When you’re giving away £1,000 worth of shares to every employee, it shouldn’t be hard to get people on board. But when you have almost 8,000 colleagues across the globe, it becomes a challenge. How do you share the message in a simple way that everyone will understand? This was the dilemma faced by RS Group – leaders in industrial product and service solutions. We did it with some simple wordplay that linked back to the company’s global strategy. Our campaign – RS YAY! – was a success: every eligible colleague signed up and the campaign took a top prize at the 2023 Global Equity Awards.
RS Group needed our help relaunching its global strategy and with it, a plan entitling every employee to shares worth £1,000 – if the business hit its growth targets.
With around 7,700 employees across 32 countries – made up of engineers, sales, distribution centre workers, supply chain and group functions – the challenge was to create a campaign that engaged and informed, while smashing geographical, cultural and language barriers to cut through financial jargon to make sure every employee claimed their shares.
After coming up with the ‘RS Way’ – the strategy – we created the ‘RS YAY!’. It encapsulated the benefits of the share scheme in a simple way that could be easily translated, while linking back to the strategy – all while getting colleagues excited.
To punch through financial jargon, we wrote all materials for those with no financial knowledge in mind. We defined complex terms like ‘profit CAGR’ and ‘vesting’, breaking down complex scenarios so people could see the scheme’s potential.
We’re always working with translators, but for this project we used transcreation. Native speaking copywriters rewrote our messages, maintaining the nuances, specific terminology and tone of voice we were aiming for. We then got feedback from colleagues in countries where those languages are spoken to make sure the wording had maximum impact.
The campaign in all its glory – the ‘yays’, ‘ooohhs’ and ‘ah-has!’ – has landed with full force.
The campaign had a 100% success rate, with all eligible employees joining the scheme. Since its launch, RS YAY! has also gained external recognition after picking up the Best Plan Communication Award* at the 2023 Global Equity Awards.
*for less than 10,000 employees
Judges were impressed by the programme’s inclusivity, simplicity and impact, as well as the vibrancy of the materials and how they aligned with the RS culture. The programme tackled difficult topics with simple messaging, making it accessible to all employees.
The judges said: “Overall, the programme stands out as a comprehensive and innovative approach to creating a global all-employee share ownership plan.”
