“In today’s labor market, holding on to top talents is more challenging than ever,” said Chris Buttenham, co-founder of Reins and co-author of the book. “Historically, the best way to engage employees has always been to connect incentives with the success of the business itself, but giving up equity dilutes ownership. Our book demonstrates a more innovative approach, one that offers advantages for business owners and employees alike.”

“Alternative Equity” offers a deep dive into phantom stock, which is a way to connect employee incentives to business performance and create invested, committed key players without giving up ownership shares. Throughout the book, Buttenham and co-author J. Mark Poerio provide guidance for business owners who wish to develop flexible and effective incentive programs that fosters loyalty and longterm commitments from their employees..

“No matter the goals you have for your company—whether they are for scalable growth, acquisition or succession—it’s important to have employee interests aligned with those goals,” said Poerio, an advisor for Reins. “We help owners understand how to make that alignment happen, even as they learn more about practical considerations such as taxes, compliance and valuation. We take the guesswork out of the equation.”

The book features step-by-step instructions for designing effective plans that offer flexibility and are easily adaptable as priorities change. In addition, Buttenham and Poerio provide case studies that showcase the unique challenges different industries, such as construction and manufacturing, face when implementing phantom stock plans.

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