Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) Recognizes Sodexo for Supporting and Advancing Women Leaders
By Suzanne Thompson, Senior Recruiter and
Tracie Hoffman, Senior Recruiter

Sodexo was recently honored for its leadership role in leveraging the strength of its diversity by advancing women in the workplace by the Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) with the prestigious Jackie B. Trujillo SOAR Award. This award recognizes and measures the efforts made by companies like Sodexo to elevate women leaders in the foodservice industry. The SOAR Award is the highest honor an organization can receive from the WFF. Read more »

Sodexo Takes a Bite Out of Rising Food Costs
By Darla Mayse, Senior Recruiter

Consumers across the country, whose budgets are already stretched by high energy costs, are now feeling the effects of those costs at the grocery store. Food prices have increased at a rapid pace within the last year – the fastest rate since the '90s. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. food prices rose 4 percent in 2007 compared with an average increase of 2.5 percent annual rise during the last 15 years. Additionally, the agency says 2008 could be worse, with a rise of as much as 4.5 percent. Read more »

Who says the Internet is only for young people?
Connecting in the 21st Century
By Kerry Noone, Marketing Communications Specialist

It’s a crowded world and everyone is vying for attention and the question is how do you stand out in a crowd? Recently, businesses including Sodexo, have been paying a great deal of attention to social media and social networks because it is becoming one of the most popular forms of communication among all generations not just the young. What was once thought to be a way for teens and college students to socialize on the internet, social networks have quickly turned into much more and are commonly used as networking tools for professionals. People of all ages are using these tools to connect and communicate professionally with not only colleagues but also past, present and future employers. The latest trends in online social networking are not a fad, they are here to stay. Society is changing rapidly and we are changing with it every step of the way. Read more »

What Are You Doing on Summer Vacation?
The Sodexo Foundation Is Feeding 7,000 Children Nationwide
By Tami Carter-McNulty, Senior Recruiter

Sodexo “Heroes of Everyday Life” winners were awarded at the 2008 STOP Hunger Foundation Dinner.

The Sodexo Foundation honored eight “Heroes of Everyday Life” recently at the annual foundation dinner held on June 11, 2008. Of the various hunger initiatives developed by these Sodexo employees, one such program that the foundation spearheads is the “Feeding Our Future” summer lunch program, comprising 275,000 meals each summer serving 7,000 children across the country. Read more »

Sodexo Recognized as Top Company for Diversity

Sodexo was recognized by Black Enterprise magazine's annual list for outstanding achievements in workplace diversity in the 40 Best Companies for Diversity. The publication recognized Sodexo's supplier diversity program and its diverse employee base as key strengths of the organization. In selecting the top 40, Black Enterprise conducted a comprehensive outreach effort to the CEOs and diversity executives of the top-grossing 1,000 publicly-traded companies and the 50 leading global companies with significant U.S. operations. The survey focused primarily on the participation of African Americans and other ethnic minority groups in four key areas: supplier diversity, senior management, board of directors and employee base.

"This is the first year that Sodexo has been ranked among our top companies for diversity," said Black Enterprise Editorial Director Sonia Alleyne. "They demonstrated their commitment to a diverse workforce and understand the importance of developing and promoting minorities as a business imperative. We congratulate them on continuing to be among our best."

Sodexo's success in leveraging the strength of its diverse workforce is demonstrated through its many awards and recognition — more than 25 earned in 2007 and seven so far in 2008. Selected awards this year include “Best Diversity Recruitment Program” by ERE Media, “Top US Companies for Asian Pacific Americans” by Asian Enterprise Magazine, and the “Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work-100 Rating” by the Human Rights Campaign.

Sodexo Builds Future Leaders through its Internship Program
By Jennifer Heth, Senior Recruiter

Tyler Boyd, Sodexo Intern

Summer internship season is in full swing and across the U.S. thousands of college students are learning what it’s like to work in the real world. At Sodexo, the intern experience reaches far beyond making copies and running for coffee. Sodexo interns like Tyler Boyd have the opportunity to work on projects that are relevant to today’s workplace. Boyd states that one of his assignments is to look for cost-effective ways to go green. “I am currently looking for eco-friendly materials and greener options to replace non-biodegradable and non-sustainable items. I am responsible for finding the alternative products, determining the cost effectiveness of the new products and then presenting the information to my superiors,” says Boyd. Read more »