They Never Paid Me What They Owed Me!

Not surprisingly, the economic difficulties we are facing have resulted in a significant increase in the number of often desperate calls we get from people who say they never got their ESOP distributions or, less often, the equity rights they were promised—or, if they got them, they were not what they expected. Other callers want to know how they can get their money sooner. It is hard to tell from most of the calls whether the company has really been remiss or the employees have just not been paying attention. Very commonly people say they never got any material or, if they did, when they tried to exercise their rights, they got no response, despite repeated calls.

These kinds of problems, legitimate or not, can be toxic. These employees still usually know people who are working at the company, and they can radically undermine the credibility of your plan. It is easy to for companies to say that they did what they were required to do by sending out written (or sometimes electronic) notifications and plan descriptions, and if employees don't read them, that is not the company's problem. But that's too easy. Haven't you ever gotten some document in the mail you either recycled or ignored because you thought it was junk or not really important or, alternatively, that you planned to read one day then forgot about? I certainly have. Employees do the same thing.

It's far better to be more proactive. When people leave, the ideal solution is for someone to actually meet with them to make sure they know what to expect. Alternatively, at least get them to confirm, in writing, that they have received the required documents. Then make sure they have a phone number to call with questions—and that someone will get back to them (most of our callers say they cannot get people to call back).