Internal Equity Grant Process

DRI: Kemper Hamilton

Page purpose:

  1. Define how new hire and refresh equity grants are entered into BambooHR
  2. Outline process for obtaining board approval for grants
    1. Includes pre-board meeting audits, obtaining list of approved options granted, and entering approvals into Bamboo

Equity Basics

A few basics:

  1. Carta is the system of record for granted options.
  2. New hires option grants are recorded in BambooHR as ‘Proposed, Not Yet Granted’ options
  3. The board meets quarterly to approve grants.
  4. A granted option has been approved by the board. Once approved, People Ops updates Bamboo to reflect ‘Granted’ status

Entering Equity Grants into Bamboo

BambooHR is the source of truth for our equity grants. This process describes the data entry procedure for the Options section, located on each Teammate’s Profile > Job Tab. The Options section is used to populate the list that is sent to the board for approval on a quarterly basis. It must be kept up-to-date.

Entering a new grant

The People & Talent Teams are responsible for entering new grants. Managers may enter new grants as outlined in the handbook, but should consult with their People Partner first.

  1. Navigate to each employee’s BambooHR Profile>Job Tab

  2. Scroll to the Options section and select “+Add Options.” Enter the following information:

    Status: Proposed, Not Yet Granted

    No. of Options: Granted options amount in [number of shares]

    Vesting Start Date: Date of hire or date listed on refresh letter

    Grant Date: Leave blank

    **Exercise Price: **Leave blank

    Certificate Number: Leave blank

    Equity Notes: Include Grant Type (see below). Starting September 2022, we will begin using the Equity Notes section to specify what kind of grant is awarded. Noting the type of grant helps with auditing grant amounts prior to board approval. Equity notes are not visible to Teammates.

  3. Click “Save.”

  4. Update status from “Proposed, not yet granted” to “Granted” only after board approval.

Grant Types

Always include a Grant Type in the Equity Notes in BambooHR option section.

  • New Hire Grant
  • Promotion
  • Equity Refresh
  • Retention*

*Not currently in use

Board Approval Process

The People Team is responsible for preparing the initial data pull from BambooHR, and sharing a final list of grants made since the last board approval with the Legal Team. This includes auditing BambooHR for accuracy. The People Team is responsible for maintaining BambooHR records, which includes updating approved grants from “Proposed, Not yet granted” to “Granted” in BambooHR following board approval.

Full internal process here.

2 weeks before board meeting

People Ops will pull a report to determine all equity grants from the previous quarter. This report will be used to populate Carta’s option spreadsheet. Legal and Finance will review the spreadsheet. You can use this filled-out spreadsheet as a reference, but keep access to the filled-out spreadsheet restricted.

1 week before board meeting

PeopleOps will send the spreadsheet to Orrick who prepares/facilitates board approval.

People Ops saves the list in the people/legal drive Reports folder

Recording grants as approved in Bamboo

Following each board meeting, BambooHR must be updated to reflect approved grants.

Orrick will alert PeopleOps when the grants have been approved and PeopleOps will then update grants to “Granted” status in Bamboo. No need to update Carta, Orrick will handle.

To record approved grants:

  1. Navigate to each employee’s BambooHR Profile > Job Tab

  2. Scroll to the Options section and select the “Edit” button next to grant(s) listed as “Proposed, Not Yet Granted.”

  3. Update each field below

    Status: Update to Granted

    No. of Options: Granted options amount in [number of shares][Verify this number matches the number in the report of approved grants received from Legal]

    Vesting Start Date: Verify this date matches Date of hire or refresh letter

    Grant Date: Enter grant date from Options report

    Exercise Price: Leave blank (Carta will be our source of truth)

    Certificate Number: Leave blank

    Equity Notes: Do not change.

Once all grants have been approved, pull the report titled “Equity Audit.” All grants should be listed as “Granted” OR have a Vesting Start Date later than the date the previous board meeting’s options list was finalized and be listed as “Proposed, Not Yet Granted.

Any options listed in BambooHR as “Proposed, Not Yet Granted” should not in Carta.