From hikes to freebies: Start-ups go all out to retain talent

From team holidays to adventure trips to freebies including laptops, washing machines and even bikes, start-ups are pulling out all stops to retain employees this appraisal season.

From team holidays to adventure trips to freebies including laptops, washing machines and even bikes, start-ups are pulling out all stops to retain employees this appraisal season.

Many-are-conducting-performance-reviews-two-to-four-times-a-year-Some-companies-are-even-doing-it-on-a-monthly-basis-Illustration-Abhimanyu

Companies including CoCubes, shopclues.com, Darveys.com, Junglee Games, fabfurnish.com, HolidayIQ among others, are offering not just better monetory compensation, but even unique ways to motivate employees.

Sample this.

CoCubes, a start-up the assessment and hiring sector, is taking its team of 100 people to Goa this year, after doling out decent salary hikes.

“This year we exceeded our target, and the team decided that they wanted to celebrate this achievement in Goa,” said Harpreet Singh Grover, CEO, CoCubes.

Darveys.com, which deals in luxury products, took its team to Rishikesh for adventure activities after giving out the appraisal letters.

At iPay, a payment gateway, the firm has given away 10% of the share to its employees.

Start-ups are also wooing top performers with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), cash incentives and freebies such as laptops, washing machines and bikes.

“We offered compensation packages, including ESOPs, leaves programmes, apart from quarterly bonuses and performance reviews,” said Ankush Gera, CEO, Junglee Games.