Stocks viable options for staff
mm op beurs
WHAT'S NewS Nummer 4 August 1995
working relations
9
LINES FOR IMPROVEMENT
lr)bviously, surveys of this kind are only
useful if you can do something positive
with them. The project team has come up
with a cluster of proposals designed to
help us all improve phone efficiency.
'One of our priorities is to inform people
how to use the functions on their phones.
So we'11 be sending out a kind of mini-
manual to help them get the best out of
their extension,' says Prevoo. 'But we
also want to encourage the use of voice-
mail and E-mail. This would reduce the
number of many internal calls. We make
so many, and when you're talking to a
co-worker, you're unavailable for a
cliënt.' Internal communication in the
form of letting people know where you
are is partly a question of training. 'We're
currently setting up Communications
courses for account managers,' Prevoo
adds, 'and in future all new staff will fol-
low similar courses. Other proposals in-
clude equipping account managers with
mobile phones that have a voice-mail
function. And we'11 be issuing people
who need them with security codes for
after-hours international phone calls.'
SELF-HELP
The team's proposals are all practical and
can be introduced quite easily. But there is
a lot that we can do as individuals to im
prove how callers are treated. We can all
try and train ourselves to answer the
phone properly, giving the caller the infor-
mation he or she needs about who they
have reached. And remembering to teil co-
workers where you are going is no more
than another aspect of helping them to
help you do your job as efficiently as
possible.
Rabobank's increasing role in stock flotations was reinforced recently by its
co-lead position in the Vendex issue in June this year. Part of the package
requested by the major Dutch retail group was a way to give personnel a
'present' to mark the occasion.The competition was creative, but in the
end it was the corporate finance team working on the issue which came up
with the right 'gift'. Dominique Bech talks us through the package.
'When they go public,' Bech says, 'a lot of
companies want to do something extra for
their staff. One option is precisely that - a
stock option. When the Vendex flotation
came up, we decided to include this type
of arrangement as part of our offer. You
know, when you're involved with a flo
tation, then you're in touch with the com-
pany over a fairly long period of time. A
otation doesn't happen overnight. We
ad already had discussions with Vendex
on staff stock options at a very early stage.
But we weren't the only ones, of course.
The competition, in this case ABN Amro
and ING, were also trying to sell this
idea.'
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Clearly, what it comes down to in the end
is the best idea at the best possible price.
'We didn't hear until a very, very late stage
that Vendex had decided to use us to put
together the type of staff package they
wanted. In the first instance, we had come
STOCK OPTION TERMS
Stock option: the right, but not the obli-
gation, to buy a share at a fixed price during
^Ba particular period.
Convertible: a bond that gives you the
right to exchange it for a given number of
shares or stock anytime up to and induding
the maturity date of the bond.
up with a proposal involving the use of
staff savings plans and prefinance to fund
the stocks for personnel. The cliënt was
worried that a lot of people in the organiz-
ation wouldn't understand this type of
construction. I think they were probably
right.'
CLEAR OPTIONS
Vendex finally decided on a package of
choices for long-term employees. Staff
were able to choose between a gift
voucher that could be used in a wide
variety of stores or take an option on
stock. 'We were called in on a Friday,'
Bech recalls, 'and asked to work with Ven
dex people on putting together a brochure
to explain the choices on offer. It had to
be straightforward, concise and above all
easily accessible to a group which prob
ably has no knowledge whatsoever of
stock and shares. The brochure had to be
distributed by the next Thursday. I can teil
you that was one busy weekend.'
Another aspect of the package was the tax
position. In the Netherlands, companies
are allowed to give tax-exempt 'presents'
to staff at holiday times, such as Christ-
mas and Easter. 'We were fortunate in that
the flotation coincided almost exactly with
the Whitsun holiday,' says Bech. That
meant people would not have to pay tax
on the "gift". Just over 30 percent of
eligible staff ultimately choose the stock
option, which according to Bech is slightly
over the usual maximum. 'We have com-
parable figures from other staff stock op
tion plans and they show that 20 to 30
percent tends to be the norm, so everyone
concerned thinks this is a pretty good
result.'
This is not the first time a corporate
finance team has been involved in this
type of package for personnel. But the suc-
cess of the Vendex plan means they will be
offered to clients more frequently in the
future. 'We're actually discussing similar
proposals with already quoted companies
because I don't think this type of service is
limited to flotations. And it's also an op
tion for companies who are not going
public in the very near future. We can al-
ways suggest something like: "Why not let
us do a convertible for you staff..." I'm
sure there'd be takers.'
VENDEX-PERSONEEL ACTIEF
Een optie hebben op aandelen in je eigen be
drijf, voor personeel van Vendex International
is dat nu mogelijk.Ter gelegenheid van de re
cente beursgang van Vendex International is
door de Rabobank een aantrekkelijk aandelen-
optieplan samengesteld voor personeelsleden
van Vendex. Veel medewerkers van Vendex
toonden interesse voor de optie.