Edtech startups like Eruditus and Emeritus, Classplus, BrightCHAMPS among others are looking to reward employees through increments. Others like LEAD and upGrad are giving out generous stock options, while Vedantu, which has had four rounds of layoffs, will be giving out incentives with no upper limits/caps to employees achieving defined milestones and a performance-based year-end bonus.
This comes at a time when, even as recently as last week, edtech firm Unacademy announced that cash appraisals stood cancelled and employees would instead be rewarded with stocks.
According to estimates, the edtech sector has seen close to 7,000 layoffs over the last year or so, across companies including Byju’s, Unacademy, Vedantu, Lido Learning and FrontRow.
Also read: 2022 Year in Review | As the pandemic bubble bursts, edtechs back in class
At Classplus, hikes will be similar to last year’s, said Mukul Rustagi, co-founder. Top performers may get as much as 25% and above.
Discover the stories of your interest
“All our metrics have grown by 2.5x-4.5x over the past year—engagement, revenue, expansion. We plan to reward employees with not just hikes but also stocks,” said Rustagi.At Vedantu, key and critical talent will be rewarded with a year-end bonus based on their performance and/or the organisation’s performance. Employees will also be rewarded for achieving defined goal milestones and esops will be given for wealth creation, said Simriti Goel, chief of culture office at the firm.
BrightCHAMPS, which recently announced stock options worth $1 million for teacher partners, will be rolling out hikes of around 14% this appraisal cycle. Besides scheduled appraisals in March-April, the company will also have performance awards in the next couple of months, which include cash incentives and bonuses not included in CTCs, said Kanika Mendiratta, senior director-people experience (HR).
Eruditus and Emeritus is looking to roll out hikes in the range of 10-15% in June-July as part of its appraisal cycle. Top performers will also be given promotions and global rotations as well as stock options.
“We have had a good year of growth. We are breaking even on an EBITDA basis this quarter and should be profitable going forward,” said Ashwin Damera, CEO, Eruditus and Emeritus.
At school edtech firm LEAD, which entered the unicorn club a year ago, top performers will be rewarded with esops, internal job placements, and cross-business project exposure sponsored and mentored by leadership team members.
upGrad is granting esops worth Rs 100 crore to select employees across levels in the upcoming appraisal cycle. This will help strengthen the company’s commitment towards its workforce, said Mayank Kumar, co-founder.
Others like Simplilearn are taking a cautious approach.
The company is likely to roll out lower hikes than last year’s 14%, as it looks to stay conservative.
“Raising capital has become tough for everyone, and we are trying to optimise costs. We are focusing on promotions and stocks as a way of compensating for lower hikes, to align employees’ interest in the company and retain key talent,” Krishna Kumar, co-founder of the upskilling company, told ET.
Edtech major Byju’s, which laid off 1,000 employees recently in its second round of job cuts, did not respond to requests for comment.