Unsure how to feel. Image seems to be everything. - Anonymous employee Zayo Employee Review

Your Cons focus on Incentives vs lower market salary. Your questions are reasonable and I highly encourage you to engage in conversations around them. I think as you understand our overall situation better, your views might evolve. First, we are constantly looking at all aspects of comp plan, including cash components. Every month, we raise the salaries and bonus targets of select individuals. We do this from the perspective of our perception of their value relative to market. We have had some employees leave because there is a gap in their perception versus ours. Usually, this has little to do with the market but more to do with a judgment about the individual. They might be right, but sometimes a new environment is needed to find out. Second, let me address the "longer you're there, it may become a wash...". First, we are increasing cash comp for those who we believe are earning it. So the premise of the point is not something we are in 100% synch. You are correct though that we consider our robust management equity plan in the overall compensation equation. The management plan is flexible in nature. We consistently look at including additional employees in the plan, and in increasing the units for deserving employees. The most relevant counter-point to your ponder , though, is that the value of the plan has been increasing over time. If we maintain an Equity IRR performance of 30%, that means that the overall value of the Common Unit pool is increasing at a >30% rate (it isn't proportional). It isn't a static value. Third, you say "what if the bubble bursts"? This is a natural question given the telecom bubble of the early 2000s. Our responsibility is to build real value, not a temporary illusion of value. Everything we do strategically and tactically -- as highlighted financially in earning supplements -- reflects our commitment to developing long term sustainable value. Fourth, you say "tell people when they can get cash in their equity". See Salesforce Chatter for a long post by me on this topic. One highlight I'll share here though: many of our employees are about to receive a special cash distribution on their management equity. This was just approved by the board, and will be communicated to employees soon. I just happened to be reviewing this post today. The ultimate liquidity would be tied to an IPO, sales of the company, or a major private equity recap. The timing is unclear, as it always would be with EVERY private company. Having said that, some type of event is likely to occur in the next 12 - 24 months.