Share-Based Compensation

3 Months Ended

Nov. 29, 2014

NOTE 3 – SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

The compensation cost of our share-based compensation plans is included in selling, general, and administrative expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated income statements. The total cost of our share-based compensation plans was as follows for the periods presented (in thousands).



		Quarter Ended
		November 29,		November 30,
		2014		2013
Performance awards	$	298	$	1,136
Unvested share awards		75		100
Employee stock purchase plan		29		26
	$	402	$	1,262

During the quarter ended November 29, 2014, we issued approximately 19,000 shares of our common stock to employees from our various share-based compensation plans. The following is a description of developments in our share-based compensation plans during the quarter ended November 29, 2014.

Performance Awards

On November 20, 2014, the Organization and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors (the Compensation Committee) granted new performance-based equity awards for our executive officers. A total of 108,122 shares may be awarded to the participants based on six individual vesting conditions that are divided into two performance measures, trailing four-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) and increased sales of Leadership, Productivity, and Trust practice sales (the Practice Sales) as shown below.



	Adjusted EBITDA				Practice Sales
	Award				Award
	Goal	Number of	Tranche		Goal	Number of	Tranche
	(millions)	Shares	Status		(millions)	Shares	Status
$	39.6	25,228	not vested	$	107.0	10,812	not vested
$	45.5	25,228	not vested	$	118.0	10,812	not vested
$	52.3	25,229	not vested	$	130.0	10,813	not vested
		75,685				32,437

These performance awards have a maximum life of six years and compensation expense is recognized as we determine it is probable that the shares will vest. Adjustments to compensation expense to reflect the timing of and the number of shares expected to be awarded will be made on a cumulative basis at the date of the adjustment.

Compensation expense recognized during the quarter ended November 29, 2014 for performance awards includes expense related to awards granted in previous periods for which the performance targets are probable of being achieved.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

We have an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) that offers qualified employees the opportunity to purchase shares of our common stock at a price equal to 85 percent of the average fair market value of our common stock on the last trading day of the calendar month in each fiscal quarter. During the quarter ended November 29, 2014, we issued 10,024 shares of our common stock to participants in the ESPP.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for compensation-related costs for equity-based compensation, which may include disclosure of policies, compensation plan details, allocation of equity compensation, incentive distributions, equity-based arrangements to obtain goods and services, deferred compensation arrangements, employee stock ownership plan details and employee stock purchase plan details.

+ References+ Details