BEST PLAN COMMUNICATION
Communication is key to the successful operation of any employee stock plan and operating plans internationally presents special geographic, linguistic, and cultural challenges. Judges look for the most effective and appropriate communication methods and materials used in a plan. In addition, judges consider a company’s size and the number of employees to whom the company must communicate the plan. Awards are not based on the amount of money spent on a communications program but, rather on their content, message delivered, coherency, and style.

BEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY
The best designed and communicated global stock plans can be prohibitively expensive and time consuming if not properly managed and operated. The use of paper/print confirmation, enrollment, account management forms, and communication materials inherently slow the implementation and management of these plans. Corporate stock plan administration departments have thus found websites, intranets, and other electronic tools invaluable and cost effective in managing, communicating, and administering international equity compensation plans.

The GEO Award for Best Use of Technology is granted to companies that develop innovative, appropriate, and comprehensive technological solutions to share plan administration, communication, and internal project management.

MOST INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE PLAN DESIGN
Share plans can be created to meet a multitude of corporate objectives that must be balanced with the legal, regulatory, and tax issues, both in the headquarters country as well as in other jurisdictions.. An equally important challenge is to create a global plan that maintains the core corporate philosophy while adapting to local cultural concerns. This category allows applicants to demonstrate how creative they are in working around potential stumbling blocks in developing and the innovation displayed in implementing global share ownership plans.

Measurements in this category include how well the plan was creatively adapted to local tax and regulatory laws, innovative ways to increase employee participation and excitement, and how their plan differs from competitors or industry norms.

BEST PLAN EFFECTIVENESS
Share plans are key elements in helping a company achieve its corporate mission and goals. This award category is to highlight companies that have spent time and energy developing an employee equity compensation plan that works well towards meeting key corporate objectives. The criteria for this category is based on the assessment of employee participation and other ways of involving employees in the successful operation of the company. An essential component of assessing effectiveness is a clear statement of the goals of the plan in addition to demonstrated measurement technique to measure progress in achieving those goals.

BEST IN FINANCIAL EDUCATION
There is an increasing awareness among companies that their responsibility to employees extends beyond the implementation of a share plan. Providing adequate financial education to employees is being seen as one of the key features of successful global stock plans.

The GEO Awards for Best in Financial Education are granted to companies who have implemented a Financial Education program which best meets the challenge of providing independent and objective advice to employees.

The successful companies will be judged on the following criteria:

• Communicating the risks and rewards of the share plan in the overall context of financial planning
• Communicating clearly
• Company endorsement of the responsibility to take appropriate financial advice
• The innovative use of methods of communication to ensure maximum take-up
• Broad coverage of all aspects of financial education
• Assisting employees in the awareness of diversifying risk
• Providing employees access to independent and accredited specialists
• Use of innovative channels to provide financial education to employees (i.e., video/web/CD)
• Easy access to information after seminars, meetings, etc. – (e.g., use of intranet, call centers)
• Employee feedback and evaluation of results

Applicant Divisions:
Recognising that companies are of different sizes and various stages of development we have introduced separate divisions for each of the awards.