Rituparna Chakraborty, Independent Director, TeamLease, says while initially, the people who are losing jobs or for a change are in the Rs 5-10 lakh bracket, could find the situation challenging maybe for 40-45 days, there are alternative options. These people have, in spite of whatever has happened to some of these organisations, definite skill sets which can be utilised and can be of value to the others. The important thing is not to lose calm, not to be too desperate, not to panic, and just be persistent in terms of the search.

I was reading some of that data put out by the staffing firm Xpheno, and they are saying that more than three-fourths of the Byju’s and Paytm employees who are looking out for jobs, are in the salary bracket of Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh. Many of them have less than four years of work experience. So, that is the kind of profile of people who are looking out and looking at jumping ship right now, at least in both these firms. How troubling is this scenario right now?
Rituparna Chakraborty: Situations like this are always extremely disappointing, and more so for the individuals who are getting directly affected or potentially can get directly affected. But having said that, we have been seeing over the past three-four years how the start-up ecosystems, and I am sure over the last three-four years, there have been many learnings for all of those who have been continuing to work in such organizations. My view on this situation, honestly, is that given the salary bracket and given the volumes, these are the people who have the skill sets which are potentially fungible.

I believe that while initially, maybe for 40-45 days, things could be a little challenging, there are alternative options. These people have, in spite of whatever has happened to some of these organisations, definite skill sets which can be utilised and can be of value to the others. The important thing is not to lose calm, not to be too desperate, not to panic, and just be persistent in terms of the search.

How deep does this run? When you look at the fundamentals going ahead, with this kind of shake-up that we are currently seeing in the Indian start-up universe, do you think this is going to be temporary?
Rituparna Chakraborty: Organisations that we are talking about can continue to be called start-ups, because they are massive organisations, and we know the kind of valuation that we are talking about. So, what essentially we all have to take responsibility for is that, under our noses, these two organisations grew to such a scale! How many people were sleeping on the job? I mean, how did it even get to this situation? It is the employees who end up being at the receiving end of it.

I think for the individuals, yes, it is going to be a little bit of a heartbreak for the next 40 days, but they will move on, they have the skillset, they are fine. But essentially, there is a lot of questioning that all organisations need to be doing. What is going on with governance? What is going on with compliance? What is this mad rush to change top-line growth without paying attention to the basic fundamental details? Can you really achieve success and grow organisations without following and adhering to the basic fundamentals of running a business?

These are some of the larger questions that we need to understand. And my only message, honestly, for the youth, I do not think we should ever dissuade people. And then talking about and beating up the Indian start-up system is not essentially going to solve the purpose. I think we need to encourage start-ups. We need these organisations. Yes, there will be some failures down the line, but not of the kind that we are seeing with these two organisations. This is a different problem altogether. I personally feel that the employees or anyone who is a job seeker, need to be very careful about the basic fundamentals. All that glitters is not gold. Just because huge amounts of funds are being raised, which are being spent in making it look all glitzy, does not necessarily make this an organisation you can bet your future or your career with. So, some amount of discretion and judgment needs to apply where these organizations pass the smell test.

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