12 November 2025

Flexible remuneration in tech start-ups: how to attract talent without driving up wage costs

The challenge of retaining talent in the start-up tech world

Attracting and retaining technology talent is one of the biggest challenges facing start-ups in Spain. Engineers, developers and product managers are in high demand, and competition with multinationals and consolidated scale-ups is fierce.

In the early stages of the project, budgets are tight and every euro counts. Raising gross salaries to match the offers of large companies is not always feasible.

However, people remain a company's most valuable asset. start-up culture, and your commitment can make the difference between growing or falling behind. Therefore, delivering “more value” without raising labour costs has become a strategic necessity.

What can flexible remuneration bring to a start-up?

The flexible remuneration allows professionals to allocate part of their gross salary to products or services exempt from personal income tax (such as food, transport or childcare), thus increasing their net disposable income without the company incurring a higher cost.

For start-ups, this translates into some key advantages:

More purchasing power without increasing labour costs: ua measure that improves team satisfaction without impacting cash flow.
Welfare and commitment: aBy offering personalised benefits, people perceive that the company cares about them, which strengthens retention and motivation.
Modern brand image: incorporating flexible benefits positions the company as an innovative environment, aligned with the values of care and flexibility that tech talent values.
Scalability and simplicity: loday's digital systems allow these plans to be managed without bureaucracy, perfect for agile teams that need to move fast.

Benefits most valued in the tech start-up environment

In the technology sector, professionals tend to place a high value on autonomy, continuous learning and personal balance. Flexible remuneration plans can be tailored to these interests with benefits such as:

Food cards: cards or digital tickets such as Ticket Restaurant simplify day-to-day life and provide financial support.
Training and upskilling: partial or full financing of master's degrees, bootcamps or language courses. A commitment to lifelong learning strengthens engagement and employability.
Well-being and mental health: access to company health insurance or subscriptions to physical and emotional wellness apps.
Sustainable mobility: transport ticket or support for electric bicycles and scooters, in line with the ESG and sustainability values that many start-ups promote.

These benefits, in addition to enhancing the employee experience, reinforce the commitment to sustainability, diversity and holistic wellbeing - three essential pillars of modern employer branding.

How to launch a flexible remuneration scheme in your start-up

The implementation of a flexible remuneration scheme doesn't have to be complex. With the right partners, it can be as simple as activating a digital tool and communicating it to the team. A few steps:

Listen and define the objective

Before launching any plan, understand what your team is looking for: retention, motivation, tax savings or wellbeing? A short survey on Slack, for example, will give you quick insights on what benefits (food, training, health, mobility) they value most. You can then design a useful plan that is tailored to the reality of your start-up.
Design a simple and scalable plan

Start with a few benefits - for example, restaurant ticket and childcare ticket - and make sure your chosen provider manages everything digitally and in compliance with regulations. The important thing is that you can scale the system as the team grows, without adding to the administrative burden.
Launch it with transparency and accompaniment

Explain the tax and practical benefits to your team: how much they save, how to use the benefits and how to choose the most suitable options according to their salary. You can do this with an internal session or a video. The clearer and more relatable the message, the greater the adoption.
Manage, measure and improve

Once the plan is active, it automates the monthly management (payroll, benefits and reports). Digital platforms such as Edenred Flex simplify this process and allow you to track key metrics: usage, KPIs and savings. Use this data to fine-tune benefits and tailor them to your team.

Case study: a fintech that retained its talent with flexibility

Consider a Spanish fintech company in the midst of expansion. After losing some key profiles due to strong market competition, its founding team decided to implement a flexible remuneration plan with the support of a specialised partner such as Edenred.

Within a few months, the internal environment began to change: people appreciated being able to choose the benefits that best suited their lifestyle and felt that the company really listened to their needs. In addition, they saw significant savings month after month on their payroll.

Without increasing salary costs, the start-up managed to strengthen commitment, reduce turnover and consolidate a culture of trust and well-being. A small change in its remuneration policy had a big impact on the team's motivation and sense of belonging.

Flexible remuneration allows you to offer more value to your team without driving up wage costs., reinforcing the image of a modern, human and sustainable company.

Implementing such solutions can be the turning point that makes the difference between a start-up that competes and one that leads.