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- New Delhi-based fintech firm Bharatpe offers motorcycles to new tech employees in a bid to hire more staff.
- New hires can also choose a gadget package that includes a smart watch, an iPad Pro, and streaming subscriptions.
- The firm is trying to get an edge in its hiring push as India suffers a severe shortage in skilled IT professionals.
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With IT manpower running low in India, one fintech firm looks to stand out by offering something different from the usual perks and benefits – a motorcycle for each new hire in its tech team.
New Delhi-based fintech company Bharatpe lets its new employees choose from five motorcycles, such as a BMW model worth around $3,400 or about 3 months' salary for the average IT professional there.
If a bike isn't your fancy, Bharatpe also offers a gadget package that includes an iPad Pro with a pencil, Marshall speakers, Bose headphones, a Samsung Galaxy watch, a $330 bicycle, and subscriptions to Netflix, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime, according to its website.
Last week, Bharatpe CEO Ashneer Grover posted on LinkedIn that his company would extend these perks to its existing tech team and to new product managers as well.
To sweeten the deal even further, the company said it would host employees in Dubai at the same time the Cricket T20 World Championship is held there from October to November this year. Cricket is widely considered India's most popular sport.
Bharatpe, which has five offices around India and runs a QR payment service for shop owners, is trying to expand its tech team by 100 people amid a free-for-all among India's tech companies for experienced IT talent, reported The Times of India.
Other firms are offering candidates cash to take assessment tests regardless of whether they land a job, while some companies tout free iPhones and flexible working hours, per The Times. Recruitment firms there have been hard-pressed to fulfill the demand for IT staff, it reported.
Techies have been in severely short supply over the last two years as India's IT market grows, reported local media.
To keep up with technology advancements, the country will need to increase its number of workers with digital skills by nine times by 2025, said a report commissioned by Amazon Web Services this year.
Bharatpe did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.