Benefits Package in Armenia: from insurance and referral bonuses to massages and credits

After materials about developer salaries in Armenia, I would like to touch on the benefits package — what companies offer besides salaries to attract and retain specialists.

We have gathered information on compensation from 50 Armenian IT companies: startups, local companies, offices of international corporations, product firms, and outsourcing.

We did not include perks such as coffee, cookies, fruits, etc., as these are already common in almost every office listed. Conditions vary from company to company; some provide benefits from day one, while others after a probation period. We also did not consider the size and conditions of referral bonuses or the 13th salary.

Top 3 on the list

The most common benefits in benefits packages worldwide are health insurance, greater freedom (flexible schedule, remote work opportunities, additional days off), and various factors supporting educational processes.

Following the global trend, health insurance is provided by most Armenian companies. For example,

• Insurance at Webb Fontaine includes family members.
• Workfront provides insurance within 10 days from the date of employment.
• Renderforest specifies that the insurance covers expenses up to 1.5 million drams per year (over $3,200).
• Optym offers health insurance for the employee, family members, plus accident insurance.

The next item on the list is team buildings and various team outings and events. The actual number of companies might be higher, as many do not mention team buildings in their benefits package since it is part of corporate culture.

• For example, EventGeek organizes international trips. The product is developed by two teams — one in San Francisco, one in Yerevan, and they meet at a third location.
• Webb Fontaine Each team is allocated a special budget for such events, and the choice of activities comes from the team itself rather than top-down.
• RockBite Games organizes Mortal Kombat 11 tournaments.

28 out of 50 companies allocate resources for training and access to educational platforms.

• Benivo offers unlimited access to PluralSight.
• Several companies cover the cost of professional education, Priotix covers tuition costs at universities.
• Additionally, 13 companies specifically mention the availability of language courses at the office. In almost all cases, this is English.

According to Harvard Business Review, flexible schedules and the possibility of remote work are the most desirable benefits. In Armenia, 10 companies operate on a flexible schedule, and 4 note the possibility of remote work. Conditions vary by company; some do not limit the number of days employees can work remotely, while others specify a certain number of days per month.

Those with flexible schedules include: PicsArt, Disqo, DataArt, SoloLearn, krisp, EventGeek, Fifth LLC, SmartClick, Devolon, BlueNet.

In PicsArt, SFL, krisp, RockBite Games there is varying degrees of freedom regarding working from home.

More and more companies are offering stock options as a supplement to salaries. It's important to note that stock options are not available to all employees, and terms and amounts are determined for each individual candidate. Out of 50 companies, 8 offer stock options:

• Vineti, a company developing software to simplify access to personalized medications for cancer and other serious diseases. Bonus fact: they extensively use pair programming
• Workfront, software for project management and workflow optimization. The company has been around since 2001.
• ServiceTitan, the first startup unicorn with Armenian roots and an office in Yerevan.
• Optym develops software for transportation and logistics companies.
• 10web, a platform for creating and hosting websites on WordPress.
• krisp, an application for noise cancellation during calls via Zoom, Skype, and other VoIP services.
• Benivo, an HR-tech startup with headquarters in London.

Additionally, options are offered by giants like Cisco and VMware.

Additional financial assistance

The benefits package includes cash payments such as a referral bonus, a 13th salary, and some companies offer monetary bonuses for weddings, childbirth, and birthdays. If a company does not mention bonuses or gifts for birthdays, it does not mean that the employee is left with nothing.

Two companies from the list, Priotix and Benivo, offer employees loans or financial services at favorable rates. The companies do not disclose exact terms, but according to an engineer who worked at one of them, an employee can request an amount equal to 4 salaries. Loan repayment occurs through automatic deductions from salary (not exceeding 1/3), and the company does not charge interest. The loan also does not affect the conditions of leaving the company. In case of termination, the amount will be deducted from the final paycheck; if that is insufficient, the employee has an additional 3 months to pay off the debt.

All bonuses and compensations aim to create the most favorable conditions for employees, attracting new specialists. From the reviewed companies, the minimum offered is 2 benefits from the list, and the maximum is 11 points.

The material was prepared by the ITisArmenia team.

A small representation of Armenia on Habr: introducing the Armenian IT sector, opportunities, and job vacancies, helping to relocate or open an office in Yerevan.

Source: habr.com