Windfall for staff after JobsAhead, Monster deal

The merger with Monster.com has made it possible for JobsAhead.com employees to monetise their stock options.

As a part of the employee stock options (ESOP) deal, 90 executives working with JobsAhead will get cash benefits of up to Rs 30 lakh.

Six senior executives with the company have become rupee millionaires, making Rs 10-30 lakh as a result of the deal, according to Alok Mittal, vice-chairman, JobsAhead.

The present ESOP deal is a preacquisition scheme. Monster.com is known to have a global stock option scheme.

ESOP allocation to an employee at JobsAhead is based on various factors like the stage at which the employee joined the company, level of contribution of the employee, performance of the employee during his stint at JobsAhead and time spent with the company.

The ESOPs are vested over a period of four years with a part being vested every year, while the employee is in service with JobsAhead.

Mittal says different employees have differential abilities to impact the business. Employees at a senior level are in a better position to contribute more to the organisation than a single employee at the frontline.

While the ESOP deal is offered to employees across the spectrum, in terms of absolute value only senior employees stand to gain the most.

However, a majority of the employees in the 90 odd group, who will benefit from the ESOP deal, are drawn from the junior level because there might not be as many employees at the top level.

With the acquisition, the ESOPs can now be converted to stock and cash. Employees will now be able to monetise these options boosting their current savings ability, says Mittal.

While there was no change in the ESOP policy of JobsAhead this year, the acquisition will set in changes in the policy.

Rajiv Puri, CEO, JobsAhead, says the ESOP deal was well thought out and uniformly drafted across the board. The company has boosted the savings potential of employees, by making them partners in 'wealth creation'.

As far as reward mechanisms of companies go, Mittal says Indian companies are not way off the trend in the Silicon Valley. As a services company, it believes the value of the company lies in its people and the ability to retain talent.

The company was, therefore, willing to make its employees a part the changes. The cash benefits have brought in more excitement into lives of these employees, with some of them now planning to either invest in a house or child education.

JobsAhead.com is India's leading jobs site, which operates out of offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune & Ahmedabad.

It connects companies in India and other countries to Indian professionals offering superior and innovative e-recruitment solutions with the most advanced, made-in-India technology platforms, which save companies time and money and give them greater control over their recruitment processes.