Customer service is a core
competency required of
facilities sta and supervisors
as they o en act as the referral
point for dealing with more complex
or technical customer requests,
complaints and queries. A specialist
in this area gathers and analyses
data and customer information that
influences change and improvements
to the service provided.
Facilities managers are in a vital
position within an organisation as the
conduit between the senior leadership
of an organisation with its objective to
ensure the business is a success and
their workforce, whose priorities are not
only to perform at their best on behalf
of their employer but in doing so are
directly impacted by the workplace
environment.
Many clients, particularly those in
the corporate sector are looking for an
enhanced end-user ‘experience’, a real
focus on great service rather than people
simply carrying out the tasks associated
with their job function.
In a competitive job market, we want
to attract and retain the best employees,
so the expectations of millennials and
Gen Z employees are a major factor in
driving this demand. Structured career
pathways, cross segment moves and
early talent identification and access to
accelerated development opportunities
is key with this group.
At Sodexo we believe that our people
are the key to success of our business
and as such we invest both time and
money into ensuring they have the skills
required and the opportunity to develop
their career with us.
As part of this commitment we have
worked together with HIT Training to
launch a brand-new development
programme to support and develop the
next generation of FM leaders.
In the development of the programme
Sodexo and Hit Training worked with the
IWFM to ensure facilities management
principles were integrated into the
programme. The programme o ers
two courses specialising in customer
service (practitioner and specialist)
with participants of both achieving an
IWFM accredited facilities services, level
2 or 3 certification at the end of the
programme.
On successfully completing the
programme participants will have gained
the right skills, capability and attitude to
deliver facilities management focused
on people and experiences, rather than
buildings and services.
They will also have the necessary skills
to develop their career with Sodexo
with a view to progress to a more senior
leadership role within the organisation.
This is unique to any other training
available and makes this a customer
service focused learning experience with
a specialism in facilities management.
The new programme, known as
Futures, is available to both qualifying
existing employees as well as new
recruits. Each participant will be directly
FM CAREERS - TRAINING
employed by Sodexo in a permanent
role. The programme itself comprises
mainly of on-the-job training, with
around 20 per cent of the learning
completed o -site.
FOCUS ON SERVICE
Our corporate services business delivers
workplace services to clients in a wide
range of industries from pharma to
consumer products to professional
services. Many clients have multiple
sites across the UK and it is essential
that our teams collaborate across these
sites to ensure the customer experience
is second to none. The first cohort of
participants includes five employees
from one of its largest contracts with a
major pharmaceutical company. All five
serve a population of some 3,500 of its
client’s employees.
Kayleigh Pugh is currently Assistant
Customer Services Manager for
housekeeping services and has signed
up for the new programme. Having
started with Sodexo over five years ago
as a food services assistant, Kayleigh is
keen to continue to develop her career
with Sodexo and sees the programme
as a great way to help develop her skills
and experience so that she can progress
to a more senior position. Commenting
on the programme Kayleigh said: “I
am really looking forward to using this
opportunity to continue to develop my
career, this new programme will enable
me to develop key skills and knowledge
which will hopefully help me move into
more managerial position.”
Kayleigh’s colleague, Liz Walczack,
first joined the company back in 2006,
when she TUPE’d across when Sodexo
was awarded the contract. At the time
she was a floor captain a role she has
continued to hold over the years with
the exception of a couple of years when
she le for a di erent role and to take
time away from work to raise her family.
Liz returned in 2013 to her previous role
of Floor Captain and has since been
promoted to Assistant Customer Service
Manager for so services.
Speaking about the programme
Liz said: “Kayleigh and I work closely
together and we are looking forward
to this new learning journey. With such
a large population on site, we as team
are vital in ensuring the employee
experience is to the highest standard
and this new programme will help in our
continuous development in achieving
this.”
On completion of the programme
the graduates will be able to build their
career within Sodexo and using the skills
acquired from the course will act as a
customer service specialist within their
team. They will gather and analyse data
and customer insight in order to drive
innovation and deliver more strategic,
employee-focused partnerships.
In short, this new development
programme is a really important part of
our people strategy. We are committed
to supporting and developing the next
generation of leaders for our business.
To achieve this, we truly believe
customer service skills are crucial in the
delivery of workplace experience and
consumer driven FM.
We acknowledge that to succeed we
need to give people the right skills and
attributes to deliver against our clients’
needs now and into the future.
Kayleigh and Liz are just two of the
first cohort of this new programme and
we look forward to welcoming more. It
is open for our existing employees as
well as new recruits and we are looking
forward to seeing them succeed with the
programme and for it to kick-start a long
and rewarding career with us.
SUPPORTING APPRENTICESHIPS
The training and development of our
employees is a key commitment for
us, which is why, through our Public
Service Pledge we have set ourselves a
target to engage 850 apprentices every
year. We o er apprenticeships at all
levels, across a range of skills from chefs
and hospitality managers to project
management, property maintenance
and now customer service.
In the FM industry there is a real need
for more trained FM professionals
entering the workforce and we are
committed to working with bodies to
improve skills and highlight the career
opportunities for graduates with FM
qualifications. We hope programmes
such as Futures will help attract new
talent as well as allow us to nurture
the talent we already have within the
organisation.
SKILLED SERVICES Kim Leahy, HR Director, Corporate Services, Sodexo UK & Ireland explains the
importance for services businesses such as FM providers to give people the right skills
and attributes to deliver against their clients’ needs now and into the future
NOVEMBER 2019 65