All PhonePe employees’ to be offered mandatory ESOPs

Having introduced the ESOP concept in January 2021, the management at PhonePe decided to offer every PhonePe employee the chance to own a part of the company. The offering of USD 200 Mn has been made in name of enabling all 2,200 employees in the organisation to benefit from its success.

When asked the reason behind such an initiative, Manmeet Sandhu, Chief People Officer, PhonePe responded to BW Businessworld’s journalist by stating that, "The allotment of ESOPs to all full-time employees coincided with the completion of 5 years of PhonePe. We rolled out the compensation to all our employees, whether they be software engineers, product managers, customer experience agents or on-ground sales agents, in January this year. The PhonePe Stock Option Plan was crafted to encourage collaboration, long-term focus and organization-first thinking. The idea is - as we unlock value and expand the market, we expand the opportunity for everyone, creating a positive flywheel of success. The ESOPs option ensures that there is also an opportunity to generate wealth and be participants in PhonePe’s growth story for all employees!

The PhonePe Stock Option Plan is a core omponent of our compensation philosophy crafted to encourage collaboration, long-term focus and organization-first thinking. PhonePe is on a mission to use technology as a transformational force that’s making financial inclusion real for every Indian. The PhonePe staff believes that when money and services flow freely, everyone progresses. A core value that enables this inclusion is positive disruption — the idea that as we unlock value and expand the market, we expand the opportunity for everyone, creating a positive flywheel of success. The same core principle drives us internally.

Their compensation system aligns with this approach by removing variable pay based on individual performance for most roles. Instead, they use ESOPs to create the incentive for everyone to be invested in long-term organisational growth. By having ESOPs at a minimum of USD 5000 for all levels, the management has enabled every employee in the organisation to participate in the wealth generation opportunity they have helped create — Karte Ja, Badhte Ja. 

The Stock Option Plan ensures that there is also an opportunity to generate wealth and be participants in PhonePe’s growth story!