Sodexo’s 2012 Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report Highlights Efforts that Established the Company as a Benchmark for Diversity and Inclusion

GAITHERSBURG, MD., October 23, 2012 /3BL Media/ - Sodexo released its Diversity and Inclusion annual report for North America today. The report, titled “Celebrating a Decade of Diversity,” reflects on accomplishments achieved over the past 10 years and presents Sodexo’s continuing efforts as the benchmark company for diversity and inclusion. 

Sodexo is the leader in Quality of Life services, interacting with more than 10 million customers every day in North America in corporations, health care, long-term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, government, and remote sites. Sodexo’s strategy includes a keen focus on providing clients with services that add value to the overall experience of their customers, leveraging expertise in talent acquisition and human resources to hire, retain and develop strong employees, embracing inclusion of people and diversity of thought as a competitive advantage, and acting as a socially responsible corporation that is committed to improving the communities they serve.  

"This report represents the strong, ongoing commitment Sodexo has to diversity and inclusion. We are proud of what we have accomplished over the last decade and are committed to continuing to raise the bar higher,” explained George Chavel, president and CEO of Sodexo. “As our journey evolves, we will continue to implement innovative and holistic approaches that allow us to meet our clients’ needs.

Sodexo sees embracing diversity as both the right thing to do, and as a business imperative that contributes to the bottom line. The company is focused on finding the best talent and developing employees to fill its pipeline with a diverse workforce, ready to lead and contribute new ways of thinking toward better serving customers. 

Sodexo’s efforts are not just internally focused.  The company leverages its diversity to improve the quality of life of communities it serves through the volunteer hours and other resources contributed by Sodexo’s employee network groups, the work of the Sodexo Foundation to stop hunger, and implementation of sustainable business practices as part of its Better Tomorrow plan.

The efforts and initiatives contributing to Sodexo’s success over the last decade include:

• Launching nine Employee Network Groups
• Implementing a mandatory Spirit of Diversity training to educate all employees
• Leveraging diversity for business growth through a partnership with SodexoMAGIC
• Hosting live and virtual Diversity Business & Leadership Summits
• Implementing a global diversity and inclusion strategy

This year, Sodexo’s efforts were recognized with the prestigious Catalyst Award for initiatives to advance women and people of color. In addition, Sodexo was ranked #2 on the DiversityInc business index of Top Companies for Diversity and Inclusion and was named a Best Company for Hourly Workers for the third consecutive year.

Sodexo gauges its success through third party validation, as well as the internal endorsement of employees who confirm diversity and inclusion has resulted in systemic culture change. The results of the 2012 Sodexo Employee Engagement Survey, showed an increase of 16 percentage points from the first Employee Engagement Survey in 2006, with 83% of employees agreeing that they are valued for the differences they bring to the workplace.

"While we are proud of the progress we have made at Sodexo over the last decade, there is still much more to do.  At a time of increasing business complexity and competition, we need to be focused on staying the course and continuing to foster an inclusive culture that supports diversity of thought, inclusion of people and business success," said Rohini Anand, senior vice president and global chief diversity officer.

The 2012 Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report can be viewed by clicking this link:  http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/49a768e2#/49a768e2/1

About Sodexo

Sodexo in North America

Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), leading Quality of Daily Life Solutions company in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, delivers On-site Service Solutions in Corporate, Education, Health Care, Government, and Remote Site segments, and Motivation Solutions such as Esteem Pass. Sodexo, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., funds all administrative costs for the Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $17 million in grants to end childhood hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions

Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo acts as a partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and employee well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo’s 413,000 employees in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled array of Quality of Life Services. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the fulfillment of its employees and the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates.

Contact

Enrico Dinges

301 987 4393

enrico.dinges@sodexo.com