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