How many employees can say they received news about their company share plan delivered in person while at work? What about when that workplace happens to be onboard a boat or on a salmon farm?
That Faroe Islands-founded salmon producers Bakkafrost did just this when they set out in 2022 with J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions to enhance their existing share offering and extend their Bonus Programme, demonstrates how much they value their people. The company’s efforts in overcoming these significant challenges was recognised when they won the prestigious ProShare award for ‘Best Overall Performance In Fostering Employee Share Ownership’ in 2024.
That determination to reach all eligible employees and make the plan as inclusive as possible no matter what practical obstacles were involved also speaks to the guiding ethos that has seen Bakkafrost grow to become the largest salmon company in the Faroe Islands in the 50+ years since its founding. Over time, the company has expanded its operations to Scotland, where it has over sixty sites, while it also has a sales and processing presence in Denmark, France and the United States, and currently serves more than forty countries with its products.
The challenge
At the outset, Bakkafrost knew that around 80% of those eligible to be part of the Bonus Programme were frontline staff, working as seafarers or operatives in salmon farms and processing plants. Many of those individuals did not have steady internet access, email or smartphones, while some didn’t even have an email account.
As well as issues with location and unreliable access to technology, the company also came to realise that there was limited knowledge among the target population on what employee equity compensation was and how it might benefit them. Some employees weren’t familiar with SWIFT codes or IBAN numbers and many expressed uneasiness with sharing information of that nature, even though it was necessary to do so to participate in the Bonus Programme.
Bakkafrost faced a situation where they needed to not only outline the specifics of what was being proposed, they also needed to educate employees on equity compensation basics.
So, Bakkafrost were presented with a situation in which:
- Eligible employees were not easy to contact
- Many employees were not technologically savvy
- There was limited knowledge on equity compensation
Partnering J.P. Morgan Workplace Solutions, Bakkafrost embraced these challenges and committed to finding a way to make it work, knowing that a reliable, easy to use system combined with an effective communication and education strategy was going to be vital.
The solution
The company resolved that the best solution was to literally take the message to their people. Simply sending out letters explaining details of the Bonus Programme would not suffice. Instead, HR staff went to boats, farms and factories to meet frontline staff in their places of work. They travelled in person around the Faroes and Scotland, sometimes for as long as a week at a time, to meet everyone face-to-face, distribute information documents and explain in plain language the benefits of employee share ownership and the specifics of what was being proposed.
Workplace Solutions acted as a key partner for Bakkafrost in the company’s mission to spread awareness and grow understanding of share ownership among its employees. The platform’s user-friendly nature and practical plan-related information available there, backed up by the customer support team, helped Bakkafrost’s HR team to answer participant queries as they arose.
Arising from their efforts, the company was able to make direct contact with 100% of eligible participants and present their vision of why share ownership can be beneficial to employees.
What about the plan?
Aside from a few very specific cases anyone who works a full calendar quarter for the company is eligible for the Bonus Programme.
Under its terms, depending upon specified KPIs, participating employees receive the equivalent of a cash bonus in the form of company shares every financial quarter, all processed through the Workplace Solutions software solution for share plan administration.
Among the relevant KPIs are company level targets for sustainability and environment markers. As a salmon farming company, Bakkafrost recognises the potential environmental impact of its industry and takes its responsibility in promoting sustainability extremely seriously.
Employees are incentivised to retain their shares for at least two calendar years via an additional bonus feature whereby they can receive additional shares from the company.
What did success look like?
Bakkafrost’s efforts have not gone unrewarded, with more than 1,500 individuals signing up to the Bonus Programme – approximately 96% of eligible employees. This figure would be hugely impressive with any plan, but in this specific context, when at the outset there was low awareness on equity compensation, many eligible employees were not easy to reach and there were technological hurdles to be addressed, it becomes even more remarkable.
As well as that, the high participation rate represents a ringing endorsement from the Bakkafrost workforce while also speaking to the company’s determination to make their approach to employee ownership a success.
Another key outcome has been increased knowledge and engagement. Whereas original questions raised concerns about ‘cryptocurrency’ now employees reach out with queries about share price and how the company is performing. Employees have established a connection between their own efforts and the broader fortunes of the company, recognising that when Bakkafrost prospers they do too.
Access to the Workplace Solutions’ portal has been a key driver of the enhanced knowledge and engagement reported by Bakkafrost. This allows participants to track the value of their awards and develop a deeper understanding of the purpose of equity compensation and how it can benefit them. Hence the shift in the type of questions now typically being asked.
Reflecting upon the experience of offering the Bonus Programme to as many employees as possible, Fríði Jense, HR Data Specialist with Bakkafrost indicated that it had been particularly challenging initially, but became less so over time.
“From our perspective, it was tougher than tough, but we tried to make it as easy as we could. It was most difficult at first, but by the time you reach person fifty a system is in place,” he said.
What next?
The Bonus Programme is an ongoing initiative, as are Bakkafrost’s efforts to promote it and keep both new and existing participants fully informed of the plan. As such, they are constantly working with Workplace Solutions, looking for more effective ways to communicate their message and provide helpdesk solutions for participants.
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