Company: ezCater, Boston, MA
Company Description: ezCater is a leading technology platform purpose-built for food for work. We’re a two-sided marketplace that connects anyone who needs food for their workplace with over 100,000 restaurants nationwide. For workplaces, ezCater provides flexible solutions for everything from recurring employee meals to one-off events, while giving them complete visibility and control over their food spend.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Employer of the Year
 Nomination Title: ezCater
- Briefly describe the nominated organization or individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 197 words used.
ezCater is a leading technology platform purpose-built for food for work in the US. We’re a two-sided marketplace that connects anyone who needs food for their workplace with over 100,000 restaurants nationwide. Our Corporate Solutions Demand Sales team (Demand Sales), is a diverse blend of sales professionals responsible for Mid-Market and Enterprise segments.
At ezCater, we believe that culture and strategy are why companies succeed. Giving everyone the same level of respect, trust, and authority to do the job they were hired to do is pivotal in building a great culture and business. We have the same expectations for all our employees, regardless of title and tenure – or where they work from.
One way we manifest respect and trust is with flexibility. At ezCater, every employee has flexibility to work from wherever they choose, be that from home, ezCater’s Boston or Denver office, or any combination of those. Today, over 400 (out of more than 850) of our employees are remote.
We also maintain a strong focus on professional development. Within Demand Sales, we have implemented a differentiated learning structure to train priority sales topics, ensuring our teams are equipped with necessary skills and knowledge.
- Outline the nominated achievement since July 1 2021 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 190 words used.
When we take care of our people, our business succeeds.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] Demand Sales has developed a career pathing program through conversations grounded in Talent Cards and Sales Skills Competencies. Talent Cards offer a detailed snapshot of an employee's current role, their role-specific objectives, career aspirations, and skill gaps that need addressing for further career progression. The Sales Skills Competencies is a matrix of skills that are valued in order to achieve linear career growth. We use this document as a guide to ensure promotions are consistent and equitable. Since July 2021, Demand Sales has successfully promoted over 40 employees vertically and laterally.
ezCater’s efforts to build a company grounded in respect, “going beyond helpful,” and transparency have been recognized with dozens of best workplace award recognitions, including, just in this year:
- Fortune & GPTW Best Medium Workplaces
- Fortune & GPTW Best Workplaces for Women
- Top Workplaces USA
- Boston Business Journal Best Places to Work
- Boston Globe Top Places to Work
- Denver Post Top Workplaces
- WorkLife 50 Awards
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 72 words used.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
The Culture Ingredients are our guiding principles that ensure we maintain a people first company, without sacrificing the growth of our business.
We also attached links to press coverage and releases highlighting ezCater's nationwide recognition as a top workplace.
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated achievement since July 1, 2021, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Explain why the achievement you have highlighted is unique or significant. If possible compare the achievement to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 174 words used.
The bookings contributions listed above are significant, especially given how ezCater’s business was impacted during the pandemic. When COVID-19 first hit in March 2020, ezCater experienced an 85% drop in business almost overnight. Rather than pivot, ezCater doubled down on what it does best — feeding people who work, at work. We rapidly expanded from feeding one-off meetings to offering full corporate food solutions, growing our target market significantly. By 2021, ezCater had already returned to its pre-pandemic size, and, on top of that, in 2022, the company’s bookings grew 87% over 2021.
All of this success occurred while staying true to our culture ingredients (attached) and maintaining work-life balance.
Additionally, the Demand Sales Team maintains a philosophy that all sales reps should earn 100%-125% of on-target earnings, compared to the industry standard 80%. This is accomplished through dedicated leadership that relies on top-down and bottoms-up forecasting and a compassionate leadership style. ezCater, and Demand Sales, puts people first in everything we do. Again, when we take care of our people, our business succeeds.
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