COMPENSATION SERVICES

Compensation audit

During a compensation audit, we evaluate the effectiveness of your compensation programs given company and external factors. As part of a compensation audit, Vivient:

• Reviews your current pay philosophy in light of your strategy and culture, and market practices and expectations

• Defines your market for talent, including peer group development

• Benchmarks your compensation to assess competitiveness

• Assesses the effectiveness of your incentive plans to determine whether you are getting a good value for your compensation dollars

• Recommend changes to improve the effectiveness of your compensation programs

Our Services

 Compensation

 Performance Measurement

Board Advisory Services

Incentive plan design      

An effectively designed incentive plan supports company business strategy and aligns management decision-making with the goal of shareholder value creation.  Vivient develops short- and long-term incentive plans that focus individuals and teams on the achievement of strategic objectives. Vivient designs bonus plans, multi-year cash incentive plans, sales incentive plans, and real and phantom equity programs. In designing incentive plans, Vivient addresses a number of important considerations: 

• What objectives should the incentive plan achieve?

• What is the right vehicle (e.g., cash, equity) to deliver incentive pay?

• How should performance be measured?

• What are the right goals to ensure that payouts are appropriately linked with performance?

• Are the costs of the plan reasonable given the level of performance achieved?

Stock option plan design

A well-designed stock option plan strikes a balance between attracting, retaining and motivating top talent, and minimizing shareholder dilution.  Vivient helps public and private companies navigate difficult stock option plan issues, including:

• What are the optimal levels of equity dilution and overhang for your firm?

• What valuation method should you use to value option grants? 

• Should performance features be applied to stock options (e.g., performance vesting, indexed stock options)?

• How can you motivate employees if your stock options are materially underwater?

• Should you consider alternatives to options? 

• How should broad-based stock option plans be communicated to employees for maximum impact?

Vivient designs stock option plans for companies of all sizes, including start-up and venture-backed companies.  We help start-up and venture-backed firms determine their stock option needs at different rounds of financing, and determine appropriate grant sizes for executives and employees.

Communication and training

In order to drive desired behavioral changes, performance and rewards programs must be effectively communicated to managers and employees.  Vivient helps clients create targeted communications materials, including brochures, incentive plan participant guides and plan documents, presentations, newsletter articles and web site content.  Vivient also designs and delivers customized performance and rewards training programs. Training programs can be delivered by Vivient consultants, company representatives or a combination of the two.

Other services

Vivient can help you address other compensation issues, including:

• Design of severance and change-in-control protections

• Evaluation of new hire packages

• Development of executive employment agreement terms