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What
is an ESOP & how an ESOP can Benefit the Company & Employees?
An ESOP is a stock equity plan for employees that can
include stock options, stock purchase, phantom stock or a combination
of alternatives. Either key personnel or all employees can be offered
shares in the company.
ESOPs enable employees to acquire ownership in a company
from 1% to 100%.
ESOPs can provide the foundation for a high performance
company by creating an ownership mentality, which improves employee
motivation, productivity and profitability.
ESOPs allow employee owners to share in the company’s
success through increased share value, which can be sheltered and allowed
to grow tax-free. Share investments also have the potential for capital
gains that other fixed income investments do not possess.
An effective ESOP allows the company to get long-term
commitment from employees by aligning long-term compensation to the
risk of the business. An ESOP is effective because the company’s
success is tied to the efforts of the employees. Employees with a stake
in their company’s success will take on more responsibility and
commitment and treat the company as their own.
An ESOP can also:
- Recruit highly skilled individuals to your organization
- Retain key employees thus reducing turnover and training
costs
- Maximize commitment to long-term corporate goals
- Profitably manage a fast growing company
- Provide employees with non-cash compensation
- Revitalize existing incentive plans
- Assist with succession planning
In the United States, it is estimated that over
11,000 companies involving over 10 million employees have implemented
ESOPs. According to Fortune Magazine’s 1997 "Best 100 Companies
in America to Work For", about one third of these companies had 10%
or more of their shares owned by employees. These include successful companies
such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Procter & Gamble, Cisco, Intel,
Xerox, Motorola and Merrill Lynch.

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