upGrad’s New Year Dhamaka: Rewards 600 Employees with ESOP Grants in India

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.” 

About upGrad

upGrad is India’s largest online higher education company. Founded in early 2015, upGrad has impacted over 1 million individuals globally, within a short span of 5 years. 

upGrad provides online programs in the areas of Data Science, Technology, Management and Law to college students, working professionals and enterprises. These programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with top-notch universities like IIT Madras, IIIT Bangalore, MICA, BIMTECH, NMIMS Global Access, Jindal Global Law School, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University, and others. With an 80% program completion rate, robust tech platform, outcome-based learning approach, industry-relevant curriculum, finest university credentials, strong mentorship, and steadfast placement support, upGrad has established its position as the leader in the Indian education system.

IIIT Bangalore and upGrad's PG Diploma in Data Science is India’s first-ever PG Diploma, with over 10,000 alumni & learner-base, to be recommended and validated by the NASSCOM and is aligned to Government approved National Occupational Standards (NOS). ​upGrad ranked​ as India's​ No.1​ startup,​ ​as per the LinkedIn​ ​Top​ ​Startups 2020 list. This is the third time in a row that upGrad has been featured​ ​in the​ top startup list by LinkedIn. ​The edtech major received the title of 'Best Education Brands' by Economic Times in 2020​ for the second time, post winning the same title in 2018. ​The brand made it to the​ prestigious​ GSV Global EdTech 50 List 2020. upGrad has emerged on the list of BW Top Education Brand 2020 and has been titled as the Best E-Learning Company of the year by Business World. ​Owing to its world-class learning platform. upGrad won the 'Best Communication and Teaching Platform' in the Education Innovation Awards 2020 by Entrepreneur India​ as well as received the title of ‘Best Tech for Education’ by IAMAI in 2019.