The recent collapse in some dotcom stock prices reminds employees that although stock ownership has a certain allure, there's no substitute for a weekly cash flow. Nevertheless, a stock options strategy is a potentially effective hiring and retention tool, and companies should not abandon the idea even if some IT workers are spooked by it in the near-term. You don't necessarily need a sophisticated business case to justify a stock options strategy for an IT organization.
Money talks loudly.
Yet, when selling senior management on allocating a pool of company stock for such use, develop a framework for an options strategy. Plenty of compensation specialists can benchmark your plans against what's happening in the industry today as far as raw numbers of options and the exact nature of the stock purchase plan. Stock options are the currency of the economy today. At some companies even hourly wage employees enjoy stock options. Plenty of coveted new hires might not want them.