Good morning/afternoon/evening. My name is ____________ from Lighthouse data collection
calling on behalf of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. We are
conducting a survey for the Department about employers’ experiences in rewarding and
motivating employees. We are interested in the opinions of people who would be responsible for
implementing employee benefits. These people are usually the Human resource manager or
business owner in smaller businesses.
Your business has been chosen at random from the electronic yellow pages or other publicly
available lists of businesses.
Could I please speak to the HR manager or owner of the business.
(RE-INTRODUCE IF NECESSARY)
This interview will take around 15 minutes. Is now a convenient time to talk? IF NO: Could I
arrange a more convenient time?
MODULE A: Company Profile
The first few questions are just asking for some details about your company.
Q1. How many employees do you have in your business in Australia including casuals and non
permanent staff?
Interviewer prompt: Just an estimate is fine.
IF LESS THAN 5 EMPLOYEES THEN CLOSE
Q2. And roughly what proportion of those would be permanent employees?
Interviewer note: Permanent employees receive holiday and sick pay.
Q3. Do you have offices overseas?
1 Yes
2 No
IF NO SKIP TO Q5
Q4. In which country is the head office of your business?
DO NOT READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY.
1 Australia
2 USA
3 Europe
4 Asia
5 Africa
1
6 South America
7 New Zealand
Q5. How many offices or sites does the business have in Australia?
Q6. Which of the following best describes your business?
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY.
Public company unlisted
Public company listed overseas
Public company listed in Australia
Private company
Don’t know
Refused
S/R
01
02
02
03
99
98
Q7. What is the ownership structure of the business? Is it……
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY.
1. Sole trader
2. Partnership
3. Corporation
4. Other (Specify) DO NOT READ
Interviewer note: a corporation is also called an incorporated company or a limited liability
company
IF CODE 1, 3, 4 GO TO Q9
Q8. How many partners or owners are there?
Q9. Are they equity partners or just managing partners?
Interviewer note: equity partners have money invested in the business
DO NO READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY
1. Equity
2. Managing
Q10. How would you describe the main activity of your company?
ANZSIC industry codes
2
Q11. Would you classify yourself as hiring mainly blue collar type workers or mainly white
collar workers?
Interviewer prompt: thinking about the majority of your employees
DO NOT READ. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY
Mainly blue collar .............................................................................................................................................. 1
Mainly white collar ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Even number of blue and white collar workers .................................................................................................. 3
Q12. Are any of your employees covered by awards?
1. Yes
2. No
Q13. Are there any registered written agreements, other than awards, operating in your
organisation?
Interviewer note: registered agreements are formal agreements lodged with a State or Federal
authority
1. Yes
2. No
Q14. IF YES, Do you have …..
READ OUT. MULTIPLE RESPONSE
1. Australian workplace agreements or AWAs
2. State enterprise bargaining agreement
3. Federal certified agreement negotiated with a union
4. Federal certified agreement negotiated between management and staff (no union)
Q15. What is the annual turnover or revenue of your total business in Australia? Is it between…
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY.
1. $0 to 50,000
2. $50 001 to $100 000
3. $100 001 to $1 million
4. between $1 and $3 million
5. between $3 and $50 million
6. more than $50 million
3
MODULE B: Employee culture
Q16. I am going to read out some things that other people have said about their business.
Thinking about your entire business in Australia including all sites and offices. Answer this
question on a scale of 1-10 where one is definitely does not apply within your business and
ten is definitely applies within your business and using any number in between. Which of
the following apply to your business?
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY. ROTATE
Employees relate to
each other well as
colleagues and coworkers
Employees have a say in
the areas of the business
which effect them
The right people are
employed in the right
occupations
Employees are able to
learn on the job and
acquire skills from
everywhere
Employees have high
levels of energy and
commitment towards
the organization
People within the
business are able to
communicate well
Definitely
does not
apply
01
02
Definitely
applies
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
4
MODULE C: Employee benefits
The next few questions are about employee benefits you may offer.
Q17. Are employees offered incentives or bonuses based on….
READ OUT. MULTIPLE RESPONSE.
1. Individual performance
2. Team performance
3. Company performance
4. Or you don’t offer incentives or bonuses
IF CODE 4 GO TO Q20 ELSE CONTINUE
Q18. How are these incentives or bonuses you offer your employees paid to them? Is it by….
READ OUT. MULTIPLE RESPONSE.
1. Cash as part of salary
2. Shares
3. Something else (specify)
Q19. Are all employees eligible to receive some sort of incentive or bonus?
1. Yes
2. No
Q20. What other types of benefits does your business offer employees?
Anything else? PROBE TO NOTHING ELSE
DO NOT READ. MULTIPLE RESPONSE.
1. Salary sacrificing/flexible packaging
2. Extra superannuation
3. Extra holiday leave
4. Staff discounts
5. Employee assistance/personal counseling services
6. Free or discounted health insurance or medical expenses
7. Free or discounted income protection insurance
8. Study assistance or leave
9. Vehicle allowances
10. Professional memberships
11. Free or discounted shares
12. Stock options
13. Reward and recognition gifts or vouchers
14. Other specify
5
MODULE D: AWARENESS OF ESO
One way that some businesses reward and motivate employees for good performance is by
providing employees with some ownership or equity in the business, that is, ways of buying in or
having a share of the business they work in.
Q21. Before today, were you aware of schemes like this where employees participate in owning
the company?
1. Yes – CONTINUE
2. No – CLOSE
Q22. Are you aware of schemes where employees are given options to buy a share in the
business sometime in the future?
1. Yes
2. No
IF UNSURE: an option is a contractual right to acquire a share in the future at a set price.
Q23. Have you heard of employee share ownership plans that are open to ALL employees?
1. Yes
2. No
IF YES
Q24. Where did you find out about these types of schemes?
DO NOT READ OUT. MULTIPLE RESPONSE
1. Company/other colleagues
2. Financial or legal advisors/accountants
3. HR training or study
4. Professional association
5. General reading/media
6. Seminars or information sessions
7. Other (specify)
Q25. Do you have any of these types of arrangements in your organisation where at least some
employees have a share, option or unit in the business?
1. Yes
2. No
6
IF NO:
Q26. Have you ever had any of these types of arrangements in your organisation?
1. Yes
2. No
Q27. Are you aware of schemes where employees receive tax exemptions on shares up to a
certain amount?
1. Yes
2. No
Q28. Are you aware that companies don’t need to be listed on the stock exchange to offer
employees equity in the business?
1. Yes
2. No
MODULE E: INCIDENCE OF PLAN
IF CODE 1 AT Q26 GO TO Q29 ELSE GO TO Error! Reference source not found.
The next few questions are about the arrangements or plans that you have.
Q29. Do you have more than one type of arrangement or plan?
1. Yes
2. No
Q30. If yes, how many plans do you have?
Q31. And what do you call each plan? What name(s) do you use?
RECORD VERBATIM
Q32. When setting up your plan(s) which of the following professionals assisted you?
READ OUT. MULTIPLE RESPONSE.
1. Tax accountant
2. Lawyer
3. Financial advisor
4. Did not use any particular professional
5. Other (specify) DO NOT READ
6. Don’t know DO NOT READ
7
MODULE F: DETAILS OF PLANS
FOR EACH PLAN
Thinking about <PLAN NAME>
Q33. What form of equity does it provide is it….
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE
1. Options
2. Shares
3. Units
Q34. How long has <PLAN NAME> been in place?
Q35. Approximately what percentage of all employees in your business are eligible to
participate?
IF LESS THAN 100%
Q36. What criteria are used to decide which employees are eligible to participate? Is it based on
…
READ OUT. MULTIPLE RESPONSE
1.
2.
3.
4.
years of service
permanent employees only
performance or recommendation from manager
open to senior management level only
IF LESS THAN 10% AT Q35 AND OPEN TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT ONLY
Q37. Why is the plan not open to more employees?
DO NOT READ. MULTIPLE RESPONSE
Probe to no: Any other reasons?
1. Part of senior staff reward and recognition program
2. Do not want all employees to have ownership
3. Other employees would not be interested
4. Other (specify)
SKIP TO Q33 FOR NEXT PLAN TYPE (IF MORE THAN ONE PLAN) ELSE SKIP TO
MODULE H
8
Q38. Of those employees who are eligible, what percentage have taken up the opportunity to
participate?
Q39. Thinking about the tax arrangements of employees in the <PLAN NAME>, do you know if
employees are…
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY.
1. Taxed
2. Tax exempt
3. Tax is deferred
Q40. Can employees buy shares in the company at a discount as part of this plan?
1. Yes
2. No
Q41. Can employees buy shares in the company by borrowing money from the company?
1. Yes CONTINUE
2. No SKIP Q41 AND Q42
Q42. Is the loan an interest free loan?
1. Yes
2. No
Q43. Are the dividends used to pay for the debt?
1. Yes
2. No
Q44. Does the employee have to make a financial contribution to participate in the plan?
1. Yes CONTINUE
2. No SKIP TO Q46
Q45. Is the financial contribution made through salary sacrifice?
1. Yes
2. No
Q46. Are there any other restrictions or conditions placed on the shares/options/units?
IF UNSURE: For example, are they linked to years of service, a performance hurdle like making
budget, or must they hold the shares for a certain time period after receiving them?
1. Yes
2. No
9
Q47. If yes, what restrictions or conditions are there?
DO NOT READ. MULTIPLE RESPONSE.
1. Years of service
2. Performance based
3. Employees cannot sell or trade shares for a set time
4. Cannot trade or sell them at all (no market)
5. Must sell them if they leave the company
6. Other (specify)
Q48. Do employees in the plan have voting rights?
1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t know
FOR SHARE PLANS ONLY Q33 = 2
Q49. What shares are employees offered? Are they offered…
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY.
1. Ordinary shares
2. Special employee shares such as preference shares
3. Both ordinary and special employee shares
4. Other (specify)
Q50. Are the shares Australian shares?
1. Yes
2. No
Q51. Are employees given any shares for free?
1. Yes
2. No
Q52. If yes, what is the dollar value of the free shares?
10
Q53. Are the shares new shares issued by the company or are they existing shares bought from
the stock market?
1. New shares issued by the company
2. Existing shares bought through the stock market
3. Don’t know
Q54. Are employees entitled to receive dividends?
1. Yes
2. No
Q55. In general, has the share price been going up over recent times?
1. Yes
2. No
FOR OPTION PLANS ONLY Q33 = 1
Q56. Are the options for Australian shares?
1. Yes
2. No
Q57. Sometimes options are not favourable because the set price for the option is high and the
market share price of the company may be going down. For other companies options are
better as the share price is going up, higher than the option price. This way employee make
money by exercising the options.
In general, would you say your company options are favourable and employees are exercising
their options?
1. Yes, favourable share price
2. No, most employees don’t exercise options
11
FOR UNIT PLANS ONLY Q33 = 3
Q58. Why was this type of plan chosen over other types of plans that might offer shares or
options?
DO NOT READ. MULTIPLE RESPONSE
1. Not listed on the stock exchange/no shares to issue
2. Want to keep control/ownership
3. Can’t give up ownership
4. Only type of plan suitable for our business
5. Other plans too complicated
6. Other (specify)
MODULE G: CONSIDERATION
ONLY ASK OF THOSE WITHOUT A PLAN (NO AT Q25)
Q59. How confident are you that you can implement a share plan in your business today? Please
answer this question on a scale of 1-10 where one is not at all confident and 10 is very
confident and using any number in between.
Not at all Familiar
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Very familiar
09
10
Q60. How familiar would you say you were with these types of arrangements or share plans?
Please answer this question on a scale of 1-10 where one is not at all familiar and 10 is very
familiar and using any number in between.
Not at all
confident
01
02
Very confident
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
Q61. Which of the following best describes your business?
READ OUT. SINGLE RESPONSE ONLY.
Never thought about implementing an employee share
ownership plan
Thought about implementing an employee share ownership
plan but not likely to implement one
Considering implementing an employee share ownership plan
Have implemented an ESOP (Automatically coded)
S/R
01
02
03
04
12
Q62. I am going to read out a list of reasons why some businesses have implemented employee
share plans. Even though you don’t have a share plan at the moment, can you tell me to
what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements, just give me your
perception….
Out
of 10
Share plans increase employee motivation
Share plans increase employees wealth over the long term
Employees perform more effectively when they have a share
plan
Share plans increase employee loyalty and retention
By having a share plan the employees has a better working
environment
Share plans give employees good tax benefits
Employees who have share plans are more committed to the
organisation
Share plans are just another employee benefit we offer with no
real benefit to both the business and employees
By having a share plan we are able to offer better remuneration
packages for employees
A share plan assists employees to focus on company goals
Share plans help transfer ownership to more employees
Share plans are a good way to reward and recognise good
performance
13
MODULE H: Effectiveness/rationale
ONLY ASK OF THOSE WHO HAVE SHARE PLANS (YES AT Q25)
Q63. Thinking about the main reasons why your business implemented share plans, overall how
effective has the share plan been in delivering on the objectives? Answer this question on a
scale of one to ten where one is not at all effective and 10 is extremely effective.
Not at all
effective
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
Extremely
effective
09
10
Q64. I am going to read out a list of reasons why some businesses have implemented employee
share plans. Thinking about all your plans, can you tell me to what extent you agree or
disagree with the following….
Out
of 10
Share plans increase employee motivation
Share plans increase employees wealth over the long term
Employees perform more effectively when they have a share
plan
Share plans increase employee loyalty and retention
By having a share plan the employees has a better working
environment
Share plans give employees good tax benefits
Employees who have share plans are more committed to the
organisation
Share plans are just another employee benefit we offer with no
real benefit to both the business and employees
By having a share plan we are able to offer better remuneration
packages for employees
A share plan assists employees to focus on company goals
Share plans help transfer ownership to more employees
Share plans are a good way to reward and recognise good
performance
14
MODULE H: Barriers
Q65. I am going to read out a list of things other businesses have mentioned about the issues
which make it difficult to implement a share plan could you please tell me whether or not
you agree or disagree with each statement? Could you please answer this question on a
scale of one to ten where one is strongly disagree and ten is strongly agree. How much do
you agree or disagree with the following….
ONLY MENTION * ITEMS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE AT LEAST CONSIDERED A PLAN
(HAVE A PLAN OR CODE 2 OR 3 AT Q61)
Out
of 10
*The legislation involved with implementing a share plan is
too complex
*There is not a significant tax advantage to employees from
having a share plan
Set up costs are expensive
Maintenance costs are expensive
Some employees could not afford be part of a share plan
We would not want to offer employees these sort of benefits
There are better ways of motivating and rewarding employees
Management would not want employees to have ownership or
control
The legal requirements are too difficult too comply with
Share plans are not really applicable to my organisation
Share plans provide no real benefits to the business
Share plans are complex to implement
Share plans are difficult to manage
Some employees would not understand these types of
arrangements
Some employees would prefer other types of employee
benefits
Share plans are only suitable for publicly listed companies
MODULE I: Businesses who have plans but now don’t
Q66. What are all the reasons you decided to no longer have a plan?
15