In one year, more than 200 face-to-face meetings were held to hear the demands of professionals
How do delivery men and women talk to iFood? If in the beginning this communication took place largely through the app, since April 2021 these conversations have taken place face to face, in face-to-face meetings marked by active listening, in which the company's role is to listen carefully to what they have to say.
In April 2021, iFood began holding meetings with the main leaders of these professionals across the country. In small groups, iFood employees introduce themselves to the delivery drivers, who then have the floor to speak, in first person, about their perceptions about the work, from interacting with the application to their main pain points.
“The objective of active listening is to listen to delivery partners to better understand their day-to-day pain”, comments Johnny Borges, iFood community manager. “This way, we can not only improve aspects of our operation, but also think about public policies, such as regulation of work on platforms, that meet the needs they bring to us.”
During meetings, delivery drivers tell us what their main concerns are, ranging from fuel price even a feeling of disrespect on the part of some customers or even how they are preparing for the future, to have a retirement.
“We didn’t see, for example, that this issue of disrespect on the part of customers had the weight it has for them. In the dialogue, this emerged as a very serious problem”, points out Johnny. “Understanding that it was an urgent issue, we created a campaign to value delivery drivers and started blocking customers who discriminate or disrespect professionals.”
Expanding the dialogue
In the first year of active listening practice, more than one hundred leaders were heard in more than 200 meetings held. “The face-to-face meeting changed the game. It has improved our relationship, because this way the delivery men and women feel empowered and we can build a win-win relationship, which is good for everyone”, says Johnny.
For him, another positive aspect of the practice was that delivery men and women began to see the human side of Digital platform by getting to know the people behind the app. “It’s not a relationship with an algorithm; It's a conversation with people. They tell us what they experience, and so do we. This way, each side understands the other better.”
In 2021, the main result of this active listening was the Commitment Letter written jointly by the company and professionals in the 1O Delivery Drivers Forum of the country, held in December. In the document, iFood commits to meeting the demands brought by professionals. “The Forum showed that we can, indeed, have a constructive dialogue. Now we want to expand this active listening, and to do this we will hold more meetings in more cities across Brazil.”
