Company: Sodexo, Headquarters, Paris, France
Nomination Submitted by: Sodexo SA
Company Description: Sodexo is a leading global facilities management company, primarily supplying catering and facilities’ management services to private and public clients across 40+ country operations and geographies. Founded in 1966 and with a current €22B turnover and 450,000 employees, we pride ourselves on great client service delivery through empowering our sales teams with innovative coaching programs.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Award for Innovation in Sales - Other Service Industries
 Nomination Title: Creating a commercial and cultural impact by developing our people through innovative sales coaching
- Briefly describe the nominated organization or individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 201 words used.
History - Transformative customer service
Sodexo is an innovative global facilities management company, founded in 1966 to supply market-leading catering and facilities’ management services to private and public clients, impacting 80 million consumers across workplaces, universities, healthcare, and sports and leisure venues.
With a current €22B turnover our reputation for outstanding customer service is embedded worldwide, and driven by a company mission to improve the quality of life of our +450,000 employees, who operate across 45 countries.
Past Performance - Market insights enabling a growth mindset
As a large company with long-term contracts established with low margins, and limited resources, in the last 10 years (especially post-pandemic), competitors were delivering higher growth figures, as our market share declined, particularly in North America.
During 2023, we conducted a global internal listening exercise, canvassing our Operators (our client-facing contract delivery managers), and senior leadership teams, which identified a culture of delivering contracts to high standards, at the expense of incremental growth, missing cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.
Informed by the results, a bold people development program, AccountAbility, was deployed by our Growth and Commercial Team to transform cultural and commercial outcomes, focusing on making key personnel interacting with our clients, agents of change.
- 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, 2022, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- Outline the nominated achievement since July 1 2022 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 251 words used.
Pioneering coaching achieving commercial and cultural impact
Our innovative sales training program, AccountAbility, launched in November 2023 with an 18-month pilot program, across India, Poland and Canada, selected for their diverse mix of gender, age, business, growth challenges, and learning cultures.
Aimed at our Operators, who were closest to our clients and often viewed as representatives of the organisation, we created a program that would develop them into agents for change, supporting them to understand and lead on sales growth opportunities.
5 core training methodologies were secured:
- Relatable: Using a fictional but realistic client to role-play skills.
- Authentic: Introduce program participants to the DiSC assessment methodology, to communicate effectively with clients and develop growth opportunities.
- Progressive: A three-day live workshop to train participants on tools from DiSC, role-play, and feedback sessions.
- Impactful: Utilising robust follow-up touchpoints, staged over the next year, peer accountability check-ins, and upskilling sessions.
- Competitive: Individual and team high performers publicly celebrated through our ‘Race to Paris’ program.
Unique technological achievements: AccountAbility’s pioneering AI-powered role-play bot has enabled employees to strengthen their client listening skills and sales conversion strategies.
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Employee feedback was exceptional:
“Meaningful learning and support.” Dr Warren Christopher, VP Operations, USA
- IIf 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.
- 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 250 words used.
Outstanding commercial and cultural impact through development of our employees can be illustrated through our document which contains images, statistics, and feedback to demonstrate our success.
Our Mission: Since day one, our company mission has been to improve the quality of life of our employees and those we serve, and contribute to the economic, social and environmental progress in the communities where we operate.
Driving a growth mindset through the utilisation of a global internal listening exercise to understand why our commercial growth and market share is lower than our competitors Compass and Aramark.
Initiating an innovative program for cultural change and growth with the launch of AccountAbility in 2023, a bold people development program connecting leadership, sales, and operations to implement and sustain cultural learning and change.
Delivering 1-2 year program which focuses on key account management skills and consists of foundation, additional and graduation elements. Enabling our Operators to upskill and upsell to customers within a supportive workplace culture of celebrating success.
Industry-first innovative technology reinforcing our learning culture with the introduction of an AI-powered role play-bot to inform outcomes and strengthen client listening skills.
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Pioneering training program has delivered outstanding feedback at all levels: “Very well-structured and provided in a very professional way.” Cluster Lead, Poland
- 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 250 words used.
Transformative commercial and cultural impact
Our unique sales training program has positively impacted our commercial and cultural growth, and in just 12-months we’ve transformed the business, creating a market-leading globally deployed initiative placing us ahead of our competitors.
Within an operational context, cross and up-selling opportunities typically take 12–18 months from initial prospecting conversations to closing the deal.
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Significant sales training outcomes
Our global strategy is achieving its ambitions to connect leadership, sales, and operations through a common language and behavioural methodology in our Growth Academy, implementing a sustained cultural change in how we approach growth with our clients.
High-impact sales training results include:
- 350+ participants in 30 teams have participated in the full program, with executive sponsors appointed.
- Workshop evaluations achieved an NPS rating of 98.
- Senior Leader training and Direct Report teach-backs with over 1,000 participants, to help continue cultural evolution.
- 14 further cohorts budgeted in five regions, by September 2025.
- Supporting monthly Growth Booster sessions scheduled for +1,000 growth minded change agents across sales and operations.
Future leaders are developing, concluding:
“The best training session I’ve had in Sodexo in 25 years,” SVP - E&R, Canada
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