Sharing success with broad-based employee ownership

Building a company culture that motivates and nurtures its workforce is arguably the best way to attract and retain talent. Bank of America issued a recent study with Infinite Equity and Rutgers University to explore employee ownership trends that can help employers compete in today’s job market and beyond. The report, Making the Case for Broad-Based Ownership: Equity Compensation to Help Foster Employee Engagement, highlights the benefits of offering equity on a broader basis and the powerful impact this can have on employee satisfaction and business performance.

Successful employee ownership plans that deliver benefits more broadly have greater success in attracting, motivating and retaining top talent.

Broad-based stock plans can be an attractive benefit when offered as part of a holistic benefits program. The purpose of broad-based plans is to offer equity compensation to a wider range of employees than just executives or select personnel. Ownership plans can include various types of equity awards—such as stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs) and performance shares. Regardless of the award, the goal remains the same: to align the interests of employees with those of shareholders by giving more employees a stake in the company’s success.

Equity compensation is a desired benefit for both employers and employees

Graphic showing 72 percent of employees would rather work for an employee-owned (vs. investor-owned or state-owned) company footnote 1

Graphic showing 61 percent of employees would take a job with employee ownership if choosing between two similar jobs footnote 1

Graphic showing turnover can be three times lower footnote 1

Graphic showing 38 percent of customers are more likely to buy from employee-owned businesses footnote 1

Download the study and reach out to your Bank of America representative to discuss implementing new or expanded equity plans at your company.

¹ “Making the Case for Broad-Based Ownership: Equity Compensation to Help Foster Employee Engagement”, Bank of America, August 2024.