IR’s Forgotten Audience

While there are those that continue to want to hang Andrew Mason in effigy for the twists and turns relating to Groupon's proposed IPO, I think he deserves some credit for not overlooking IR's forgotten audience - the employees. 

It's been my experience that - more often than not - senior management teams are so focused on their large institutional holders that they completely lose sight of the loyal shareholders right under their noses. Among other things, these employee-owners can represent an important voting block each proxy season and, thus, should hear from management directly throughout the year on financial performance, strategic accomplishments and "... all the stuff that one would want to look good..." Of course, the communications to this constituency needs to be consistent with all other public disclosures to investors and in accordance with Reg. FD. But it should not be left to chance or assumed word will trickle down. Certainly employee-owners have a unique purview on their part of the company's operations, but they likely know less about the entire business and its strategy than you think. They - like all investors - need to have the dots connected for them and the metrics examined regularly.

Have you talked with your employee-owners lately?

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