Chandigarh, (Aditi) : upGrad was in the news in July for being the first company in India to reverse pay cuts due to covid, retrospectively. Now on the first working day of the year India’s largest online higher education company upGrad has announced the grant of ESOPs to around 600 of its 2500 employees as a reward for the company’s stellar performance in 2020, and in recognition of the tremendous hard work and commitment of all who have completed more than a year with upGrad.
“We have seen our workforce adapting to the remote-work mechanism with sheer diligence and have worked harder throughout the year, contributing to our steep business growth & driving career outcomes for our learners. Hence, it is our conscious call to grant ESOPs to our team as gratitude towards their commitment. We believe this will further foster their & their family’s belongingness to our institution and create a shared ownership, in addition to long term wealth creation opportunity with upGrad,” said Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, during the company’s quarterly town hall today.
This announcement was accompanied by the introduction of flexible paid time-off/leave policy and a spate of work-friendly policies for its 2500 team members, which will allow the employees to design their own paid-leaves calendar themselves, thus enabling flexible work culture across the board.
With these initiatives, upGrad aims to strengthen its position as an employer of choice in India, and globally.
“We are cognizant that the personal and professional drivers for our workforce are different and rather than traditional designs of workforce policies and benefits, we are getting personalised in meeting the exact needs of each of our employees. To bring more inclusivity, fluidity, and flexibility in our people practices, we are making sure that we address the drivers that are critical to them – want to upskill and learn, upGrad will provide paid time off to do so; have a family exigency, the organisation will support them in taking time off to be with their loved ones. We want our employees to share our success, hence the ESOPs. Also, we want to meet the personal needs, hence the flexibility to carve better work-life balance. This is just the beginning of the series of progressive policy changes that will be implemented over the year, our effort to create better employee experience and a happier workforce,” said Preeti Kaul, President - HR, upGrad.
Elated by the announcement, Neha Prasad, Senior Executive - Brand Marketing, upGrad said, “This, by far has been the best thing that has happened after 2020 and to start a new year on such an overwhelming note, is special. I am now waiting for HR’s crash course on ESOPs to truly understand how it can create value for me and my family. Attending town halls is the thing to look forward to now, as they have become the bringer of good news.”