August 07, 2015

Sodexo has won the Workforce Innovation Award, which was announced at AMMA’s 2015 Resource People National Conference annual Gala Dinner in Perth.

Sodexo received the award for implementing its holistic mental health awareness initiative ‘I Hear You’ across its Australian business in 2014. The program provides tangible, meaningful and immediate support to its employees in times of personal crisis as well as providing the skills to detect signs of personal crisis among friends, family and colleagues.

‘I Hear You’ has opened the discussion for Sodexo’s workforce on what has historically been a difficult subject. Sodexo continues to work on embedding preventative measures and early reaction capabilities for mental health issues in the workplace.

Johnpaul Dimech, CEO Sodexo, Australia, says: “Sodexo is honoured to receive this award. Safety is our first priority. By prioritising both physical and mental wellbeing, we are demonstrating how serious we are about improving our employees’ Quality of Life. This recognition reaffirms that we are on the right track by first focusing on suicide prevention because of its devastating effects on all who are touched by this tragedy. We believe we have started the journey with our employees by opening the conversation in an effort to build a mentally healthy workplace.”

The award is a testament to Sodexo’s commitment to improve Quality of Life for its clients, employees and local communities, along with achieving the goal of a zero harm workplace.

The 2015 AMMA Industry Awards recognise excellence in Australia’s mining, oil, gas and allied industries. The Workforce Innovation Award acknowledges the creative and strategic efforts of organisations and individuals to overcome workforce challenges and deliver quality outcomes in these environments.

The initiative’s message is simple: Know you can be heard; believe you will be listened to.