Knowing the difference they make inspires our colleagues every day
Great facilities management goes hand in hand with strong business performance. It’s about smooth operations, solid retention and those little extra touches that brighten the working day. To celebrate World FM Day, we talked to some of our colleagues about their roles, their goals and what it means to make a difference.
Driving performance
When people feel safe, supported and able to relax, they’re happier at work. That’s our ambition for everything we do, and we know it adds value. In every industry, all around the world, our colleagues are creating secure, healthy and friendly workplaces that drive business performance by improving wellbeing.
One particular colleague sees her own impact close up, and that’s Diane Jones. She’s the services manager at Sodexo’s HQ at One Southampton Row in London and has spent more than 30 years perfecting her craft. Having previously been part of our team based at News International and then Transport for London, her experience spans everything from catering to safety-critical infrastructure.
Enabling collaboration
Today, Diane’s eight-strong team works tirelessly to keep their colleagues happy, focused and ready to work. There might be 20 on site or 120, but they’ll all have a warm welcome, the right tech, a comfy spot and of course, delicious food.
Here’s Diane on what she loves about her role:
“I get real enjoyment from seeing people working better together. Whether that was setting up home laptops during Covid or transforming the office into an open, collaborative space for when people returned. Even small changes – simpler desk bookings, different seating – help people build connections, work freely and just get more of a buzz. Who wouldn’t want to work in a place like this?”
She’s a big advocate of facilities management as a career too, as it’s a great opportunity to stretch yourself. “No two days are the same,” she says, “and my ambition is to just keep learning.
FM professionals like me are great to have around in a crisis - we’ve always got a Plan B!”
Keeping people safe
Plan Bs are particularly important for Jane Farrell’s team. She’s Head of Security for Sodexo UK & Ireland, which means her team delivers protection and guarding services to all kinds of organisations, from big corporate offices to hospital emergency departments.
Keeping people safe takes many forms, and in security it starts with understanding needs and wants. Empathy, not physical strength, is the most valuable trait, which is why Jane works tirelessly to improve the industry’s gender balance and showcase the value of women in security:
“Our team includes people like Lucy Eaton, who stopped a patient taking their own life at Queen’s Hospital in Romford by holding on to them until help arrived. And Sasha Myrtle, who started her career as a receptionist and now runs our control room - she arranged the security for the pandemic quarantine facility that UK citizens came home to from Wuhan.”
Jane’s team might face more dramatic scenes than most, but for other FM colleagues it’s all about the fine detail.
Reducing risk
Jonathan Beardmore is the compliance manager for Sodexo’s Health and Care business, keeping a close eye on asset management to reduce workplace risk. Jon joined us in 2012 as an electrical engineer, won two Premises and Facilities Management (PFM) awards in 2017 and stepped up to compliance manager in 2018.
Then in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, he helped to set up a test centre from scratch, supporting the planning, deployment and go-live of the site at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena. This was safety infrastructure of a wholly new kind, but Jon was confident in the abilities of his team and his colleagues:
"We've got very talented people across the whole of Sodexo. Some of the best engineers, porters, cleaners – the list goes on – and a professional network of people who are all passionate about what they do.”
Reducing risk is a core FM discipline, and this extends to the business-critical issue of cost.
Improving the bottom line
Mohammed Amjad is finance manager for our work with one of our Corporate Services clients, which spans waste management, cleaning, catering, reception services and security across 12 UK sites. While a finance role in another sector might sit more behind the scenes, Mohammed sees himself right at the front line:
"Tight financial controls are a must, but our goal is also to add value. So as well as keeping on top of invoices and payments, I look ahead at cost. How might we use Sodexo’s buying power? What can we do to head off the impact of inflation? Where are the opportunities to save our client money? Answering those questions means staying close to operational teams, and that’s not something I’d get to do anywhere else.”
The team’s hard work is already paying off, with 44% of their projected annual savings delivered within three months. Mohammed credits this progress to knowing what matters to the people Sodexo serves:
“As a finance manager in FM, I have to find the story behind the spreadsheet. I need to know what people value, how they use our services, what they wish could be better. Those things help us make better decisions for the client, which is a great feeling as I’m not ‘just’ crunching the numbers. I’m making a difference to people’s lives at work.”
Sodexo UK & Ireland, through our colleagues, supports all FM professional bodies including IFMA, IWFM, and RICS.