Wakam Inside: Vera Brito

This month, we sat down with Vera who joined the Wakam adventure in June 2019 within the Squad People. It is with a lot of humor and laughter that she came back on her atypical career path, which started with a degree in accounting before turning to human resources. It is at the dawn of her 40th birthday that she decides to change her life and go back to school…

Hello, could you introduce yourself?

Hello, my name is Vera Brito and I am « People Generalist » in the People Squad.

I have been working at Wakam since June 2019. In a nutshell, I manage all the administrative aspects of the Wakamees like payroll, vacations, etc. I am also involved in a project called “Wakamees Care” where I contribute to improve the daily life of the Wakamees.

But, I don’t have the typical background of someone working in an HR department.

In fact, I worked for 10 years in a large recruitment group. I was a Legal Correspondent in the legal department. I managed all the interim work. Then, I worked in the quality department of a company that sells automatic analysis machines for hospitals or laboratories. Basically, I have a degree in accounting, so it has absolutely nothing to do with human resources! 

How did you end up working in human resources in the first place?

Totally by chance. I have a friend who worked in the HR department [of the recruitment group] who told me that they were looking for someone who likes numbers and human contact. I had fun there for 10 years! I managed all the pay and contract work for the temps.

But after 10 years, I wanted to do something else. I wanted to work in a real HR department. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one right away because I didn’t have a degree in human resources. So, the search was more complicated and the job I had before was really specific to temping. I couldn’t find another HR department so easily.

So, I’ve completely changed direction! I worked in the quality department of a company that sells automatons to laboratories and hospitals. Nothing to do with human resources but I stayed there for 7 years.

It has nothing to do with human resources!

Nothing to see indeed! But at the dawn of my 40th birthday, I wanted to return to my first love: human resources. I decided to go back to school study HR

It wasn’t easy to manage because I’m a mother. So, I had to juggle classes, homework, and my daughter!

Thanks to my training, I was able to do an internship at Danone in the HR department. My manager allowed me to consolidate my skills and develop new ones. This is thanks to this internship that I told myself this was absolutely the job I wanted to do. It’s really a job in which I feel good, I like the contact with the employees. The internship only lasted 5 months but I learned a lot.

And did you graduate?

Yes of course! I have a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources with honors! It’s silly but it’s my little pride. It was quite a challenge, but I think that in our lives we need to challenge and question ourselves in order to achieve our dreams. If we don’t feel good about our work, we have to do everything we can to change it and do what we like.

Why did you join Wakam?

With my diploma in hand, I started to go through a lot of interviews. But I really wanted to find THE company where I was sure I could thrive in my job. Before the rebranding of Wakam, we were called “La Parisienne Assurances”. As a true Parisian (I was born and raised in Paris) the name was perfect for me (laughs)!

When I arrived at the office, I loved it right away! In the heart of Paris, it’s a dream. My interview with Vanessa (Chief People Officer at Wakam) went really well. I loved her way of being and thinking. She really made me want to work at Wakam.

She was putting together her team and she looked overwhelmed! I wanted to tell her “take me on your team, go ahead and I’ll come and help you” (laughs).

I don’t like to be bored in my work and I like when things move fast. And I am not disappointed!

If you had to explain your job to a three-year-old child?

I am there to help people in their daily lives and give them money at the end of the month. I make sure that their work goes well.

What do you think about the insurance sector?

When you say you work in insurance, people immediately have a slightly negative image. We often say insurer = thief. Personally, I’ve never said that to myself. We all need to be insured on a daily basis.

I’ve already had some problems: water damage, car breakdown. In those situations, you’re happy to call your insurance company to send you a tow truck or a plumber. I think it’s people who give a bad image because you have to pay. But fortunately, insurers are there to follow and protect us on a daily basis. It’s a sector that has been around for a very long time and it proves that we need them! A bit like a bank.

I was lucky because I never had a bad surprise when I had a disaster. Maybe that’s also why I have a good image of insurance. There was just one time when I had a tree that fell in my garden and the insurance wouldn’t cover the removal of the tree. It was an extra option that I didn’t have. Except for that one time when I was a little disappointed, I never had a problem with my insurer.

Um, so you have a garden, I’m a little jealous…

Yes, I have a big one! It was very useful to make barbecues during the confinement… (laughs)

What is a typical day for you at Wakam?

It’s a day at 100 km/hour! I always start in the morning with my coffee. I turn on my computer and check my emails and Slack. I write my little “to do” and my workday can start. I’m a bit like a diesel engine, I start up quietly and then I go up in power all day long.

What are you working on right now?

My big project was the change of the partner for the luncheon vouchers. I was not very satisfied with the supplier we had. As soon as I came back from maternity leave, I started this project! So, we switched to Swile! There are a lot of little things that will be added to the card like the gift vouchers for Christmas.

I have another big project, I’m working on which is improving the daily life of the employees.

My main challenge is that our initiatives really appeal to the Wakamees and that they participate as much as possible.   

Last year we set up an online platform to book group sports sessions. But I don’t feel that people were very enthusiastic about it. I think it’s really important to do this kind of corporate practice to clear your head and do something else. But we have to find the right format for our employees. Especially when I arrived there was a strong demand from the Wakamees. I may not tell you about everything for the moment, but next year it will be a lot of activity, you can count on me!

Something you’re super proud of that you did at Wakam?

I am quite proud to have participated in the creation of the Office People.  

With the team, we worked hard to set up certain processes and centralize all HR information. Of course, there are still a lot of things to do but we were starting from very far away!

If you could add one thing to the office?

I would like to have a room dedicated to wellness, sports, and showers!

If you had to describe the culture at Wakam, what would you say?

We are very challenged in our daily life but with a lot of kindness. It’s an incredibly rich human and professional adventure!

If could change jobs what would you do?

I love my job so I don’t know if I would change right away. But there is something I wanted to do when I was younger. I dreamed of opening a soup bar (laughs). 

A soup bar?! That’s a cool idea, can you tell me more about it?  

Don’t steal me the idea! I love inventing new recipes. For example, I can tell you that the pear goes extremely well with vegetables. You should try it; it’s delicious. I find that the soup sector is not developed enough (laughs). It’s a bit like a salad bar you see everywhere. In the summer I would have to make something else like toast or gazpacho.

If you could switch places with someone for a day?

I would love to spend a day with actuaries to better understand their profession. In fact, I remember my onboarding when I came to Wakam. There is a session on insurance products presented by Antoine. I loved it, he is really great.

With every new onboarding session on insurance, I’m always telling new Wakamees that they’re going to love it.

He’s really passionate about what he does, and you can feel it when he talks about it.

Which advice(s) would you give Vera when she was 25 years old?

Listen to yourself, do what you love, and you’ll see that when you get to a certain age, you’ll do the job you love (laughs). But don’t forget to enjoy life all the while!

A little routine in the morning to start the day off right when you are working from home?

In the morning I start with a meditation session. It allows me to calm my mind to start the day. Then, I take my baby to the nanny’s and when I come back, I sit in front of my computer with a small matcha cup.

What is your favorite song/band?

I love electro and I really like Flume and especially the song “Never be like you“. I saw them last year in concert and it was crazy! Listen to “Free” too. The song is amazing.

What is your favorite restaurant next door?

So, you’re going to laugh but I love going to Exki’s to get soup (laughs).  But this is for the “light” lunch. Otherwise, with the team, we love to go to Mamie Burger. It is a little bit of our canteen… When I was on maternity leave, I missed a lot not to go there with them!

Any last word?

If you ever feel like changing your professional life, I think you should not hesitate. We have everything to gain! I really encourage everyone to do it, when it’s possible of course. You shouldn’t stay in a position where you don’t feel happy.

Dare to join the adventure? We are hiring!
Interviewed in December 2020.