For Gustavo Vitti, Vice President of People and Sustainability at iFood, vulnerability should also be an example passed on by good leaders. This was one of the topics the executive spoke about in an interview given to the podcast “Passa Lá no RH”, from Band.
Gustavo also addressed the relationship between diversity It is psychological safety, the new generations of professionals, the future of work, innovation and the challenges of the position he holds. And he also listed three skills that cannot be missing for anyone thinking about working at iFood.
Check out the main themes of this interview below.
Startup agility
For Gustavo, his biggest challenge today, as human resources leader at iFood, is to maintain the company's startup spirit, of “making a difference quickly, causing positive impact in the country".
This is because the company tripled its number of employees in two and a half years – and decentralized operations across the country. Furthermore, “a good number of these people started working remotely”, he recalled.
Look at innovation
The secret to achieving objectives in this context, reveals the executive, is to keep an eye on the innovation in a decentralized way in the organization. “The first key for companies that innovate very quickly is decentralization in decision making,” he stated. “People have the autonomy to innovate with a common vision.”
Diversity and psychological safety
When talking about diversity at iFood, Vitti highlighted the need for people from different groups to feel “psychologically supported and safe” when working at the company.
Thus, in addition to carrying out the “iFood census” annually, to determine data relating to the inclusion of different audiences in the company’s staff, iFood developed an internal survey of Psychological Safety Index (PSI). It is based on the methodology of a professor at Harvard University, Dr. Amy Edmondson.
In a ranking from 0 to 10, iFood improved its index average between 2021 and 2022, going from 8.5 to 8.7. “There are 26 people who declare themselves trans today within iFood, and the level of psychological safety of this group is 9.2”, he pointed out.
Learning from error
The security provided in the company also concerns the possibility of making mistakes. “We talked a lot about vulnerability in iFood”, highlighted the executive. “Every time someone makes a mistake on a project, we publicly say, 'What did we learn from this mistake? What could we have done differently?'”
Diversity in benefits
Gustavo highlighted that having an extremely diverse group of people who think in different ways brings many benefits to a company. “This heterogeneous vision brings much more innovation”, he argued.
“But, for this environment not to become a Tower of Babel, we have to help people understand how they accept and celebrate differences”, he highlighted. “It’s a lot of work, but it makes a lot of sense and is also very enjoyable.”
At iFood, this movement involved many efforts to “raise awareness and literacy, with the creation of several channels and incentives within the company”.
As examples of these initiatives, he cited scholarships for studying languages, which are greater for people in the iFood base since this reduction is more impactful for them.
Another relevant project is support for the entire gender transition process for employees, with the cost of medical and legal aspects. “We observed benefits according to the specific needs of each group”, he characterized.
The VP of People and Sustainability also mentioned iFood's focus on hiring black people, women and people with disabilities. There is also concern about incorporating people into the team who have worked as delivery drivers and, therefore, have first-hand knowledge of the problems faced by the category.
Skills for hiring
What skills does a professional need to have to work at iFood? Gustavo also addressed this issue in the interview. “Even though we value diversity, there is no cake formula, but there are basic prerequisites”, he stated.
Three major attributes were listed by him for the profile of those who join the company's team. “Firstly, you need to have a lot of determination, which is what motivates and keeps you moving forward even in difficult and turbulent times,” he said.
“The second point is curiosity, a growth mindset. Everything we learned in five years will be practically useless. If we don't have this curiosity to go after, improve and increasingly learn, we will become obsolete and obsolete. One question that gets a lot of people down in interviews is, 'When was the last time you learned something amazing?'”
Finally, the executive included the item “having a good heart” on the list: “We believe in people who want to do good, have a positive impact, make a difference on Earth.”
vulnerable leaders
When analyzing the role of the leader as an example for those who do not yet occupy such a position, Gustavo pointed out the “importance of leaders also placing themselves in vulnerable situations”.
“Talking about this creates a bridge with people who look up to leaders. A pandemic this accelerated, but we need to accelerate much more”, he considered.
“When I worked in Singapore, my friends thought I was doing great, earning in dollars, traveling the world. And I was depressed. This dichotomy of the neighbor’s grass being greener than yours really hinders people’s careers”, he concluded.
Thus, the understanding that professionals at the top also face moments of fragility makes those who have not yet reached this status feel more capable of getting there when faced with their own difficulties.
Current impact and career plan
More than outlining long-term career plans, Gustavo said he believes in the conviction of continuously generating positive impact. “Aim to do the best every day, surrounded by good people”, he defined. “Purpose is fuel, work is discipline and faith that things will happen.”
New generations and the role of companies
Many people criticize the lack of determination and resilience of those now entering the job market. The reputation is that these young people give up on challenges when faced with the first obstacles.
“The new generation needs to understand a little more why they sacrifice”, analyzed the VP of People and Sustainability at iFood. “You need someone to help you, welcome you and explain that difficulties are normal and that there are benefits to having a good purpose, in an adult conversation, which is increasingly the role of companies too.”
Working in the country of the future
He declares himself as a “born optimist” when analyzing the future of work in Brazil. “Work is going to change a lot in the country, which will be a technological powerhouse,” he stated. “I am from a generation that was born hearing that Brazil is the country of the future. We have everything to build this country of the future in the next ten years. There is a lot of intention, especially from the private world, to make this reality come true.”
In this scenario, the executive sees technology as a means for “more meaningful work, with increasingly greater purposes and impacts”.
For the next decade, Gustavo says he believes “that work relationships will be much more decentralized, with much more autonomy, mastery of technology and functions that will have much more purpose and meaning for all people”. “I’m working hard for this,” he concluded.
