Share plans are becoming more strategic, but harder to manage
How 250 listed companies across the UK, US, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and Switzerland manage their share plans, where the administrative pressure is building, and why Finance and People teams see the same programmes differently.
key findings↓cite transaction processing as their biggest administrative challenge, up from 30% in 2024
operate two or more active share plans, averaging 3.4 plans overall
say the benefits of their share plans outweigh the financial and operational costs
Four findings on how share plan management is changing
Share plan administration becomes more complex as companies scale
As companies scale, the primary administrative hurdle shifts from participant support to transaction processing – cited as the biggest challenge by 62% of large-cap companies compared to just 29% of small-cap companies
Finance and People teams see the same share plans differently
94% of CFOs agree the benefits outweigh the costs, compared with 75% of CHROs. Each team measures success by different outcomes.
The US reports more mature share plan management than European markets
63% of US respondents rate their processes as very efficient against 46% globally, yet 44% still say transaction processing takes too much time.
Managing complex share plans requires more efficient processes and visibility
Companies should focus first on the processes that consume the most time and align Finance and People around a shared definition of share plan health.
What starts with supporting participants gradually shifts towards managing a higher volume and greater complexity of transactions
In 2024, responding to participant queries was the biggest challenge at 51%. By 2026, transaction processing had become the clear leading challenge at 42%, while participant queries had fallen to 22%.
“At Ledgy, we believe share plan management should evolve alongside the companies using it. Sophisticated equity programmes shouldn’t have to mean increasingly difficult administration.”
Respondents from listed companies across six markets, spanning C-suite, People & HR, Rewards & Share Plans, and Finance & Legal roles.
