- Hiring at the CXO level witnessed a decline of 25% between April and December 2023
- Full-time female employee salaries surge by 9.13%, signaling forward momentum toward gender pay equity
INDIA, Bengaluru, 31 January 2024: In the dynamic landscape of 2023, the Indian startup ecosystem underwent a period of turbulence and transformation. Startups were deeply engaged in the seamless integration of emerging technologies, adapting to revised regulatory frameworks, and implementing innovative business models to enhance efficiency and maintain a competitive edge within the industry. In the face of these challenges, organizations exhibited strategic prowess by optimizing costs and reallocating resources to other critical business priorities. Concurrently, many organizations strategically reinforced their workforce through targeted recruitment, demonstrating resilience in navigating challenges.
These industry dynamics and workforce strategies come to light in the movements experienced across the sector tracked by RazorpayX Payroll, the business banking platform of Razorpay. The platform analyzed payroll data of 30,000+ employees, across 20+ sectors currently using RazorpayX Payroll, from April to December 2023. These Insights delve into the transformations within the organizational ecosystem, marked by increased adoption of outsourcing firms, changes in the salary distributions & hiring patterns, and department-wise demand over the past 9 months.
Key insights include:
- An Upswing in the Demand for Outsourcing Firms for Hiring Contractors: While hiring for full-time employees slowed down in the past 9 months, the demand for outsourcing companies witnessed an upward trend, with their money inflow witnessing a growth of 26.77%. The demand for outsourcing companies increased across departments such as technology, sales & marketing, and logistics & operations by 14.14%%, 10.74%, and 6.71% respectively. This reflects the significant shift of startups towards specialized outsourcing firms catering to their respective niches. Interestingly, this growth doesn’t extend to individual contract workers as their salaries only saw a marginal increase of 0.22%.
- Full-time Female Employees’ Salary Depict a Slight Growth: The total salary disbursed over the past 9 months has grown by 8.22%. Meanwhile, the average salary for full-timers witnessed an uptick of 6.69%. For female employees, the average salary increased by 9.13%, and for male employees, it grew by 8.87%. Notably, the positive trend in salaries for female employees reflects a commendable increase, highlighting strides toward gender pay equity in the workplace.
- Hiring of Full-time Employees, Including CXO Hires Witnessed a Decline: While hiring for full-time employees dipped by 17.23%, CXO hiring witnessed a decline of 25%. The data also reveals a sharp decrease of 37.63% in hiring for senior executives.
- Department-wise Growth in Full-time Hiring for Sales & Marketing, Finance, and Technology: Despite a dip in hiring full-time employees, departments such as sales & marketing, and finance have witnessed a growth of 23.24% and 21.45% respectively. This trend depicts strategic decision-making by companies, reallocating resources to areas that are crucial for growth and financial stability.
- Salary Distributions: Finance and HR Take Centre Stage: Full-time employees in finance and human resources departments saw a salary increase of 11.06% and 8.90% respectively. At the same time, the overall growth across sectors stands at a growth of 7.03%.
Commenting on the trends observed, Ayush Bansal, VP & General Manager, RazorpayX said, “The Indian startup ecosystem continues to lead in technological disruptions, setting new benchmarks despite economic challenges. The data from the RazorpayX Payroll platform reflects a growing inclination among startups and enterprises towards outsourcing services. This strategic shift aims at enhancing efficiency, fostering a balanced approach to effective capital utilization, and paving the way for future building blocks of the company through innovation. While challenges are apparent with the decline in CXO hiring, the industry’s commitment to fostering a workplace that values diversity is evident.
The growth in salaries especially for women employees, despite a hiring slump, highlights the industry’s commitment to building a workplace that values diversity and recognizes the contributions of all its members. Together, these trends usher in a new era of work culture marked by specialized talent, a more dynamic, collaborative approach to driving innovation, and a steadfast commitment to gender pay parity,” Bansal added.
RazorpayX currently serves over 45,000 businesses. The neo-banking platform has seen over 200% growth in its Payouts business. The platform has disbursed payouts with an annualized money movement of over $30 Bn. In a first-of-its-kind move, RazorpayX also recently launched Forex services for startups to transfer the funds they have raised globally to India seamlessly.
