EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN (ESOP)

Incentivise your employees and boost productivity with our Employee Stock Ownership Plan services

Share ownership schemes for employees motivate them to improve their performance as they directly benefit from the organisation’s success. This is why many companies choose to offer employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) as a growth strategy.

Companies that give shares to employees as part of their employee engagement strategy not only retain top talent but also incentivise their staff to pursue organisational objectives and increase productivity.

BoardRoom’s expert ESOP team can manage all aspects of your Singaporean-based or global share ownership schemes for employees, from the design phase through to implementation and ongoing administration.

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Purpose-built ESOP solutions

BoardRoom understands that every organisation is unique and that employee stock ownership plans must be carefully designed with business goals in mind. Our fully digitised ESOP platform is completely flexible, meaning we can provide a customised management solution that enhances the intrinsic values of your incentive plan.

With industry-accredited professionals managing your employee stock ownership plans, you can expect a seamless, precise service from start to finish. We will ensure your ESOP processes help increase efficiencies and reduce costs, all while complying with evolving reporting requirements.

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Our ESOP services

BoardRoom’s dedicated ESOP division comprises senior staff who provide you with personalised assistance every step of the way. Whether you have a small business or 100,000 employees, we can help maximise the benefits of an employee share ownership plan for your staff and your business.

The types of employee equity and share option schemes we can manage include:

As a BoardRoom client, you will receive the highest standard of client service, developed and refined over 50 years of operations in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

In addition to fully integrated software, our team’s domain expertise and experience in managing complex global plans are the cornerstones of our business. Many of Singapore’s largest employers choose BoardRoom to manage their employee stock ownership plans.

Best in class ESOP platform

Our ESOP software consists of ClientOnline, a market-leading online registry and employee equity plan software for companies; and EmployeeServe, a fully integrated software that provides a powerful engagement tool for our clients and their staff.

ClientOnline allows companies to access their key information quickly and accurately. Intuitive and secure, it provides real-time detailed information including register snapshots, key alerts and access to a number of detailed reports.

EmployeeServe is a fully customisable and user-friendly platform where our clients’ employees can view, update and transact on their Employee Equity Plan holdings at any time, anywhere. Fully integrated into our registry framework, all information available on the portal is live real-time data.

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Special features of ClientOnline and EmployeeServe

Designed for real-time mobility

An easy-to-use web and mobile-optimised employee portal that provides 24/7 real-time access to holdings. With our customisable branded portal, employees can also update their personal information such as banking details and tax information anytime, anywhere.

Personalised Support

From plan setup to management, compliance and reporting, our Helpddesk team provides the personalised support for all your needs and queries.

Enhanced Security

Security features such as two factor authentication and periodic security updates provide you with peace of mind.

Multiple-currency platform

From issue to transfer and sale of shares, EmployeeServe supports 250 currencies around the world so you can handle them in your chosen currency.

Compliance

Customise reports easily according to local regulatory requirements so you can mitigate your risks of regulatory penalties.

Go paperless

Go paperless with E-Offer, E-Exercise, E-plan docs, E-statements which are more sustainable and helps you save time and money.

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A comprehensive ESOP platform for all your needs

Our ESOP platform helps you streamline your ESOP processes, stay compliant with local regulatory requirements and ensure employee engagement.

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The importance of selecting an experienced ESOP provider

The challenges of ESOP management can be significant for multinational organisations, becoming more complicated as the organisation grows. It is vital that all your ESOPs are administered in a timely and accurate manner across all relevant jurisdictions.

This is why partnering with an experienced, globally-minded corporate services provider is so important as we take care of the end-to-end management of your ESOP. With our domain knowledge, we help you tailor and manage all the technical aspects of your employee share scheme, providing record keeping & data management, at the same time ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

As a skilled employee share options scheme and services provider, BoardRoom can help:

01

Reduce your administrative load

The intricacy of ESOP administration means it can be a time-consuming burden on internal teams. By outsourcing the technical aspects of ESOP management to BoardRoom, your Human Resources team and executive staff will have more time to focus on progressing core business growth strategies.

02

Streamline ESOP management

Our digital ESOP platform, ClientOnline, allows you to manage your employee plans securely anytime, anywhere. The flexibility of the system means we are able to deliver purpose-built solutions to suit your needs.

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Enhance employee engagement

The easy-to-use EmployeeServe system provides a mutually beneficial share plan experience for your company and your employees. Our expert team is adept at implementing the system in tandem with complementary strategies to enhance employee engagement.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

Whether you are a start-up attracting top talent, a growing private or public listed company rewarding employees, or a multi-national firm managing equity plans across borders, we provide end-to-end solutions to simplify and enhance the administration of your employee share plans.

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Employee Share Plan Services

We help you unlock the full potential of your Employee Share Plans with our expert support and end-to-end solutions.

We can help with:

  • Comprehensive management of your ESOP, from grant allocation and vesting schedules to reporting for seamless operations, accuracy and efficiency
  • Plan documentation, disclosures, and filings to ensure full compliance with applicable laws.
  • Comprehensive support to manage employee share plans in multiple jurisdictions
  • Strategic insights and ongoing guidance to optimise your employee share plans to ensure that they remain competitive and aligned with your business objectives
EmployeeServe Platform

Our ESOP software is a fully integrated, flexible solution tailored to your Employee Share Plan needs.

Our ESOP software platform can:

  • Streamline your ESOP management, allowing employees to easily access their share information and participate in the plan with an intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • Provide efficient tools for seamless ESOP administration, reducing HR’s manual workload and ensuring compliance with ease
  • Provide detailed reporting and analytics to track performance and participation in plans
Employee Support

We provide expert guidance and tools to help employees fully benefit from their Employee Share Plans.

We can help with:

  • Providing clear and engaging resources to help employees understand plan mechanics and their benefits
  • Ensuring employees have the support to easily access information and support through our user-friendly platform

Why Choose BoardRoom?

Because we help take your business further, faster, at all stages

Engaging a reputable ESOP services provider can help you attract and retain employees, improve motivation levels and enhance productivity. And it can do this while ensuring your company meets its regulatory requirements in all applicable jurisdictions.

With more than 50 years track record of outstanding client service, BoardRoom has become one of the most highly sought-after employee stock ownership service providers in APAC. As a full-service firm, we also provide share registry, corporate secretarial, company incorporation and ESG services, and can look after your accounting, tax and payroll services too.

Save time and money
With BoardRoom managing all your transactional and administrative ESOP processes, you can dedicate more time and resources to managing core business functions. We also help minimise costs by providing a transparent fee structure for all our corporate services.
Seamless, worry-free implementation
BoardRoom’s professional teams take a client-centric approach to ESOP implementation and management. We provide personalised assistance at every stage of the process to ensure our service meets your needs in a smooth and timely manner.
Easily maintain compliance
With expertise across multiple APAC locations, our highly trained teams ensure your company meets all its employee share ownership scheme compliance requirements. This way, your risk of financial penalties and reputational damage for non-compliance is dramatically reduced.
Innovative digital ESOP platform
BoardRoom’s ESOP service includes both employee and client fully-rendered online portals utilising the latest integrated technology. You can access key information easily and securely through the intuitive client portal, which provides real-time detailed reporting and information for your Human Resources team.

Get in touch with our employee plan services expert today!

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Jason U

Managing Director Asia, Share Registry Services and Employee Plans Services

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)?

Employee Stock Ownership Plans or ESOPs in short, is one form of remuneration that grants employees the opportunity to own shares in the company, aligning their interests with the company’s growth and success. It can boost employee motivation, retention, and loyalty.

2. What is employee stock option and how does it work?

An employee stock option grants employees the option to purchase company shares, often at a discounted price or after meeting certain conditions, like vesting.

The function of a stock option plan can be broken down into a five lifecycle stages which are Offer, Vesting, Exercise, Leaver and Lapse. An employee will firstly accept an option offering, whereby a fixed number of options will be allotted to them. After a certain timeframe, a proportion of the allotted options will vest, which means that these options can now be exercised.

To exercise these vested options, the employee will pay the total exercise cost (number of options x exercise price) and receive actual shares of the company thereafter. If they don’t exercise these vested options after the expiry date, these vested options will lapse or expire. If this happens, the participant can no longer exercise these options moving forward. If the employee leaves the company halfway through the employee stock option plan lifecycle, in some cases, all of their vested and unvested options will lapse altogether, depending on the company’s employee stock option plan rules.

3. What is an employee share plan (ESP)?

An employee share plan is a remuneration package, where employees are rewarded with ordinary shares in the company they are employed by. These share plans are usually offered as a form of remuneration in replacement of salary increases which can help benefit a company’s cash flow.

This plan is usually given to directors or upper-level management, where the employee is rewarded with ordinary shares of the company, if they fulfill certain criteria or performance metrics set forth by the company. Initially, the participant (director or senior manager) will be allotted X number of restricted shares. At each vesting period (usually annually), a proportion of the allotted shares will be vested and become unrestricted shares, where the participant can then enjoy the benefits of owning an actual share (i.e. Sell, Voting Rights, Dividend Pay-out). The number of shares to be vested and turned into unrestricted shares, will depend on the participant’s performance during their evaluation period.

There are two main types of Employee Share Award Scheme (ESAS), namely a Performance Share Plan (PSP) and a Restricted Share Plan (RSP). Please visit our article for more detailed information on “What is an Employee Share Plan?”.

4. What are the key differences between an Employee Stock Option Plan and ESP?

Cost

  • For ESP, expenses need to be captured in the company’s accounting books even at point of grant.
  • For Employee Stock Option Plan, if the participants decide to exercise their options, they will have to bear the exercise cost. This means there’s cost savings to the company.

Company Profile

  • For Employee Stock Option Plan, it may be suitable for companies looking for fast growth, because participants only get to enjoy the benefits of their stock options when the market price is greater than the exercise price.
  • For ESP, it may be suitable for companies looking for stable growth. Reason being, part of having an ordinary share is to reap the benefits of its dividends. And to do so, the company will have to ensure stable growth to ensure consistent payout of dividends.

5. Is ESOP beneficial for employees?

ESOPs are considered to be beneficial to both employees and shareholders.

This is because the system is designed to align the interests of employees and shareholders, as well as motivate employees by giving them ownership in their company, as well as considerable tax benefits.

When employees are rewarded with shares of the company, this means that they own a portion of the company. This allows employees to adopt an ownership style of thinking where their actions and decisions will be based on the greater good of the company in the long run.

6. Can ESOPs be tailored for different levels of employees?

Yes, ESOPs can be customised to provide varying levels of benefits based on employee roles, performance, or tenure, ensuring alignment with your company’s objectives.

7. What happens to ESOPs when an employee leaves the company?

Policies for departing employees vary based on plan rules. Typically, unvested options lapse, and vested options may need to be exercised within a specific period.

8. What should companies consider before implementing an ESOP?

Before implementing any ESOPs, companies should evaluate their financial health, long-term goals, regulatory compliance needs, and the administrative resources required to manage the plan effectively.

9. Are ESOPs suitable for start-ups?

Yes, ESOPs are particularly beneficial for start-ups to attract and retain talent, as they offer potential for financial rewards tied to the company’s future growth.

10. How can BoardRoom help in ESOP and ESP services?

BoardRoom has been providing ESOP & ESP services to clients across APAC for years. We have a dedicated team of experts to guide you through all your implementation and administration needs. Our powerful digital platform, EmployeeServe, is completely flexible to your specific requirements because we recognise there is not a “one size fits all” solution to Share Plans.

EmployeeServe allows participants to view, transact and manage their holdings as well as allowing the administration team to view participant holdings and generate insightful reports that will assist with their regulatory and management reporting. For more information on our ESOP services, please contact our professional ESOP consultants today.