headed, and the part they play in the company’s success.
Employee share programs are a key part of this equation. In this post, we look at what it takes to turn co-ownership into a driver of transformation—and the new normal of future-ready companies.
Direct participation is changing the rules of the game
The more complex and vulnerable to crisis our working lives become, the less it can be managed top-down. Direct employee participation is no longer optional—it is essential for sustainable change. And it is also a necessity in a modern workplace that depends on employees’ expertise and ability to self-organize. In our 15 years of experience in internal communication, we have learned that transformation only succeeds when companies first provide clarity, understanding, and genuine participation.
Employee share programs—whether cash or equity, real or virtual shares—are often seen as just an added incentive. In reality, they are a strategic lever for building responsibility, co-creation, and an entrepreneurial mindset within the company. However, this lever only works if employees understand the reasoning behind it
Leadership decisions need context and direct participation
Today’s leaders must make decisions quickly, drive transformation, and keep employees highly motivated—basically, they must create clarity. In uncertain times, it’s not enough to just announce decisions. Employees need to understand the fast-moving and dynamic pace of business decisions. Only then can they properly assess how they personally share in the company’s growth and why it’s worth supporting change
Transformation only works when three things come together:
- Persuasive leadership that help employees understand decisions
- Honest communication that clearly conveys and explains both positive and negative developments to all stakeholders
- Genuine participation that gives leaders and employees a strategic stake in the company—for example, going beyond variable pay components to offer a global employee equity program.
In our view, solid financial education is another advantage. It gives employees a basic understanding of business, and helps them make well-informed decisions for their financial wellbeing. Read more on our blog posts on financial literacy and financial education.
A core part of our portfolio is the communication of employee share programs as a model for co-entrepreneurship and co-creation. In recent weeks, we’ve discussed this topic in detail with clients and partners, for example, at the CIRA workshop in Vienna, hosted by JP Morgan Workplace Solutions, and at their annual Equity Based Compensation Conference in Frankfurt.
Communication as a bridge between strategy and goal
If employee share programs are to become a lever for culture, performance, and retention, it’s not enough to set up a program and post an FAQ on the intranet. It takes communication that:
- explains the program’s structure, and the terms of each tranche in plain language—covering tax, legal, and financial aspects
- clearly transmits the strategic intent of management
- follows a coherent narrative
- takes employees’ perspectives seriously and answers their questions
- integrates participation into everyday work rather than treating it as a separate, one-off topic
This is where we come in. With our focus on Total Rewards, we combine:
- strategic communication consulting to clarify the role of employee participation programs within the overall package
- clear storylines and key messages for various target groups
- practical formats—from visual explanatory content to Q&A sessions
- ongoing support for HR, TR, management, and internal communications, beyond the initial rollout.
Our experience makes us the right partner for you if you want to make sure employee participation has the intended impact—more clarity, more responsibility, more entrepreneurial thinking—and employees who say, “I understand what participation means, and why it’s worth being a part of this.”
To learn more about how participation models can help turn co-ownership into lived reality for employees, visit our Projects page. For more information on how Total Rewards works as a system, see uneQUBE.
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Your contact person
- simone[@]unequity.com
- +49 (0) 174 / 310 78 27
- Simone Schmitt-Schillig
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