Tag: case study on Zomato

  • Zomato Hiring Through Referrals Only? Here’s Why

    Zomato is a startup that took the food delivery business to greater heights. It not only delivers food but also provides details, menus, and customer reviews of a restaurant.

    The startup made the food delivery convenient, affordable, reachable, and reliable. It is now India’s most tried and trusted platform for at-home food services.

    Being a successful startup, it attracts various professionals to its workstation. Be it a fresher or an experienced professional, everyone would love to work and learn at Zomato.

    Getting hired at Zomato however, is not a piece of cake. Recently, Zomato has made clear that it hires its employees only via referrals. This means that one cannot directly apply but only with a referral of an already employee.

    Zomato- India’s Most Trusted Food-Delivery Platform
    How Does Zomato Work?
    Work Culture at Zomato
    How Zomato Hires its Employees?
    What is Referral Hiring?
    Why Zomato Hires Through Referrals?
    FAQ

    Zomato- India’s Most Trusted Food-Delivery Platform

    Zomato is a startup that provides online services of food delivery. It functions in collaboration with the Indian restaurants to serve the customers.

    The startup is well-established and has also entered the unicorn club in 2018. The Indian borne company has now various competitors like Swiggy, Uber Eats, etc. But it continues to occupy a huge place in markets and the customers’ hearts.

    Foundation

    The food-tech startup was founded in the year 2008. There are two founders of the platform- Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah. At present, Deepinder is the CEO of Zomato.

    Headquarter and Operating Areas

    The headquarters of the startup is in Gurugram, India. Zomato serves in almost every city of India now. Apart from India, the company has now expanded its services worldwide. The other operating countries include- Sri Lanka, South Africa, The United Kingdom, Qatar, The Philippines, etc.

    How Does Zomato Work?

    Zomato in simple words offers suggestions and takes orders from the customers. It acts as a bridge between the customers and the food stations.

    Firstly, a customer opens the app or website and can browse various food stations. Then they can place an order at any particular restaurant. When the restaurant receives the order, it starts prepping the meal. After that, the Zomato delivery partner comes to pick up the order. The order then reaches its home.

    The customer makes the payment and can also share their reviews. Zomato takes a commission from the restaurants for this. In this way, it helps the customers get their favourite meals at ease.

    Work Culture at Zomato

    Zomato offers a professional, learning, and friendly work culture. It is like an ideal working condition for any employee.

    Working at Zomato is great but it is not everyone’s cup of tea. It demands a strong mindset and dedication beyond the 9 to 5 regime. The employees are required to give in their efforts at odd hours and sometimes even on holidays.

    After all, a company so big does need dedication beyond the usual for successful functioning. The best quality about Zomato is, it doesn’t hide its culture. An employee survey was conducted about the working conditions. The result of the survey came on Zomato’s blog and its Twitter handle.


    How Zomato Hires its Employees?

    Zomato Careers Page
    Zomato Careers Page

    Zomato is a tech-based startup. It involves various processes behind its successful functioning. It is not a one-man show to run. It needs a trusted and efficient team.

    There are many fields of work at Zomato. These include- marketing, engineering, designing, advertising, etc.

    In recent times, Zomato declared that it will hire employees only through referrals. It means one cannot give a direct interview on their own. You cannot go to a job portal, apply for a role and bag an interview from there.

    To get in as a professional in Zomato, a person needs a referral from an employee at Zomato. Since the Zomans (employees at Zomato) do not give a referral to everyone, the hiring gets limited. This makes it difficult for various professionals to apply at Zomato.

    What is Referral Hiring?

    Referral hiring is a type of recruitment process of a company. In this, the employees of a company take part in the recruiting process.

    Under this method, the already employees of the company share job vacancies in their company. They share this within their network. Then they provide recommendations to certain candidates who apply. In this way, the hiring process becomes network-based rather than open to all.

    Why Zomato Hires Through Referrals?

    Zomato laid off various employees during the harsh conditions of the pandemic. Now, the company is reviving its employee base at a slow pace. The catch is that the company now hires its technical professionals, product teams, marketing, legal professionals only via referrals.

    Zomato is hiring via referrals from the Zomans to make sure they get the right employees.

    • The company faced losses during the pandemic. This made the company lose its employees as there was not much work for them. So, to keep a check on depreciation rate is also a reason that Zomato hires through referrals.
    • Another major reason includes establishing a simple and clear hiring process. Hiring through referrals means no extra rounds of interviews for the candidates. It saves the company time and effort.
    • Hiring through referrals helps Zomato to focus on the distinctive qualities of candidates. This helps to get the best and the most efficient professionals in the team.
    • This helps Zomato have direct and easy access to the best talent. It makes the process trustworthy because the talent is acquired by their employees.
    • By hiring through referrals Zomato cuts the time and cost of sourcing, screening, negotiation, and coordination.

    Thus, Zomato has decided to make its best team only through referrals.

    Conclusion

    Zomato since its start has come far and made great progress. With its tremendous growth, it is not only customers’ favourite but also an ideal workstation for professionals.

    The company has now made it super clear that they will hire only through employee referrals. The company has laid down on their website that they don’t accept job applications. So, if you know someone at Zomato, reach them and send your attractive application to them.

    Even if you don’t know someone, it’s time to build up your network and connections. With a great skillset, mindset, and networking, you can try to get into this successful startup.

    FAQ

    How do you get selected in Zomato?

    Zomato conducts a series of rounds to select a candidate, Resume Shortlisting, Written Round, Group Discussion, Technical Rounds, HR Round. After the pandemic, Zomato has started hiring through referral only.

    Who owns Zomato?

    Founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal owns Zomato.

    How does Zomato recruit?

    Zomato has started hiring via referrals after the pandemic to ensure they get the right people.

  • How Zomato Survived the Pandemic-A Case Study

    Life, as we know, ended with the advent of 2020. It ushered in a new and scary era by introducing us to COVID-19. This puzzle remains unsolved even after toils by the best minds in the world. We now talk about life before and after the pandemic.

    Nothing remains untouched, and one of the most affected is the food business, particularly food delivery. Zomato is the forerunner in this industry in India. And it is only apt that their business performance is seen as an example.

    Zomato Success Story – History | Tagline | Founders | Funding | Startup
    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified informationon different startups and organizations. The content in this post has beenapproved by the organization it is based on. There were days when we used to call different restaurants to place orders andagain call up for c…

    Zomato—Before Pandemic
    Zomato—During Pandemic
    Zomato—Now
    Zomato—Steps Taken For Continued Business
    Zomato—Ventures
    Zomato—FAQ’s
    Zomato—Conclusion

    Zomato—Before Pandemic

    Zomato had reported a revenue of $192 million on a loss of $277 million in the financial year 2018-19. Then, in 2019-20, it doubled its earnings (revenue) reporting levels of $394 million on a loss of $293 million.

    Zomato acquired competitor Uber Eats in January 2020 gaining market share to increase GMV by 108%. In figures, the GMV increased from $718 million in financial 2019 to $1.49 billion in the financial year 2020.

    But as COVID-19 gained pace in the country, India responded starting a lockdown in March. The food delivery GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) was at an all-time low, reducing by 80% in the last week of Match 2020 (comparing with GMV at its peak in mid-February 2020).

    Zomato—During Pandemic

    In June 2020 quarter, Zomato had a revenue of $41 million on a loss of $12 million. These figures show the evident effects of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across India. But a positive impact was that the burn rate was reduced. It was expected to stand under $1 million and by July 2020 the monthly revenues started showing a steady rise reaching 60% of pre-COVID levels.

    Zomato—Now

    Following Goyal’s prediction, the recovery has now been over 80% in August 2020 and finally reached pre-COVID levels by October 2020. He further expects the food delivery business to grow 15-25 percent month on month. He informs that Zomato has done 9.2 crore deliveries since March with no reported transmission through delivery. The road through slow and rocky, persistence has still yielded results.

    Zomato—Steps Taken For Continued Business

    Precautions Taken By Zomato Delivery Partners During Pandemic

    Zomato recognized that they have to take initiatives for survival in the hostile business atmosphere. There were a series of steps taken that lay down an example of a strong spirit and determination. We look at a few of these:

    • Contactless Dining: Introduced in India and eight other countries, patrons were offered contactless dining when they visited a restaurant. People were able to enjoy the dining experience without any interaction with restaurant staff or touching menu cards.
    • Contactless Food Delivery: A similar concept to contactless dining, here food was delivered without direct interaction with the delivery person. The food is left at an agreed point and picked up by the customer.

    How to provide contactless expeirence to customers| contactless market
    As the fight against the contagious coronavirus continues, this world seems likea changed place. This pandemic is going to leave an everlasting effect onconsumer behavior, with concerns shifting towards health and safety. Variousguidelines have been published on how to continue with daily life wi…

    • Temperature checks: All delivery partners have their temperatures checked when they reach the restaurant to pick up delivery before the order is handed out. This is then mentioned on the receipt for the benefit and information of the customers.
    • Aarogya Setu App: Zomato made it mandatory for all delivery partners to download and use the government-backed Aarogya Setu app.
    • Mask and Sanitizers: Mask and sanitizers have become a must at all times and for everyone. Zomato provided washable and reusable masks as well as sanitizers to all working delivery partners. Where they were unable to do this, they have reimbursed partners upon purchase o masks and sanitizers.
    • Training: All delivery staff was provided training on contactless delivery to ensure bot the parties remain safe during harsh times. This also included training on safety measures as recommended by WHO for delivery as well as personal fronts.
    • Restaurant safety: Zomato ensured that all partner restaurants implemented safety measures. They also shared all information with the user so they are assured of the safety measures and hygiene standards. This helps in making an informed decision. Restaurants also had to issue a declaration that they were following measures.
    • Insurance: Zomato has added OPD coverage of up to INR 5000 to cover potential testing costs for partners. In case of infection, they are also covered by insurance for medical expenses and any loss of earnings.
    • Disabling Cash on Delivery: Cash on delivery was disabled to avoid any contact and safety reasons.
    Precautions Taken By Zomato Restaurant Partners During Pandemic

    Zomato—Ventures

    Zomato’s primary business model has been the food delivery business. But it also had a small niche segment of delivering groceries, fruits, and vegetables. This venture was called Zomato markets.

    During the imposed lockdown in March and further, increasing numbers of COVID-19 swept India, people decided to go out of home less and less. The availability of daily essentials via Zomato was a lucrative option as bigger competitors like Big Basket and Amazon struggles to deliver. Zomato was able to deliver with ties to small and medium local shops.

    However, once lockdown became relaxed, it faced stiff competition from new and old competitors alike. Eventually, it did exit this business and decided to focus on the food delivery business model as it started reaching pre-COVID levels.

    Another interesting venture is Zomato’s Feed Daily Wager program under the aegis of Feed India campaign. It collected over 30 crores during the pandemic for this cause and was able to provide over 65 million meals to the daily wage earners who lost their means to earn.

    Also, under this program, they delivered rations kits which would contain up to 100 meals for the family. More than 100,000 of these kits have already been delivered over the pandemic period.

    Deepinder Goyal Success Story – Never Have A Bad Meal Through Zomato
    The food delivery segment in India has witnessed an unprecedented surge. Latenight cravings, urgent home delivery, etc. are now becoming the norm. Atpresent, 2-3 brands dominate this industry and Zomato is one of them. Zomato is an Indian restaurant aggregator and delivers food in almost everyIn…

    Zomato—FAQ’s

    What precautions did Zomato take while delivering the Food?

    Some of the precaution taken while delivering Food Products during this Pandemic were-

    • Contactless Delivery
    • Face masks
    • Disabling COD

    What is Contactless Delivery?

    Zomato launched a contactless delivery option that allowed the customer to opt option for the delivery partner to leave the package outside their home, ensuring no human-to-human interaction and hence lowering the risk of any transmission.

    How Zomato educated its delivery partners?

    Zomato was involved in continuously educating its delivery partners on hygiene practices (not to touch face, nose, sneeze in the elbow, etc.) to ensure their own as well as the ecosystem’s safety.

    Why did Zomato disabled the COD option?

    Zomato temporarily disabled the COD (cash-on-delivery) option on its app for safety reasons and to avoid contact between the customers and delivery partners.

    What is Zomato Gold Support Fund?

    Zomato launched the Zomato Gold Support Fund with the goal of helping out the restaurants that were finding it difficult to support their workers during the pandemic.

    How Zomato helped people who were directly affected by COVID-19?

    Zomato provided services to the quarantine facilities that were essential during this pandemic. It was very important for Zomato to find more than just a few ways to help the community fight against this pandemic. Zomato teamed up with Apollo Hospitals to deliver food to those who were in isolation wards, in their quarantine facilities.

    Zomato—Conclusion

    It was unimaginable to think of the world that we live in today. The most important lesson probably is being human and having humanity in these times. All of us need to rise above individuals and support each other as a community.

    Zomato has given us an example to follow. It saw its business decline on a slide, but it kept going and persevered. As a company, it tried to branch into other dimensions, albeit without success. But it remained focused and came back strongly in the end as the numbers and performance suggest.

    Another factor was the support to the community, it included customers, restaurants, delivery partners, and even people in general as everyone suffered. Zomato has shown grit, determination, heart, perseverance in adverse conditions to come out a winner.