Grofers hires women and improves its employee productivity scores

• Online grocery startup Grofers currently has 40% female employees.
• It has 500 women employees across Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Kolkata.
• Grofers claims to have grown by a staggering 800% in 2 years.

Indian grocery startup Grofers is breaking the gender silos and the ‘traditional’ job roles defined by gender.


It is bringing in women to work at its warehouse and also for delivery. Currently, 40% of its employees are women.


“Warehousing was traditionally considered a male dominated industry. However, in modern times and with better support, women employees are gaining strength in warehouses as well. We employed around 500 women employees in Grofers warehouses currently in Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Kolkata,” said Ankush Arora, Head, HR, Grofers.


The company plans to follow the same trend in Faridabad, Hyderabad and Noida.


Grofers also provides safety measures – from cameras at all locations, female security guards, housekeeping, HRs, pick up and drop facility to fixed working hours.


Through several training programmes, the female workforce carries out tasks like inventory putaway, inventory audit, order picking and billing, return processing, etc.


“These training programmes help women employed to improve their skills and advance further within the field,” said Arora.


Grofers is also reaping in the benefits as it has resulted in an increase in efficiency. Its onboarding experience, job training and rewards and recognition also aided this growth.


“With our focus on these, we have been able to achieve an overall decrease in absenteeism rate, particularly for a set of female team members-- which has not only increased the process efficiencies and productivity but also enhanced our overall employee engagement score,” said Arora.


From reports about it shutting down offices across cities, the company has made a comeback. In the last two years, it claims to have grown by a staggering 800%, and clock in annual revenues of $400 million.


In May 2019, the e-grocery startup raised $200 million from Softbank Vision Fund, falling just a few million short in valuation to become a unicorn.