The analysis is complete! The list is out! The coveted DiversityInc top 50 were announced yesterday in NYC. And Sodexo has the distinction of being the only company to ever be in the top 2 four years in a row.
I’m not surprised. Sodexo has embraced diversity and inclusion as a key business driver. Leadership clearly sees the role that D&I plays way beyond the traditional aspects of recruitment and retention. They have an uncanny grasp of D&I’s direct contribution to business results.
Sodexo has received many distinguished awards, including the Catalyst award last year, which has extremely difficult criterion. However, Sodexo does not excel at D&I to receive awards. It receives awards because it genuinely excels at D&I. I know companies that make receiving awards the goal rather than putting the strategies in place that would lead to the recognition. I understand that an awards focus can be a great impetus for reaching higher heights, but it can also lead to tunnel vision that causes a loss of focus on the big picture.
Sodexo keeps its focus on the integrated global business strategy (D&I is a part of that integration), making the key connections to D&I.
I will not highlight Sodexo’s journey here. It is well documented and you can find many accounts online about how it got to where it is today.
I want to offer my assessment of why Sodexo is truly in a class of its own. There are a number of interrelated elements that make it stand out from the rest.
Complete leadership commitment and engagement. From the CEO to all other leaders, D&I is a critical aspect of their role. Sodexo’s Global CEO Michel Landel and U.S. CEO and President George Chavel absolutely talk the talk and walk the walk. They literally “show up” (e.g. setting strategic direction, leading the Executive Diversity Council, attending employee events, have high visibility externally, etc.) all the time, and set the example for other leaders. Remarkably, Sodexo has had 3 CEO’s since it started its journey in 2003 and each has had the same unwavering commitment and high level of visibility and engagement.
The entire executive team is involved as mentors, network group sponsors and also active within their respective communities. Executive bonuses are tied to diversity results, regardless of the financial performance of the company.
Talented, committed, dedicated resources. Sodexo’s D&I team, very ably led by Dr. Rohini Anand, is organized to ensure that it has complete coverage of all of the D&I areas in its global footprint. As a matter of fact, each business unit has a D&I leader that reports directly to the Division President. I heard recently from one of my colleagues that 11 major companies have eliminated or downgraded the D&I role within the past two years. Not Sodexo. Their commitment gets stronger each year.
Rohini reports directly to the CEO. D&I is not buried within an HR function. Some companies are now putting D&I within their talent operation. While talent is a very important aspect, it is not the only area where D&I is important. There is marketing, corporate social responsibility, supplier diversity, metrics, communications, etc.
Specific and direct link to business results. D&I at Sodexo is the business, not an add-on or sideline. Sodexo’s success in D&I has led to greater employee and client attraction and retention as well as the opportunity to support its clients with their D&I initiatives.
Strategies not activities. Sodexo’s D&I strategy is real strategy not just programs or activities. Rohini and her team constantly look for the intersections to the business and the connections each initiative has to other aspects of the D&I strategy. There are no silos or stand-alone efforts. Everything is integrated in a holistic way. One key way that the strategy is holistic, is its top down, bottom up, middle out approach.
Robust metrics. Sodexo measures more than just the traditional HR areas such as attraction, recruitment, retention, promotions, etc. They have a detailed scorecard process for leaders. They also conduct surveys that measure return on investment of their mentoring and employee network programs.
Keep raising the bar. Sodexo leadership believes it is on a journey for which the destination is always just out of reach. In other words, they keep striving to do better, looking for additional innovative ways to create an inclusive environment for employees, and to provide products and services to the market that reflect the diversity of their global customer base. They don’t let the numerous accolades lead to complacency. They realize that there will always be work to be done, as new issues emerge, and lingering inequities persist in our world.
Sodexo leadership, and all of its employees who contribute to the everyday success of the company, legitimately deserve every honor, every accolade, and every bit of the praise.
Thank you, Sodexo for setting the bar high, for stepping out and being an unbeatable role model for what D&I looks like when it is executed well.
