GEO AWARD WINNERS

With over 400,000 equity-eligible employees across 60 countries, Amazon faced the challenge of streamlining complex Leave of Absence (LOA) and Change of Status (COS) processes.

Its innovative Vest Impact Action (VIA) system, developed over three years, leverages cloud-based technologies to automate vesting schedule calculations with remarkable accuracy. By integrating flexible business rules and modular architecture, VIA ensures compliance with evolving country-specific laws and company policies. This revolutionary solution not only expedites processing but also mitigates the risk of errors, enhancing operational efficiency and employee experience.

Judges praised Amazon's commitment to equity plan excellence, noting the significant resource and time savings achieved through automation. The VIA system, with over 545 combinations of LOA and COS scenarios, provides employees with real-time visibility into their vesting schedules, empowering them to make informed decisions about their equity holdings.

DHL's ‘myShares’ program offers a 15% discount without a holding period, aiming to enhance employee engagement, retention, and attractivity.

The innovative ‘myShares CompConnect’ system serves as the backbone, seamlessly managing participant interactions, eligibility, and backend administration. By automating processes and ensuring compliance with local regulations, the system optimizes efficiency while providing a user-friendly experience for employees. Additionally, the program's comprehensive evaluation approach ensures ongoing effectiveness measurement.

With a 30% uptake during its initial launch, myShares demonstrates significant employee interest and engagement.

Judges were impressed by the program's scale and its impact on diverse employee groups, from parcel couriers to strategy consultants, across different countries. The judges also praised DHL's efforts to bridge the communication gap between management and the wider workforce.

Managing a global share plan for over 47,000 employees across 52 countries, Boston Scientific faced integration challenges between its equity administration and HR systems.

The company's groundbreaking API solution, bridging E*TRADE and SAP SuccessFactors, automates connectivity, enabling real-time data transfer and eliminating manual errors. This transformative technology enhances participant experiences with streamlined processes and ensures data accuracy, saving 500 hours annually in administration.

The judges were impressed by the sheer scale and ambition of Boston Scientific's project, recognizing it as a significant industry milestone. They commended the company's proactive approach to addressing complex integration challenges, highlighting its role as a trailblazer in leveraging technology to optimize equity plan management.

Moreover, the judges noted that Boston Scientific's API solution not only meets its own operational needs but also sets a new standard for the industry, with potential implications for thousands of companies worldwide.

This forward-thinking initiative embodies innovation and excellence, making Boston Scientific a deserving recipient of the award.

As part of their ESPP communication strategy, Domo leveraged its powerful data analytics platform, developing a comprehensive solution that consolidates all relevant ESPP data on an individual basis. This includes purchase period tracking, IRS rule monitoring, and estimated purchase price and shares, among other features.

The impact of this solution has been remarkable. Domo's equity team has seen a significant reduction in the time spent educating employees about ESPPs, as the solution empowers participants to understand their equity compensation better. Moreover, employees now ask more sophisticated questions about how ESPPs can contribute to their overall financial well-being, indicating a deeper understanding of the program's benefits.

What truly impressed the judges was Domo's ability to tailor the solution to meet the specific needs of different audience segments, such as including burn rate information for directors. This customization not only enhances user experience but also demonstrates a keen understanding of the diverse needs within the organization.

The judges were also impressed by the clean dashboards and comprehensive information provided by the platform.

Google’s Global Equity Management (GEM) team successfully implemented Project Nutella, a large-scale process automation project that automated 26 core GEM operations using tools such as SQL and PLX. This initiative eliminated the manual touchpoints in key processes such as Grant Audit, International Equity Filings, and China SAFE processing, saving approximately 1,500 hours per year. The program also provided data dashboards to display and analyze equity plan data, enabling better planning and strategic decision-making on the equity plan.

The biggest impact of Project Nutella is the time saved from various automations, which can now be devoted to other equity improvement initiatives that are more valuable to plan participants, stakeholders, and Google. Nutella vastly increases accuracy and reduces the likelihood of errors by having processes run without manual intervention and with numerous validations and quality control checks. The transformation from a worn-out team to an energized GEM focused on delivering the best possible value to plan participants is Nutella's most significant impact.

The judges were impressed by the scale of this project and its ability to transform the team's productivity and well-being. The automation of 26 core GEM operations and the creation of data dashboards with validations and metrics to ensure accuracy and provide real-time data to relevant stakeholders was highly commendable. The time saved through automation and the positive impact on the GEM members' well-being and skill development were also notable. Overall, Project Nutella demonstrated significant innovation, operational excellence, and a clear commitment to enhancing stakeholder value, making it a deserving recipient of this award.

Rio Tinto's myShare program, a global all-employee share plan launched in 2013, has received an award for its innovative and personalized approach to employee engagement. The program enables employees to invest in the company, with bespoke data and personalized animations to explain the value of their investment in real-time. The animations are sent quarterly via email, ensuring all employees are engaged, regardless of their location or whether they are office-based.

Communications specialists were engaged to create the advanced animations, while Rio Tinto’s employee share plan provider was responsible for rolling out the videos worldwide via mail-merged links accessible via PC or mobile.

The solution marries creative techniques with share plan data, providing a cutting-edge approach to educating employees about their investments. Over 35,000 personalized videos are delivered to Rio Tinto's employees globally every quarter. The program has received exceptionally positive feedback, with employees finding it an appealing and exciting way to be regularly educated about their share plan.

The judges were impressed with the program's success in achieving its objectives, which included supporting employee learning styles, improving understanding of investments, and reaching a global workforce. The panel considered the personalized animations to be outstanding and thought they made the experience very special.