Blog – Another Way To Retain Your Employees In Troubled Times

Money Isn’t the only way retain to your employees during these troubled days…

Let’s face it–a lot of companies, small and large, are going to be cash-strapped because of the Corona Virus shutdowns.  We all know that our employees are our most valuable assets. So, if we are cash-strapped and we are faced with furloughing, or worse, laying off our employees, how do we keep them around or how can we improve our chances of bringing them back when this nightmare ends?

The answer could be an emergency issuance of awards.

It doesn’t cost your company any of your limited cash to issue emergency awards. Performance awards can be granted to furloughed employees, with a metric that triggers vesting when they return to your employ once the company returns to normal operations.

Unfortunately, some companies will have no choice but to lay off valuable employees who you want to make sure come back when you are ready to re-hire. While it requires a relationship of trust (which I hope you have with your employees), part of the difficult lay off discussions can include announcement of new retainment awards to be granted to employees who return. Along with trust, you may have to create documentation of a “re-hire” letter, but that needs not be an expensive item.

For public companies, this requires board approval, and may require shareholder approval as well.  If your stakeholders are well-aligned, the desire to retain your key employees during such an unprecedented crisis should be a case that makes itself.

This is a win-win-win-win-win-win idea!  (that’s six wins)

1. You have shown your employee how much you value their contributions to your company
2. If the employee returns, you have saved one of your most valuable assets
3. You have added more incentive for the employee to perform well in the future
4. Granting new equity while the market is down provides the participant potential for exponential value as the market recovers
5. You have expended zero or very little cash
6. If the employee doesn’t return, it costs you nothing

We think this is something companies should seriously consider as an option for retaining their most important assets. If you have any questions, or need help in establishing a plan, don’t hesitate to contact us. Like everyone else in this crisis, we want to help!