By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat

While most companies and even those considered industry leaders resort to the illegal ENDO or labor only job contracting where a worker’s contract is ended every five months and then renewed or terminated at the mercy of the employer, here is one company that hires, regularizes workers and provides better compensation package on hopes they stay with them for the long haul.

Meet Sodexo On-Site Services Philippines, Inc., a majority French-owned firm that employs 3,000 support services staff to mostly MNC clients in need of janitorial, maintenance, security, technical engineering staff, dieticians, cooks, chef, meals delivery staff, among others.

Phillip Carter, Sodexo Country President and General Manager, listens to the stories of the less employable Filipinos, who otherwise could not have gotten better permanent jobs until Sodexo came into the picture.

The company

Sodexo On-site Services Philippines, Inc. is part of the French multinational, Sodexo Group.

Established in 2013, Sodexo offers comprehensive, integrated solutions that cover a wide range of services – from reception to clinical technology management, inpatient dining, cleaning, technical services, and food services. It serves more than 60,000 consumers daily from clients who are in the corporate, education, energy and resources, and healthcare segments.

“We design, manage and deliver service solutions that create healthy environments for all facets of facility management,” says Carter.

Founded in Marseille in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, the Sodexo Group is operating in 72 countries and territories all over the world with consolidated revenues of 20 billion euros. It is now the global leader in services that improve Quality of Life, an essential factor in individual and organizational performance. It employs a total of 427,000 workers, making it the world’s 19th largest employer.

Operating under the same brand and completing the offer of Quality of Life is Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services which offers marketing solutions through cost-effective and hassle-free alternative channels for product promotion, loyalty rewards, and sales channel incentives to boost company performance and provide effective rewards platforms for consumers and partners.

Growth

“Business is fantastic,” says Carter of this local service subsidiary that started with 18 staff only when they opened here in November 2013. Now, they have 3,000 staff providing support services to clients in over 500 sites across the country.

“Business is so robust and growing rapidly over the past five years and still continues to grow,” he adds.

They do not advertise their services, but good reputation precedes them that clients come knocking on their door. It is generally word of mouth as existing clients refer friends to Sodexo.

“We work throughout the region and throughout the world and we are looking for same services in Singapore, China or Paris or US and these MNCs have subsidiaries which are happy with Sodexo,” says Carter.

Thus, its growth is fueled organically with its existing clients expanding their operations and their needs for support services staff increase.

“We sell end to end support services and we compete on the quality of service and not about price because most of our customers are looking for quality service. They are not dictated by price but the qualification of staff,” he adds.

So far, clients are split 50-50 for local and MNCs, but the latter has bigger share revenue wise.

Although still relatively new in Asia, Carter said that outsourcing support services has become the trend among developed countries for the past 20 years because companies want to concentrate in their core business.

In hospitals, they provide services that include not just janitorial or maintenance people but also dieticians. In fact, Sodexo is the world’s biggest employer of dieticians in hospitals.

The traditional corporate services segment is the fastest growing because of the BPO buildings’ requirements for food, janitorial, technical engineering, maintenance and security services, but the energy and resources segment has been jumping up quickly.

To address a growing number of clients, Sodexo has opened a regional office in Cebu where some of its Manila clients are expanding to the queen city of the south. Like its head office in Makati, the Cebu office is shared between Sodexo On-site Services and Sodexo Benefits & Rewards.

“We have strong growth in the Visayas region,” says Carter noting that they have clients too in Mindanao and all over Luzon, including Ilocos Norte and Batangas for a mix of energy and resources facilities.

He was very optimistic of a very bright business prospect for his company. With its good reputation, growth is longer just organic but new clients are streaming, as well.

With new growths, Sodexo Philippines expects to grow 40 percent in revenue for this fiscal year from 60 percent last year and increase in manpower to 3,500 by end this year from the current 3,000.

“The business is growing so good that we must be doing right,” says Carter.

No employment agency

For all the controversies hounding ENDO in the country, Carter emphasized that Sodexo is not an employment agency or a company with ENDO policy.

“Our 3,000 staff are all regular employees of us. We are not a manpower agency, we are a service agency, but we manage our own staff. It is an end to end service,” he adds. Ninety-five percent of their staff are site-based so they go straight to the site when they report for work.

But 100 percent of their employees are regular staff under Sodexo, complete with all the mandated government benefits and even more.

“They are all our regular and full-time employees,” he adds noting that as regular employees they have continuous employment even if a company’s contract had been terminated. But one thing good is none of their contracts with their long-time clients has been terminated.

So, the government’s drive against ENDO has not affected them because they are directly employing their people.

Sodexo generally hires people through face to face interviews. They also advertise through the Manila Bulletin and other online sites.

“The preference in hiring is to have background experience but we also bring very detailed induction program into health and safety and train them into the correct use of tools and safety, like putting the signages when mopping the floor so people will not come along and trip,” says Carter.

Sodexo even helps their staff to get TESDA accreditation.

“We are here for the long haul,” he says.

According to Carter, they did not experience any problem in hiring because they offer very attractive compensation package that gives them a very high retention rate of 82 percent, way higher than the industry average.

“We hire people on a long-term basis,” he adds. They also keep the records of applicants in their active file for future job prospects. Some are even recommended by their own staff, who receive incentives for their recruits.

“We have some great stories with our staff,” adds Carter, who goes home 3-5 times a year to visit his family in Australia. They are also considerate in the assignment of their staff taking into consideration their proximity to their homes to ensure they also enjoy quality life.

With their care and relationships with the staff and clients, Carter is proud of having 99 percent client retention.

“Our staff are very happy with us. They are given everything mandated under the law. We have HMO and other benefits,” says Carter noting the staff are also provided with uniforms, safety equipment and personal protective equipment. They go straight to their assigned sites.

Notably, its 82 percent retention rate is by far is the highest among Sodexo companies based on their global employee engagement survey, which is conducted every two years.

“Our business model is we go into the site of our clients to provide better services so they feel happier working in a clean and safe environment. With that, their quality of life also improves,” he adds.

“The corporate clients do not see our functions as core service, but which are core to Sodexo,” says Carter.

“We do things, we do security, reception cleaning and technical maintenance, engineering, food services down to washing the dishes and transportation services, so we do everything that is not their core business. It is an end to end service.”

“That is where we think we can impact on people’s lives, health and safety,” he adds.

“We have a reputation for our hygienic way and our policy towards a safe working environment,” he adds.

Sustainability

Sodexo has also adopted sustainable business policy in everything they do. They do online processing to reduce use of paper. They are also doing away with the use of plastic straws with the aim of totally eliminating its use soon.

“We have a global commitment of no more single use plastic bags,” says Carter. If their customer sites have the same policy, they augment that by supplying materials that are more environment friendly and if they still use the single use plastic bags, they would try to wash them, which is a good way of trying to engage with suppliers and clients.

Carter, however, admitted that it has been very difficult to tell what their customers are supposed to do to help protect the environment, but Sodexo tries to politely remind customers on-site and extends efforts to influence them on the use of more environment friendly and hygienic products.

So concerned that 90 percent of plastic straws end up in the ocean, Sodexo is now working with local farmers for the production of bamboo straws.

“We make them aware that every bit helps sustainability and for the world we live in will become a healthier place,” he adds.

A global service provider, Sodexo has also a very strong diversity policy where everyone is treated equal with no discrimination. This is also aligned with the rules of their client MNCs, which are looking for the same value in their local suppliers.

Superb

“It has been a superb stay and it has gone like a blink of an eye because business is so huge and time goes very quick because when you’re busy time goes quickly, things are doing very well,” says Carter noting that he has been enjoying every minute of his stay here in the past three years.

He has been to several sites in the country although he has yet to book again for Boracay as he was caught during the island’s closure.

Carter, who was then working for a different company in Australia, was invited by Sodexo to work in Thailand. He has been with Sodexo for the past 12 years already, including three years in the Philippines.

He has travelled extensively throughout the world, but the Philippines was one of two countries he had not visited prior to his appointment to head Manila.

“I don’t know why I did not visit here previously,” he wonders.

Management style

In general, Carter is a very inclusive manager. “I am not the one who works and yells and screams,” he adds. He would like to get opinion from his staff, but when he makes a decision he can be very strong and determined.

His management style also suits the Filipinos’ calm and relaxed attitude. “I don’t think Asia Pacific relates to dictatorial management, but rather inclusive so I am calm in explaining things in detail,” says Carter, an electrical engineer by profession.

Sodexo has also learned to give back to society as they partner with local non-governmental organizations and local barangays for the Wasteless Week. They also work with the youth in Taguig and Tondo for young mothers with very low employability level.

“We give them employment and been very successful,” he adds noting a fulfillment for being able to give these young people decent jobs.

“Some of those engagements are expected to come when my years are done, but we will live this legacy for a long time. We give a smile on someone else’s face and that’s very powerful,” says Carter, who spends 90 percent of his time in the office from as early as 7:30 in the morning and ends at 8 pm.

Being an expat can be tough, but Carter said that life in Manila has been good to him. He enjoys exploring the local cuisine with “sisig” and “lechon” becoming his favorites.

He is also discovering new culture and experiencing different things like diving in the country’s various dive spots.

Indeed, good things happen to a good employer and a good boss.