How to structure a compensation and benefits policy for a 50-person company

At 50 people, ad hoc salary decisions start to create serious problems — people find out each other's salaries, resentment builds, your best performers feel undervalued, and your weakest performers feel overpaid. You need a comp policy before you hit 50, not after.

Step 1: Define salary bands per role level. You don't need a Big 4 compensation study. Look at comparable companies on Naukri, LinkedIn, and AmbitionBox. Build 3–4 bands per function (junior, mid, senior, lead) with a 20–30% spread within each band.

Step 2: Decide your positioning. Are you paying at the 50th percentile (market rate), 60th (slightly above), or 75th (talent magnet)? This is a strategic choice tied to your margins. Be deliberate about it.

Step 3: Structure your CTC. For most Indian companies at this stage: fixed base (60–70%), variable pay (10–20%), and benefits (PF, gratuity, health insurance, leave encashment). Keep it clean. Complex CTC structures confuse employees and create compliance issues.

Step 4: Build an annual review cycle. Define when reviews happen (most companies do April, post-financial year), what the criteria are (performance rating, time in band, market movement), and who approves what. Document it.

Step 5: Add a basic benefits stack. Minimum: group health insurance (₹3–5L cover), PF, gratuity, and 18–21 days of annual leave. Above this: meal allowance, learning budget, and flexible work are cheap but high-value retention tools.

TBC designs comp and benefits policies for growing Indian companies — including salary band structures, CTC templates, and appraisal frameworks. If your current comp structure is causing team friction, let's fix it.