Helping Sodexo connect the people at their core
People are the beating heart of Sodexo’s business: with 460,000 employees in 72 countries, the quality of life services provider is the 19th largest employer in the world. Recently we completed a print project that’s helping connect Sodexo’s 11,000 employees throughout Italy. I talked by phone with Serena Borsani, Brand & Communications Director for On-site Services, about the project and other communications initiatives in a business that’s built on – and is committed to growing – its people.
Sodexo is a leading company in the management and enhancement of human resources. How have you managed to remain faithful to this mission over the years?
Since our founding in 1966, our mission has always been to improve the quality of life of both the people we serve and our employees. In terms of communication, we’ve launched a series of initiatives aimed at Sodexo, precisely because people are the driving force behind our business.
What tools do you use to ensure the well-being of the people who work with you?
For communication and keeping people up to date, our house organ Conoscersi (the name means “getting to know each other” in Italian) is an excellent tool. Of the 11,000 employees we have in Italy, only a small percentage have an email address. The newsletter creates a constant link between the headquarters and our collaborators up and down the country.
Another essential resources we’ve been using some years is our Facebook page. We use the page to not only give advice for how to live a healthy lifestyle, but also to tell the stories of our employees, using their photos. It’s a chance to really show our face, as it were.
Restyling Conoscersi was the first project you involved us on. What motivated the restyling? What are your objectives?
It was time for change. Not a radical change, but a change in frequency and format and content. The new format is lighter, with fewer pages, and rather than annual it’s going to appear twice a year. We also tried to give it a more usable, simple and fresh graphic look that’s more in step with the times.
More recently we collaborated on two new projects: the first was the naming for Bimbi in Sodexo, an initiative celebrating the children of Sodexo employees. Can you tell me about it?
The idea of bringing children into the office is really popular these days, and for some years now we’ve been encouraging the children of our employees to come in and get to know their mom’s or dad’s working environment – in our opinion it’s important to create a link between private and professional life. And it was equally important to find a suitable name for this initiative.
The second project focuses on employer branding in universities. Tell me about it.
As far as universities are concerned, we’re trying to focus on employer branding precisely because we employ a lot of people. We also want to be known for the care we take to grow our people from within, which is an added value for those entering the world of work.
Moskito helped us introduce ourselves to young people just about to finish their studies.
And now we’re working with you on another restyling – of our offices. We’d like to make the look more consistent and use it to help us better express our brand identity. The collaboration continues 🙂
