Startups' salary expenses jump 43% in April-Sept amid hiring spree

Ballooning salaries and team expansions over the last six months has led to a 43 percent spike in salary spends of startups in India with companies hiring aggressively amid a tech boom, according to RazorpayX Payroll data.

The median salary has gone up by 7 percent during the April-September 2021 period as startups continue to see a growing investor interest, says a note released on October 20 by the salary management product of Razorpay, the digital payments and business banking company.

RazorpayX Payroll is used by 360 startups in more than 15 sectors with an employee count of over 25,000, the note said.

“Businesses across industries are on the road to recovery and these insights reiterate this in many ways. The fact that the majority of our startups using RazorpayX Payroll have increased their salary spends alongside a steadily growing headcount is a clear sign of revival,” Razorpay CTO and co-founder Shashank Kumar said.

Employee headcount grew by 30 percent in the last six months. While hiring for entry-level jobs was up 14 percent, mid-level jobs grew by 31 percent and mid-senior level by 38 percent, says the note.

The biggest growth, however, was at senior levels as startups set out on a path of stability, looking to strengthen business strategy to adapt to the new normal.

The headcount at senior levels grew by 43 percent as compared to the previous six months.

At organisational level, 57 percent of the startups saw an increase in hiring and 28 percent a drop.

The e-commerce sector contributed to this growth in a big way, as a lot of businesses and consumers embrace digital, Razorpay has said.

Bonuses are back

The number of startups extending bonuses went up by 52 percent during the six months compared to October 2020 to March 2021 period.

The amount paid in bonuses increased by 23 percent as opposed to pay-cuts and deferred bonuses in the year-ago period.

Real estate, hospitality and agricultural technology are some of the sectors that didn’t give bonuses as they are gradually stabilising, says the note.

Hospitality has been one of the worst-hit sectors as coronavirus curbs restricted people to their homes and brought travel to a halt.

After a devastating second coronavirus wave, the economy is on the mend as restrictions were more localised compared to the first wave that saw a nationwide lockdown.

The revival has also led to an uptick in work travel as reflected in a 54 percent rise in travel reimbursements.

Overall reimbursements were up by 50 percent and the fuel one was up 28 percent. Internet connectivity compensation increased 63 percent in these six months, indicating the continuity of work from home and office models.

Razorpay expects work-from-home allowances to grow by 80 percent to further enable remote and hybrid work regimes.

Employee wellbeing will continue to remain a top priority, with more startups offering health insurance to cover employees and their dependents, RazorpayX said.

RazorpayX Payroll, also known as Opfin, is a part of Razorpay’s neobanking platform RazorpayX. The platform automates payroll processes, does calculations and executes payroll— disbursal of salaries and the payment of statutory dues.