In a highly connected world, where your top performing employee
is only a LinkedIn message or a Head Hunter's call away from
quitting his job and joining your direct competitor, it is no
wonder that companies are going to great lengths to incentivise
employees to stay with the company long term, by offering them a
percentage ownership of the company under Share Option Plans.
Share Option Plans are a form of employee benefit scheme whereby
employees acquire a specific number of shares in the company upon
reaching specific targets, whether they be financial or based on
years of service or some other KPIs. As they have become more
popular, Share Option Plans have become very sophisticated, and as
companies grow, they become increasingly difficult to manage. In
most cases, a special class of shares is created within the company
to cater for the employee Share Option Plan (usually carrying no
voting rights) as well as tag-along and drag-along provisions,
provisions
