FEATURES
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Posted Mar 13, 2009
 Sodexo's steady rise up this list in recent years and its increasing reputation as a trendsetting diversity leader are attributable to strong CEO commitment from past President and CEO Dick Macedonia and current President and CEO George Chavel and the powerful impact of Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer Rohini Anand. She has become a global thought leader in diversity management and a forceful voice for improvement internally and externally. |
 Sodexo is the best company on our list for metrics. Its emphasis on understanding the ROI of each undertaking is even more valuable in these tight economic times. Over the past five years, the company has developed an integrated metrics platform to assess diversity behavior and values at all levels, including the C-suite. Sodexo tells us there are four specific areas: diversity-training metrics, which includes a satisfaction survey and a follow-up survey six months later to managers to determine behavior change; an employee-engagement survey, analyzed by demographic groups; the identification of how C-suite executives are demonstrating Sodexo's diversity values and behaviors through a 360-assessment; and the Sodexo Diversity Index. This index is a scorecard that tracks both quantitative and qualitative results, measuring and rewarding outcomes as well as efforts.
Sodexo carries its strong diversity emphasis into all aspects of its business, with superb mentoring programs with detailed metrics, excellent work/life benefits that enhance retention, and a perfect score on its development and use of employee-resource groups.
Externally, this company is first-rate in the way it communicates its diversity. Its web site also gets a perfect score for its consistent and very visible diversity message in both words and images. Sodexo is involved with many multicultural nonprofits, including the National Urban League, Out and Equal, the National Council of La Raza, OCA (Organization of Chinese Americans) and the National Organization on Disability. In addition, Sodexo allocates 35 percent of its advertising budget to multicultural media.Both Anand and Chavel are strong ambassadors for diversity. Chavel is on the external diversity council of Deloitte, No. 33 on The 2009 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity. |
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George Chavel, President and CEO
"It is all about maintaining a competitive advantage. We know, and research has proven, that diversity drives innovation. Now more than ever, we need to have the best and brightest talent thinking about how we can deliver value to the customers we serve. We have made a very deliberate decision to continue to invest in our people and their development. This includes our employee-network groups, mentoring initiatives and professional-development opportunities for our people." |
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Rohini Anand, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Diversity Officer
"During these uncertain economic times, Sodexo's commitment to diversity and inclusion is a competitive advantage that enables us to deliver greater value to our customers, clients and the communities we serve. It drives our ability to attract and develop the best talent, create an engaged work force, and deliver quality-of-life solutions to the 60 million customers we serve daily across the globe." |
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Specialty Lists
- No. 3 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for Recruitment & Retention
- No. 3 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for African Americans
- No. 2 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for Latinos
- No. 1 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for Executive Women
- No. 9 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for People With Disabilities
- No. 7 in The DiversityInc Top 10
Companies for LGBT Employees
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Industry
Hospitality
Main Competitors
ARAMARK, Compass Group USA, Delaware North
U.S. Headquarters
Gaithersburg, Md. |
Number of U.S. Employees
114,749
Annual Revenue
$7.9 billion
% of Operations Outside U.S.
N/A |
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