With every new year, I am reminded of how time just flies on bye. In the blink of an eye, 2009 rolled into 2010. I actually can’t believe that the infamous “Y2K” is a decade behind us! As I break open my 2010 Joke-a-Day calendar, I realize another milestone is upon us. Tomorrow, the Sodexo Careers blog turns 2!
Our chief blogger Kerry has again graciously allowed me to celebrate the occasion with a guest post. It’s only right that I start by recognizing her, the voice of Sodexo Careers here on blogspot as well as on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and many of the other online communities Sodexo has created. Congratulations and Happy Birthday to your blog Kerry!
One of the things that has made the Sodexo Careers blog and our online communities truly special over the years is the immeasurable help we get from the participation of our friends throughout Sodexo. This year on the blog, our friends (we call them guest bloggers) have written more than 30 posts to share many aspects about work and life at Sodexo that neither Kerry nor I even knew about! We don’t pay or incent people to blog. Sometimes, we don’t even ask them! They just do it because they have something to share or want to contribute for the team. The idea of team contributions shouldn’t surprise me. It’s something I have experienced throughout my career at Sodexo.
Before I joined the Talent Acquisition Group, I managed hospital food service departments in Sodexo operations. Each facility that I managed had several extraordinary team members that contributed amazing things to the success of the department. There were many At Saint Anne’s Hospital in Massachusetts including Mr. Fitz, a 35+ year cook in the department. “How ya doin’ today Fitzy,” I would say. His reply was always the same – “Like a one arm paper hanger.” To this day, I have no idea what that means but Fitzy knew every inch of that kitchen, hadn’t missed a day of work since before I was born and never gave anything less than 100% effort.
I was lucky to be at Saint Anne’s when Maggie, a diet technician, celebrated her 40th year of service at the hospital. As the department “matriarch,” Maggie trained everybody on the team at one time or another, including me!
Roger Williams Medical Center in Rhode Island was the second facility that I managed and again benefited greatly from the extraordinary people on my team. Cecila for example, was the person for catering at “the Rog.” That was the job she was paid for anyway. She also tended a courtyard flower garden every year with a green thumb that most of us can only dream of having. It was never more than a few weeks into the spring that Cecilia had me coming in on the weekends to help her till in new soil and fertilizer before we began planting.
My last food service management gig before joining Talent Acquisition was Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. With such a large team, there were so many special contributors but the one I’ll remember most was another Maggie (no relation to Saint Anne’s!). While Maggie filled a few roles in the Café at Children’s, I’ll always remember how she could turn any piece of produce into a work of art!
Here on the Sodexo Careers blog, the Mr. Fitz’s, Cecilia’s and Maggie’s have been replaced by Calvin, Michele, Darla, Arlin and so many others. I personally appreciate their contributions above and beyond their “day job” and hope that you, our readers have gained some valuable insights about our company and our people. I hope you’ll take a moment to add your comment and wish Kerry and our many guest bloggers a happy 2nd birthday!
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Anthony Scarpino is a Senior Director for Sodexo's Talent Acquisition Group. He began his career with Sodexo as a Registered Dietitian more than 13 years ago and has held several field positions, including General Manager - Food Service at Boston Children's Hospital where he was before his current role. Anthony invites you to connect with him on Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.
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4 comments:
Great blog Anthony. It made me think of some very special associates that I came across along the way in my management operation days. I'm sure that several of them are still there making it happen every day.
Thanks!
Carol Sexton
Thanks Carol!
I wish I had another 5000 characters to use to recognize others that have made such an impact to our customers over the years.
Congratulations on the 2 year anniversary of your blog! In my view your team has set the standard for recruimtent marketing and communications by using these innovative channels to reach out and connect with candidates, and tell great stories about employees at Sodexo. Our team at Intel thinks highly of your work.
Cheers,
Allen Stephens
Great blog Anthony and what a great career! This goes to show employees and potential employees -you may start as a Food Service Manager but the career possibilities are infinite and undefined. Your Future, So Sodexo!
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