How Does the ESOP Share Benefit the Company? When employed as a corporate financial approach as well as an employee benefit plan, an ESOP share helps the firm. Benefits of a corporate ESOP include: Obtaining more equity capital Refinancing existing debt Purchasing productive assets with money borrowed from third-party lenders ESOP shares can also be utilised to boost cash flow by allowing plan payments to be made in stock rather than cash. According to The ESOP Association's surveys, most Association members report higher employee morale and productivity as a result of their ESOP perks. ESOP firms expanded more than 5% quicker than non-ESOP companies, according to a research conducted by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) in the 1980s. Furthermore, the study found that ESOP share firms with participative management styles developed three to four times quicker than traditionally managed ESOP firms. A number of subsequent studies have confirmed the NCEO findings, and it is now widely known that ESOPs, particularly in participative managed firms, may boost a company's efficiency. A devoted team is essential for any business, no matter how big or small it is. An ESOP share pool is a collection of equity shares held for employees of a private firm. It is a method of enticing brilliant individuals to a startup — if the employees assist the firm in becoming profitable enough to go public, they will be paid with shares. Those that join the firm early typically have a larger pool of options than employees who join later. ESOPs allow entrepreneurs to bring employees closer to the organization's goal while also instilling a sense of ownership and trust across the ranks. These equity shares are given to employees either when they join or during their employment (depending on how important the person is to the organization's success). However, implementing ESOPs is not so straightforward. It necessitates the founders to dilute a particular amount of their ownership in order to contribute to the ESOP pool (at an early stage). Employees receive their ESOP shares from this pool. As a result, unless you have an ESOP share pool, you cannot give ESOPs to new employees. If you have exhausted the ESOP share pool and still have unmet employment needs, as a founder, you can dilute your ownership further to replenish the ESOP pool or ask your investors to do so.