Employer Stock Plan Standards Initiative

HR-XML Launches Employer Stock Plan Standards Initiative

HR-XML Works To Provide Key Interface Between Employers and Stock Plan Brokers and Administrators

Raleigh, NC, USA. March 12, 2002.

The HR-XML Consortium, the global non-profit organization dedicated to creating XML standards for human resources, has established a workgroup to develop standards for employee stock purchase plans (ESPP) and stock option programs. The goal of the project is to define interfaces to exchange ESPP as well as stock option data between an employer and a plan administrator or broker.

To attract and retain employees, many employers reward their employees with stock options and offer employees the opportunity to purchase stock through an ESPP. A third-party administrator or broker often handles the administration of the programs and the exercise of options or selling of stock. Because there are no e-business standards for ESPP and stock option programs, expensive custom interfaces must be built between employer systems and those of the stock program administrator or broker -- or alternatively, the transactions simply are handled via forms, faxes, phone calls, or similar manual means.

"Employee stock purchase plans and stock option programs are important motivators and a much-cherished component of employee compensation," said Daniela Goerke, Development Manager, SAP, and chair of HR-XML's stock program workgroup. "The standards developed by the HR-XML Consortium's stock plan workgroup will provide employers with flexible and cost-effective options for deploying self-service facilities for employees to exercise stock options or purchase stock under an ESPP," according to Goerke.

"Standardized electronic interfaces help eliminate paperwork, improve service for employees, better ensure accuracy, and will help make certain that employees have access to up-to-date information about what can be an extremely important part of employee compensation," according to Lon Pilot, Systems Consultant, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, and HR-XML Consortium President.

"Multinational companies face an enormous challenge in managing and administering data from multiple payroll and recordkeeping systems for a mobile, global workforce," said Gordon Rapkin, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Transcentive. "Standards for stock plan data will reduce costs for all parties involved in equity plan administration -- employers, third-party services providers, and brokers -- and result in higher levels of service to employees."

HR-XML member companies sponsoring the stock plan workgroup include Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, Fidelity Investments, Transcentive, and Watson Wyatt Worldwide. The project also includes participants from a variety of financial services, brokerage, and third-party administration companies. The workgroup plans to deliver the first HR-XML specifications for employer stock programs later this year.

The HR-XML Consortium provides membership options for both organizations and individuals. Those interested in joining HR-XML's employer stock plan standards initiative can find information on membership at:

http://www.hr-xml.org/channels/join.cfm.

Note: the Employer Stock Plan Standards Initiative is one of the projects that will be discussed at HR-XML's Quarterly meeting, April 22-23, 2002, in Atlanta, GA, USA. For further information, see: http://docs.hr-xml.org/meetingAgendaApril22-23.html.

About HR-XML

HR-XML (http://www.hr-xml.org) is a global, independent, non-profit consortium dedicated to enabling e-commerce and inter-company exchange of human resources (HR) data. The work of the Consortium centers on the development and promotion of standardized XML vocabularies for HR. HR-XML's efforts are focused on standards for staffing and recruiting, compensation and benefits, training and workforce management. The Consortium has a membership of companies represented in 22 different countries.

HR-XML member organizations include:

Acord; Adecco Corporation; ADP; Aetna US Healthcare; Allegis Group, Inc./Thingamajob.com; American Background Information Services, Inc.; American Staffing Association; ARINSO International; Association of Test Publishers; Authoria; Best Software; BP; BrassRing, Inc.; Burning Glass Technologies, L.L.C.; Business Logic Corporation; CareerBuilder; CDI Corp/MRI; Ceridian; Cisco Systems; CitiStreet; CompuCorps Mentoring; ComputerJobs.com; Crestone International; Cross Current Corporation; Cyborg Systems, Inc.; Defense Finance and Accounting Service; Deploy Solutions, Inc.; Development Dimensions International; Dobbs Temporary Services, Inc.; eBenX; Embrace Ltd; Employease, Inc.; Enrollcom; e-peopleserve ltd; esohXML.org; European Community Telework Forum; EVolve Software; ExecuTRACK Software GmbH; Fidelity Investments; Fieldglass, Inc.; Great Plains; Halcyon Internet plc; HayGroup; Hewitt Associates LLC; Hewlett-Packard Co; Hire.com; HireCheck; HireRight, Inc.; HotJobs.com, Ltd.; IBM; International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM); Intuit; IQNavigator; iXmatch Inc.; J.D. Edwards; Job Partners Ltd; JobScout24; Kadiri,Inc.; Kelly Services; Kenexa, Inc.; Korn/Ferry International; Kronos Incorporated; MagnaWare, Inc.; Manpower, Inc.; MBH Solutions, Inc.; Minnesota Life; Modis Professional Services, Inc.; Monster.com; MrTed; MSX International; National Resume Writers' Association; nextSource; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Object Management Group; Online Benefits, Inc.; Oracle; Peopleclick; PeopleSoft; Personic; ProAct Technologies, Inc.; ProBusiness Services, Inc.; Profile Up; Prudential Financial; Randstad Holding; Recruitsoft, Inc.; Reed Business Information; RewardsPlus; Robert Half International, Inc.; Rompetrol Refining -- Petromidia Complex; SAP; Schlumberger; Shell Oil Company -- Shell People Services; Siemens Business Services oHG; Society for Human Resource Management; Spherion Corporation; StepStone; Swedish National Labour Market Board; Synhrgy HR Technologies, Inc.; Tesseract Corporation; The 401(k) Company; The Aviant Group; The People Business Network, Inc.; Towers Perrin; Transcentive; Ultimate Software; Unicru; Unifi Network; Vedior NV; Volt Services Group; Watson Wyatt Worldwide; William M. Mercer, Incorporated; Workscape, Inc.; and WOWemployers Network, Inc.

Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See: "HR-XML Consortium."

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The goal of the project is to define interfaces to exchange ESPP as well as stock option data between an employer and a plan administrator or broker. To attract and retain employees, many employers reward their employees with stock options and offer employees the opportunity to purchase stock through an ESPP. A third-party administrator or broker often handles the administration of the programs and the exercise of options or selling of stock. Because there are no e-business standards for ESPP and stock option programs, expensive custom interfaces must be built between employer systems and those of the stock program administrator or broker -- or alternatively, the transactions simply are handled via forms, faxes, phone calls, or similar manual means. "Employee stock purchase plans and stock option programs are important motivators and a much-cherished component of employee compensation," said Daniela Goerke, Development Manager, SAP, and chair of HR-XML's stock program workgroup. "The standards developed by the HR-XML Consortium's stock plan workgroup will provide employers with flexible and cost-effective options for deploying self-service facilities for employees to exercise stock options or purchase stock under an ESPP," according to Goerke. "Standardized electronic interfaces help eliminate paperwork, improve service for employees, better ensure accuracy, and will help make certain that employees have access to up-to-date information about what can be an extremely important part of employee compensation," according to Lon Pilot, Systems Consultant, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, and HR-XML Consortium President. "Multinational companies face an enormous challenge in managing and administering data from multiple payroll and recordkeeping systems for a mobile, global workforce," said Gordon Rapkin, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Transcentive. "Standards for stock plan data will reduce costs for all parties involved in equity plan administration -- employers, third-party services providers, and brokers -- and result in higher levels of service to employees." HR-XML member companies sponsoring the stock plan workgroup include Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, Fidelity Investments, Transcentive, and Watson Wyatt Worldwide. The project also includes participants from a variety of financial services, brokerage, and third-party administration companies. The workgroup plans to deliver the first HR-XML specifications for employer stock programs later this year. The HR-XML Consortium provides membership options for both organizations and individuals. Those interested in joining HR-XML's employer stock plan standards initiative can find information on membership at: http://www.hr-xml.org/channels/join.cfm. Note: the Employer Stock Plan Standards Initiative is one of the projects that will be discussed at HR-XML's Quarterly meeting, April 22-23, 2002, in Atlanta, GA, USA. For further information, see: http://docs.hr-xml.org/meetingAgendaApril22-23.html. About HR-XML HR-XML (http://www.hr-xml.org) is a global, independent, non-profit consortium dedicated to enabling e-commerce and inter-company exchange of human resources (HR) data. The work of the Consortium centers on the development and promotion of standardized XML vocabularies for HR. HR-XML's efforts are focused on standards for staffing and recruiting, compensation and benefits, training and workforce management. The Consortium has a membership of companies represented in 22 different countries. HR-XML member organizations include: Acord; Adecco Corporation; ADP; Aetna US Healthcare; Allegis Group, Inc./Thingamajob.com; American Background Information Services, Inc.; American Staffing Association; ARINSO International; Association of Test Publishers; Authoria; Best Software; BP; BrassRing, Inc.; Burning Glass Technologies, L.L.C.; Business Logic Corporation; CareerBuilder; CDI Corp/MRI; Ceridian; Cisco Systems; CitiStreet; CompuCorps Mentoring; ComputerJobs.com; Crestone International; Cross Current Corporation; Cyborg Systems, Inc.; Defense Finance and Accounting Service; Deploy Solutions, Inc.; Development Dimensions International; Dobbs Temporary Services, Inc.; eBenX; Embrace Ltd; Employease, Inc.; Enrollcom; e-peopleserve ltd; esohXML.org; European Community Telework Forum; EVolve Software; ExecuTRACK Software GmbH; Fidelity Investments; Fieldglass, Inc.; Great Plains; Halcyon Internet plc; HayGroup; Hewitt Associates LLC; Hewlett-Packard Co; Hire.com; HireCheck; HireRight, Inc.; HotJobs.com, Ltd.; IBM; International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM); Intuit; IQNavigator; iXmatch Inc.; J.D. Edwards; Job Partners Ltd; JobScout24; Kadiri,Inc.; Kelly Services; Kenexa, Inc.; Korn/Ferry International; Kronos Incorporated; MagnaWare, Inc.; Manpower, Inc.; MBH Solutions, Inc.; Minnesota Life; Modis Professional Services, Inc.; Monster.com; MrTed; MSX International; National Resume Writers' Association; nextSource; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Object Management Group; Online Benefits, Inc.; Oracle; Peopleclick; PeopleSoft; Personic; ProAct Technologies, Inc.; ProBusiness Services, Inc.; Profile Up; Prudential Financial; Randstad Holding; Recruitsoft, Inc.; Reed Business Information; RewardsPlus; Robert Half International, Inc.; Rompetrol Refining -- Petromidia Complex; SAP; Schlumberger; Shell Oil Company -- Shell People Services; Siemens Business Services oHG; Society for Human Resource Management; Spherion Corporation; StepStone; Swedish National Labour Market Board; Synhrgy HR Technologies, Inc.; Tesseract Corporation; The 401(k) Company; The Aviant Group; The People Business Network, Inc.; Towers Perrin; Transcentive; Ultimate Software; Unicru; Unifi Network; Vedior NV; Volt Services Group; Watson Wyatt Worldwide; William M. Mercer, Incorporated; Workscape, Inc.; and WOWemployers Network, Inc. Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See: "HR-XML Consortium."