Becoming Employer of Choice

Focus: a culturally sensitive workplace that provides genuine opportunity for participation, long term career success and personal growth

Sodexo maintains our standard of being an employer of choice through our ongoing commitment to employing, developing and retaining for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  We are proud of our achievements to date and acknowledge the contribution of our current and past Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to Sodexo’s success in Australia. 

Sodexo is proud to continue working with and seeking the guidance of Elders, community leaders, organisations, local communities and employees to continue the development of a workplace and work practices that are inclusive, sensitive to and embrace the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. In addition, we will provide enabling initiatives across the employee lifecycle that will promote and deliver increased participation and long term growth.

In working towards becoming the employer of choice we will focus on the following (click 'Learn More' for a list of our future commitments):

Direct employment

Secure current levels of employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and increase employment across all segments and levels of our business, including semiskilled, technical, trades, and management.

  • Employ a minimum of 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander each year.
  • Sodexo aims to achieve a representation of 10% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees throughout the business with a minimum of 3.1% parity in commitment to our partnership with the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet.
  • Continue existing enablement pathways, such as Second Chance Review Panels.

Employment pathways

Sponsor and enhance workplace readiness, acquisition of advanced skills and access to managerial training and roles for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.

  • Expand and improve our relationships and use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment services providers to gain greater access to candidates, in particular, from local communities.
  • Develop and implement at least one VTEC Hospitality program per year and 5 Sodexo Ready to Work Programs designed to create a supported multi-week program resulting in employment of participants.  
  • Convene our Second Chance Review Panel a minimum of twelve times per year to support candidates potentially restricted by the disadvantages of health and physical concerns and/or association with justice system. 
  • Support Sodexo’s Justice to Work initiative in partnership with our client organisations to create real and sustainable future career pathways for incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. 

Development pathways

Utilise the formal and structured development opportunities through access to apprenticeships and traineeships. Invest internally and external education designed to mitigate existing disadvantages and provide career path opportunities that offer preparation and actual management and specialist skills growth.

  • Double the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander apprentices employed across our business. 
  • Double the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees participating in traineeships across our business. 
  • Develop and conduct annual survey of career goals and preferred development opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and create development plans
  • Identify two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander emerging leaders, per year, for development into supervisor/manager positions

Mentoring and support

Invest in greater access to skills, leadership and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workplace community mentoring and support.

  • Develop and conduct annual survey of workplace wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees
  • Develop a Resilience program specifically focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and apprentices in our workplace
  • Expand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mentoring network

Engagement and retention

Increase cultural awareness and understanding of non-Indigenous employees, strengthen the workplace community of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Provide genuine access to career and personal growth in a manner that is focused on and sensitive to culture and individual needs.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees given preference when demobilising or reducing man-days
  • Share Indigenous Employee Handbook with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and use the content to develop and deliver further cultural awareness amongst non-indigenous employees
  • Create and implement a senior review process for all disciplinary conversations with and terminations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to fully understand the context and reasons, address any immediate actions required and develop preventative initiatives
  • Continue conducting exit Interviews with all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to help understand reasons for leaving Sodexo and how we can improve our working environment
  • Develop and implement initiatives to address retention issues raised by and improve the retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees

Our RAP journey

Case study: Our employees

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Case study: VTEC

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