The communication link

You didn’t step into your position and immediately understand ownership.
So when you adopt an employee stock ownership plan, you can’t expect your employees to either, says Davin Gustafson, a principal at Apple Growth Partners and a longtime ESOP consultant.
“Ownership is not something that’s trained,” he says. “Plan on spending time and effort educating folks.”
You’re probably not an ESOP pro, so bring in outside advisers to help you. Letting your ESOP accountant, valuator or lawyer talk directly to your employees will put a face on the plan.
You should also create an internal source for ESOP communication — whether it’s you, your chief financial officer or a committee — so employees can get the facts from a familiar source.
“Talk about the company’s cash flow in front of employees, what that means for the value of the company and what they can expect their value to do based on what we do,” Gustafson says.
And don’t leave that communication to newsletters or e-mails. To make it as personal as possible, gather five to 10 employees a week for intimate ESOP lunches, working through everyone in a year. If your company is too large or spread out, create a video to send to all of your locations so the entire staff can see you talk about the ESOP.