For unhappy employees, the siren call of a recruitment firm becomes a klaxon horn when stock options are part of the picture. Traditional companies are trying to turn down the volume with alternative financial inducements. To receive returns, employees must stay at least three years. But for the patient, a stake in a diversified investment portfolio seems a better bet than options in a single dotcom. Andersen Consulting has a similar program.
Workers can collect shares in an internal investment fund run by the firm's venture capital arm.
The fund has stakes in some 40 companies, spreading the risk. The company either succeeds or it doesn't. Atter points out that investment banks in particular are losing people because their retention strategies usually focus solely on incentive pay. Charles Caldwell, Asia Pacific human resources director for Rockwell Automation, says when interviewing job candidates his staff emphasizes long-term career development opportunities, not financial incentives. About one-third of our job candidates in China ask about stock options, and we don't mince our words.