Over the past ten years, the technology for managing global share plan calculations/manage equity withholding calculations for mobile employees has changed dramatically. As a result, if you’re currently choosing a global share plan management system for your company, you may be wondering how to sort through all the options and features to find the best fit.
Years ago, the first global equity compensation management solutions were developed to service large multinationals with huge transaction volumes, providing a high-touch, high-cost and often semi-manual service. At the other end of the spectrum, mid- and small-sized companies learned to rely on equity compensation calculations that used bespoke positions for some individuals and blanket, country positions for others – often managing the hodge-podge via spreadsheets.
Stimulated by continued investment in the sector, the technology to manage equity withholding calculations has evolved to an extent that it is now accessible and affordable to companies of all sizes. Turnaround times have also shrunk to become virtually instantaneous, with only the most complex of calculations being diverted to a human. So how can you determine which global equity compensation management solution is optimal for you?
If you are choosing how to manage equity withholding, here are the four most important factors you need to consider:
- Integration. As different corporate departments realize the benefits of integration (timeliness for the business, accuracy for audit, cost effectivity and data clarity for finance), there will be mounting pressure to use only compatible systems. Look for an equity solution that can support an array of different interfaces to/from HRIS platforms, payroll, mobility management software, finance and bespoke internal tools. Even if those legacy systems don’t integrate well at present, their next generation will, and therefore the equity compensation management solution you choose needs to support integration.
- Variety of outputs. It is no longer acceptable to provide ‘one-size-fits-all’ reports. Employees expect a report that is informative, easy to understand and relevant to their personal circumstances. Likewise, finance expects data that can be output in different formats with the data sets they need, and global mobility teams want an easy way to check details for a single assignee and run reports for specific populations. Customized reporting like this should be easy to setup and change as business needs change.
- Ease of use. Look for a technology solution that makes management of equity awards more straightforward, allowing you to view the high level status of calculations so you can know what to do next. In addition, the solution should make it simple to run simulations to prepare for annual award cycles and roll them back when done.
- Real-time results. Today’s most advanced equity withholding solutions provide online access to real-time information for all user groups (global mobility teams, employees, reward managers, HR, etc.), who often work from different time zones.
The equity compensation features described above can make the process of calculating tax and social security withholding for global employees quicker and less troublesome. Moreover, an online solution that provides detail and explains its results well to all stakeholders can significantly reduce the time spent by teams clarifying what has been calculated and why. That, in turn, can have a big impact on improving both employee and cross-departmental relations.
For more information about managing global share plan calculations or innovative global equity compensation management solutions, contact us or download the Equus Equity Compensation Brochure to learn more.
