The second panel of the event Equity of Scope of debate was attended by Jessica Barefoot, Bonda People Manager and was under the moderation of the Economy and Finance journalist of Ambit and Director of the Buenos Aires Herald, Stephanie Pozzo.
When speaking, Descalzo said that working on inclusion is “within the DNA” of the company, and that “all policies” of Human Resources or recruitment “are open.” “When we go to hire a person, we evaluate that their competencies and technical skills have to do with the profile we are looking for, and not so much with age and gender, or any type of issue,” he said.
“The company is turning 14 this year, and it is something that happened naturally that equity is part of the DNA. 70% of the headcount we have is female, and that also evolved naturally”added Descalzo, who also pointed out that in leadership positions, this amounts to 75%.
Descalzo said that at Bonda “teamwork” is encouraged in the search for better results at a creative and business level. Regarding the use of a more inclusive language within the company, the People Manager said that she perceives people as “freer” and “more comfortable”, even down to the way they dress.
The changes that the pandemic brought at the work level
“There are a lot of issues where perhaps one does not have those formality rules, and the pandemic also helped us a little with that”he added.
Descalzo said that his beginnings were in companies with a predominance of men in hierarchical positions, who came from a more traditional culture, but that this does not happen in Bonda. However, he maintained that there are still companies that still “find it difficult” to advance on equity issues. Regarding the latter, he pointed out that it is something that is “very biased” and that causes the “loss of a lot of talent.”
“We have a lot of young people who push you to do different things, which is essential,” he added. “I think one of the issues that (young people) came to teach us is working from a well-being perspective,” Descalzo commented in reference to the emotional, physical and financial balance in jobs.
“Today that is key, because before it was 100% work and the hours don’t matter, and now it is balance above all,” the People Manager reflected on the topic. “I think that we and generations before us have a lot to learn from that balance,” she added.
“These are questions that are added from the talent process, from the interview process, if you are going to tell them that you have to come (to work in person) every day, I don’t know if they continue to listen to you in the same way. That’s what that the pandemic left them in terms of hybrid modality,” he said.
Improving value propositions
On the other hand, Descalzo said that “technology and the times we live in” demand that companies improve their value propositions in order to compete for market talent with other companies. “Not only attracting talent, but also retaining it,” he added.
Descalzo also added that the company’s value proposition must be “moving” all the time to meet the new demands of the labor market.
In that sense, he believes that, on a general level, companies should listen more to the people who make them up, since “each population that is part of a company is different.”
“In Bonda we are 100 people within what is Argentina, Mexico and Colombiathen it is perhaps easier for us to do one-on-one, what we call the follow-up interview or one-to-one talk,” he continued.
Regarding labor legislation, Descalzo said that “for a long time” Bonda has been trying to differentiate itself from the Labor Contract Law in order to offer better benefits to its employees, since the latter “was never modernized.”
“One ends up differentiating from the companies. Without a doubt, the State has a very important role in the sense of modernizing,” he added.
“I think mutual choice and generating commitments with those who are part of the company are super important, because if you are committed you don’t have to be controlling an hour and you don’t have to be controlling a day, you can be there from anywhere,” he concluded.
Source: Ambito
