Druva Plans to Ramp Up Workforce in India

Druva, Inc. plans to ramp up its workforce in India within the next 12 months, even as it extends remote working for all employees until the spring of 2021.

Since initiating a mandatory remote working policy earlier this year to protect employees and the larger community, the company has supported its local workforce of almost 500 employees with a number of benefits including a home office update allowance, office equipment loaning, career enhancement initiatives, additional days off designed to support mental health and virtual wellness and training programs.

Since March 2020, Druva has transitioned its global employees to a work from home model. To seamlessly enable this transition, the company has focused on supporting its employees to create a productive environment away from the traditional office, even amid the uncertainty of the pandemic. Greater emphasis has been paid on ensuring employee work-life balance, supporting challenges and concerns associated with remote working and offering more flexible work schedules to support impacted families.

“In unprecedented times like these employees expect their organisation to care about their well being above everything else,” said Milind Borate, co-founder and chief development officer. “From the beginning of the pandemic-induced lockdown, we decided to focus on the safety, flexibility and remote training and development opportunities for our employees. Adapting to trends and working to overcome challenges has been part of Druva’s DNA since its founding and it is no different now. Be it the employee assistance program, allowance for home office upgrades or extension of remote working, everything is being done with our employees in mind, and we have emerged stronger than before.“

Other initiatives and benefits Druva has offered employees include:
• Employee assistance program (EAP) to provide holistic mental wellness support for all India employees and their dependents through designated, professional counsellors.
• Revised fitness reimbursement policy to encourage a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle for employees and their immediate family members. This includes reimbursement for expenses related to a variety of wellness activities including subscriptions for online fitness classes, fitness trackers, sports equipment and exercise DVDs/videos and games.
• Extending insurance in some key areas along with an employee paid top-up option, which will allow employees to extend coverage for themselves and their dependents while still having access to all the benefits of the existing corporate policy. An EMI payment option has also been introduced to provide employee support in managing the premium.
• Concierge services have been extended to a door-step service while the company maintains a remote working model.

The remote working model has also minimally impacted the company’s regular activities, including on-boarding, business delivery, timely promotions and annual salary increases. While the firm continues to closely review the ever-evolving situation, it is committed to expanding its local presence and is on track to add 15-20% new headcount in Pune over the next few months.

Once a return to office is deemed safe, the company intends to roll out a phased approach, with a hybrid model for some departments.