Posts Tagged ‘inclusion’

Celebrating Ten Years of a Remarkable Diversity Journey

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

George Chavel

Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe we at Sodexo just “gaveled out” of our 10th Diversity Business Leadership Summit, also known as the DBLS. Our goal in the beginning was to foster a better understanding of an inclusive environment and how it could benefit us as a workforce, community members, as well as a business.

Ten years later, the facts and statistics reiterate what we already knew: Diverse organizations are enjoying measurable bottom-line contributions as a result of inclusiveness.

A recent study commissioned by CalPERS, for example, found that companies with diverse boards exceeded Dow Jones and NASDAQ average returns on five years, and companies that did not have diverse boards were at a competitive disadvantage. In 2010 Calvert issued a study and found that companies demonstrating a robust commitment to diversity, in addition to competitive financial performance, are better positioned to generate long-term value for their shareholders.

IFRAME Embed for Youtube

Our chief diversity officer, Rohini Anand described a “cultural competence” which enhances relationships with our employees, customers and clients. Simply put, leading businesses spark greater innovation by creating a climate where individuals are engaged, feel valued, are fully included in key decisions and processes and are comfortable contributing ideas.

Click on the photograph of Earvin "Magic" Johnson to see our Flickr set from the 10th Sodexo DBLS.

We were given specific examples of this practice by my friend, business partner and mentor, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who gave the keynote at our summit. Magic, the head of SodexoMAGIC reminisced passionately about having to differentiate with dedicated employees who over-serviced to prove that business could be profitable and successful in under-developed urban areas, while at the same time, benefiting the community with jobs, tax revenue and overall longer-term opportunities. Magic said simply, “doing business with minorities makes good business sense.”

He also talked passionately about his son, Earvin Johnson III, also known as E.J., recently coming out and his unwavering public support of E.J.’s decision. Magic eloquently compared his own son’s lifestyle and the need for inclusive work environments which not only welcomes a diverse workforce, but supports one as well.

I want to thank the city of Chicago for a beautiful backdrop to our milestone meeting and all of our hardworking Sodexo colleagues at Northwestern University who made this most memorable event possible.

George Chavel is president & CEO of Sodexo North America.

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Working Moms Make History

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Carol Evans

During this Women’s History Month I am struck by just how much history is being made for working moms right now. In fact, it’s hard to remember when, in my lifetime, we have been the subjects of so much attention.

First there is Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo. At first, working moms of all stripes were excited last summer when Yahoo! named Marissa Mayer CEO, even as her maternity leave loomed just a few months away. But soon she began concerning us–first with her two-week maternity leave and most recently with her ban on work-from-home policies across the company. Was she discounting all the progress made by corporate America and documented by the Working Mother 100 Best Companies over the past 27 years?  Doesn’t she realize that flexibility is an incredibly powerful benefit that can boost employee engagement and loyalty, while lowering absenteeism and ‘presenteeism’…not to mention being a boon to the bottom line?

On a brighter note, there’s Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. Last year I wrote a blog post about how Sandberg is living the working mother’s dream. She set a great example of how flex can work even at the highest levels of the corporate world when she announced that she would be leaving work at 5:30 pm each day so that she could have dinner with her family. And now, with her new book, Lean In, she tells women not to doubt their ability to combine work and family. She believes women who “lean in” and believe in themselves succeed professionally, and that they are in better position to ask for what they need and make changes that can benefit others.  It is especially telling that the book was reviewed by Anne Marie Slaughter, who made her own headlines by quitting a high-profile government job after only two years because she hadn’t taken steps to ensure work life balance in her own life, and she needed it back.

Now, a new study by the Pew Research Center shows that the number of moms who prefer to work full-time has risen to 32 percent from just 20 percent five years ago, according to a report released on March 14. Additionally, the study shows that moms and dads increasingly share not only the duties of earning money and taking care of kids, but also the emotional burdens associated with each. The new data showing that dads want to spend more time at home and moms are pursuing substantial careers illustrate the cultural shift we’ve all been living, and that the Working Mother Research Institute has been tracking.

What can we take away from all this? I believe that If both parents –those at all levels, not just the high-profile ones in the C-suite—had the option to work flexible hours we’d all feel more positive about our kids, our families, and ourselves, and more hopeful about our careers and companies. Working Mother supports companies like Sodexo that are openly committed to flex, making it a true business focus. Sodexo’s Flexibility Implementation Team continues to work to embed flex into the complete Sodexo culture. Sodexo understands that flex is not only the right thing to do; it’s also good for business. As more companies follow Sodexo’s lead, they will all fare the better for it, as will our families. And working moms will continue to make history.

Carol Evans is president of Working Mother Media. You can also find both her and her company on Twitter.

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A (Women’s) Day of International Importance

Friday, March 8th, 2013

Lorna Donatone

For many years, diversity and inclusion have been a hallmark of Sodexo’s development. We have long understood gender balance is an asset to the company. Giving high priority to the advancement of women with a wide range of partnerships, awareness programs and initiatives has done nothing but strengthen us as a company and a global workforce.

This is a cause I take personally and make it an integral part of my work with Sodexo through my volunteer efforts with other organizations, especially the Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF).

I serve as the chair of the board and was recently honored to join WFF President and CEO Fritzi Woods in leading a delegation of more than 30 female foodservice executives to the White House to discuss the advancement of women in the workplace. It was a real milestone for our industry and I was so honored to be able to contribute.

I am also proud that Sodexo is committed to advancing women in the workplace with a focus on creating opportunities for female executives.  In 2009, Sodexo launched its SWIFt initiative (Sodexo Women’s International Forum for talent), a team of 25 senior women leaders to encourage a better representation by identifying main obstacles to women advancement and carrying out initiatives to address them. The implementation of operational Networks dedicated to gender diversity within the Group as well as programs focused on professional development are yet another example of Sodexo’s gender-balance strategy.

"Ms. Lang is broadly recognized as a pioneering female high-tech/Internet executive who believes personal interaction is the key" to an enhanced Quality of Life.

This year, Sodexo is celebrating International Women’s Day with events around the world highlighting the achievements of women. As the global leader in Quality of Life services, we believe diversity initiatives are just part of our greater mission to enhance local area communities.

In celebration of this important day, as well as Women’s History Month here in the United States, we are proud to introduce an 8-day online showcase of insights from 12 women, who span the globe. They are Sodexo clients, employees and opinion leaders –  from Brazil, Chile, the United States, India, France, Austria, Italy who hail from across several different business lines.

These 12 women share their view on Quality of Life in their everyday environment, as well as provide their expert insight on what a better Quality of Life for everyone means.

Women like Ilene Lang, the president of Catalyst, a group dedicated to expanding the opportunity for women and business. Having broken barriers in her own career, Ms. Lang is broadly recognized as a pioneering female high-tech/Internet executive who believes personal interaction is the key.  As a successful businesswoman, Ms. Lang has brought high energy and corporate savvy to the advancement of women in every sector of the global marketplace and we celebrate that achievement.

Please enjoy the creative profiles, artwork and insight into this important worldwide cause.

Lorna Donatone is a Sodexo Chief Operating Officer and Education Market President.

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Sodexo Receives 100% Rating from Human Rights Campaign

Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

George Chavel

I am pleased to share with you that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has given Sodexo a 100% rating on the annual 2013 HRC Corporate Equality Index (CEI) and is profiled in the new HRC Best Places to Work list. This marks the 6th consecutive year Sodexo has received a 100% rating on the prestigious CEI.

This is wonderful news and I wanted to congratulate each of you and acknowledge your efforts in advancing our diversity journey and creating an inclusive environment for all of our employees, including our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and Ally team members.

Please join me in thanking our Sodexo PRIDE Employee Network Group Executive Sponsors, Peri Bridger and Stephen Dunmore as well as the PRIDE leadership team chaired by Jeff Snook and co-chaired by Lou Fiore for all of their support in helping Sodexo achieve this awesome accomplishment.  Receiving a 100% on the HRC Corporate Equality Index validates the impact of the work PRIDE does and is a true reflection of the diversity and inclusion progress Sodexo continues to make.

Sodexo has scored a 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index.

In awarding Sodexo a rating of 100%, HRC called out several actions Sodexo has taken to be a more inclusive organization including: sponsoring a LGBT network group, providing equivalent spousal and same-sex partner benefits, providing medical coverage for sex reassignment surgery, recognizing sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and actively engaging LGBT-certified vendors in our supplier diversity program.   

With more than one million members and supporters, HRC is the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for LGBT Americans nationwide.  HRC’s CEI report provides an in-depth analysis and rating of large U.S. employers and their policies and practices related to LGBT employees.

Congratulations to our entire team in helping Sodexo achieve this important recognition.

George Chavel is president & CEO of Sodexo North America.

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National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Friday, October 26th, 2012

Carol Glazer

Founded in 1982, the National Organization on Disability (NOD) is one of the oldest cross-disability organizations in the country and remains one of the few organizations committed to representing all Americans with disabilities, regardless of their particular condition or circumstances. NOD is celebrating 30 years of work, and it is due to the wonderful support from our friends, corporate partners and CEO Council members. Among them, Sodexo has consistently served as a remarkable and willing partner in our journey to increase employment opportunities for the 79% of working-age Americans with disabilities who are not employed.

With programs on the ground, NOD is demonstrating new employment practices and models of service delivery, evaluating results and sharing successful approaches for widespread replication. Our current employment programs are benefiting high school students with disabilities transitioning into the workforce, seriously injured service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and employers seeking to become more disability friendly and diversify their workforce by recruiting and hiring people with disabilities To achieve our goals, we work in partnership with employers, schools, the military, service providers, researchers, and disability advocates.

IFRAME Embed for Youtube
As president of NOD, it has been encouraging to see the progress made so far. But, I also realize that we have a long way to go. There continues to be a “tyranny of low expectations” surrounding people with disabilities and employment. We have to change these low expectations in order to see an increased number of people with disabilities earning a paycheck. I ask that you read my editorial on the NOD website, during this National Disability Employment Month, to gather a broader sense of how our society’s unexamined assumptions contribute to the barriers facing those with disabilities.  

Each day, I am privileged to work with a dedicated staff and a talented and committed board of directors. In the course of our daily activities to push our mission forward, I hear success stories about businesses working with local disability agencies to provide work opportunities, about wounded veterans returning to productive civilian lives, and about young adults with disabilities accomplishing more than their peers in preceding generations could. I invite you to share your stories and successes regarding employment for people with disabilities in this forum.

Carol Glazer is president of the National Organization on Disability (NOD).

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Guided by the Five L’s of Leadership

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Rohini Anand

The end of the academic school year is celebrated with the graduation ceremonies and those inspiring commencement speeches by valedictorians and keynote speakers. It is a time when students, armed with knowledge gained over the course of pursuing their diplomas or degrees, consider the next steps in their journey.   I recently had the pleasure of speaking to students at the Universities at Shady Grove about their future.  I challenged them to use their talents and education to be leaders and catalysts for change.

Over the years, I have developed my five Ls of Leadership which guide my journey through life;

1.         LIVE your passion and the opportunities will come.

2.         LEAD change.

3.         LEAVE an impact in whatever you choose to do.

4.         LEAN into the unknown. Take risks and be pioneers.

5.         LEARN from your failures and successes.

So how can you empower yourselves to be leaders?  

First, you have to be a pioneer and be willing to step into the unknown, to take risks. For me, the greatest rewards and growth have come from stepping into the unknown.

Second, in order to empower yourselves as leaders, you have to dream big; believe that your dreams can become a reality and let no one tell you otherwise, because it can be done. You have to have a vision of your own potential. In some ways you have to be like an architect with a blueprint whose clear image of the future pulls the architect forward.

Third, regardless of who you are and what you do, as a leader, you cannot succeed alone.  We have all come on the shoulders of others be they parents, or colleagues or other pioneers.

Rohini's Five L's

Fourth, at all times as leaders, you must be consistent role models. One of my all-time favorite quotes is Mahatma Gandhi’s “You have to be that change you want to see.” You cannot take others where you have not been; you cannot preach what you are unable to practice. Part of that process is being clear about your guiding principles and standing up for your beliefs.

Fifth, experimentation, innovation and change all involve risk and failure, but as leaders you must proceed anyway and learn from your failures and successes. We have all had failures; the fifth tenet is that the leader is one who uses these hard knocks to become better, to sharpen the focus on what is important and uses these new found skills to take on even greater risks and learn as they travel this leadership path.

I firmly believe that leadership is latent in every one of us. It is what you do to tap into it that distinguishes good leaders. Leadership isn’t just reserved for a few charismatic men and women. It’s a process ordinary people use when they’re bringing forth the best from themselves and others. Liberate the leader in everyone, and extraordinary things happen. Leadership is important not just in your career but in all your interactions. The only limits we place on empowerment are the limits we place on ourselves. Leadership is a learnable set of practices that involve being a pioneer and taking risks, having a vision, enlisting others in your vision and enabling others to act, being a consistent role model and learning from failures. 

Dr. Rohini Anand is the senior vice president and global chief diversity officer at Sodexo.

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An Inclusive Conversation

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

Jude Medeiros

I am the Chair of the Sodexo PRIDE (People Respecting Individuality, Diversity and Equality) Employee Network Group that champions an environment of acceptance and workplace equality for all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and ally team members through employee engagement, community involvement, education and awareness. 
Employee Network Groups at Sodexo are organized by employees who, based on shared experiences, join together to provide a positive forum for professional development, and input ideas that support the success of the company’s diversity efforts. Networks are organized around a common dimension of diversity and are created by employees who want to raise awareness in Sodexo of one of the identity groups.

Working with Sodexo PRIDE has opened up more opportunities for me than I ever thought possible – I’ve connected with people around the globe, I’ve seen the phenomenal work that Sodexo employees everywhere are doing to make the places they work more inclusive, and I’ve been able to work alongside the PRIDE membership to create memorable education and engagement tools.

And we have a great place to start. For the past 4 years, Sodexo has had a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index, an annual report card for organizations measuring their GLBT-friendly policies and practices. We’ve been listed in DiversityInc.’s Top 10 Companies for GLBT Employees. And we’ve even won the Straight for Equality in the Workplace award to recognize our outstanding engagement of straight allies within the organization and in our communities.

With all of this good news, you may think that people might be ready to take a break. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. No matter where I go, people are always looking for ways to make Sodexo even more inclusive for GLBT – and ally – employees and clients.

The one question that seems to follow me (and, I suspect, a lot of PRIDE members) no matter where I go is pretty simple: “What can I do to help?” While I’d like to suggest that everyone should join PRIDE – and, by the way, you should – the answer that I always have is equally simple: Have conversations to prove that you are a leader who is open to this issue.

Of course, suggesting that people have conversations is much easier than actually initiating those dialogues. But as Pride Month 2012 continues, I’m thrilled to report that Sodexo is about to make having conversations and being a supportive leader much easier.

So in the next month, look for the newest resource to supercharge your GLBT inclusion efforts: The GLBT Conversation Toolkit. We worked with our partners at both PFLAG National and Buck Davis (a popular trainer for many Sodexo learning labs) to create this exciting new project.

Inside you’ll find one of the most comprehensive collections of information about GLBT issues, the challenges that people face, details about language and culture cues, pointers about Sodexo’s policies and benefits for GLBT employees, and detailed “how-to” guidance on the best way to navigate some of the toughest situations around GLBT issues that we encounter in our work roles.

The whole publication will be available online and literally come to life with the video narratives of several Sodexo employees – both GLBT and allies – having their own conversations about how being out at Sodexo has impacted their lives and careers.

My favorite part, though, is a new concept that we’re introducing called the Sodexo Open Leader. For those who find value in the guide and want to find a simple and powerful way to let people know that you’d like to talk about it, you can download some of our Open Leader materials from the toolkit and use it as a way to open up some of those conversations that I always ask people to have.

So happy Pride Month, everyone! Thank you for all of the amazing work that you are doing as the out and proud, talented, world-changing GLBT and Ally Sodexo teams out there – and look for the Toolkit soon. I’ll be on the lookout for all of the new Open Leaders!

Jude Medeiros is a vice president of operations and the Chair of the Sodexo PRIDE Employee Network Group.

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Diversity through the eyes of an Employee Network Group

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

Mohamood Bhatia

What does every successful organization want to do today?  Attract the best and brightest talent within their industry.  This also means there has to be diversity of thought, culture and ideas.

This month, Sodexo received the Asia Society’s “Honor for Distinguished Practice” for 2012 Best Company in Promoting Asian Pacific Americans into Senior Leadership Positions.  I am especially proud since 80% of the award was determined by the responses provided by Sodexo’s Asian American employees.

I have been so fortunate to have worked for the same company for many years; this has given me the advantage of building a large network and knowing the business from a variety of aspects.  Over time I have connected with many colleagues that have not been born and raised in the United States, who have sought out opportunities to connect through common work/projects and social events.

Through these common connections we helped set up a network group within Sodexo called PANG (Pan Asian Network Group).  The idea being, we share a common culture or heritage and there are others that want to know more about it.  As we networked and thought about the many ways we hoped to interact, we discovered we wanted to learn from each other’s experience, to share, as well as to give back to our great organization and we also wanted to have fun together as a group.

We began hosting an annual event to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which initially started as a  social activity where we shared our common cultures.. But we quickly realized it was also a great opportunity for us to provide a value to the membership in ways which help them be successful overall.  There is no doubt that we have evolved through many years of celebrations. This month is celebrated with career enriching workshops, guest speakers that share their journeys to success, cultural sharing of food, fun and more.

With many of us being first generation immigrants, our community is important to us. We believe in hard work and making progress, and we feel strongly about giving back – both to our company and to our communities. PANG has been one of those many opportunities where we take from it what we put in.  It helps us continue the dialogue around diversity and inclusion; it allows us to support workshops that are geared to improving the areas that we may not be comfortable. Above all, PANG assists in sharing who we are, where we have come from and what we bring to the table, which adds value to our communities and the organizations in which we work..

Mohamood Bhatia is a senior vice president of finance for Sodexo and a member of PANG.

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The Diversity & Inclusion Journey Continues…

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

I am pleased to announce that DiversityInc magazine has chosen Sodexo as the #2 company for diversity & inclusion.

As I reflect on this honor, I can’t help but be extremely proud of the progress we have made. Being a top company for diversity and inclusion validates our work and confirms that, as an organization, we are moving in the right direction. 

This year Kaiser Permanente was ranked tops, Sodexo was second, followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers. We now share a place with these and other top companies.

But as I’ve shared many times, diversity and inclusion is a journey – a journey of continuous learning, experience, and growth.  As an organization, we still have lots of work to do internally. In addition,  we are always seeking to learn from the experiences, opportunities and challenges of other external organizations. 

The awards are nice, and actually, are wonderful recognition. But the important thing is that they help us to stay focused.  Sodexo has experienced a decade of outstanding progress in advancing diversity and inclusion as a key business driver. We have deliberately and diligently undergone a cultural transformation, making our organization a recognized and sustainable leader in this area.

Today, the Sodexo brand may be synonymous with leadership in diversity and inclusion, but we can’t get comfortable. Now is the time for us to set the bar even higher and look for new opportunities to imbed diversity and inclusion even deeper in our organization – for instance, working on key initatives to increase and promote more women into leadership roles.

 We have created a culture where people enjoy coming to work, are engaged and productive.

We should ALL be very proud of these accomplishments because they would not have been possible without a true team effort – a 120,000-person team!  As I often say, give our people a sound business reason to make something happen and we are UNSTOPPABLE. 

George Chavel is President and Chief Executive Officer of Sodexo North America.

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