A familiar name in the business circle, Mr. Sunil Nayak joined the present company in 2009 following the acquisition of RKHS (Radhakrishna Hospitality Services). The former CEO of RKHS brings with him 20 years of experience in food and facilities management. He was instrumental in driving and managing the growth in the business while successfully transforming RKHS from a mere food service provider to a multiple service provider company. He is responsible for strengthening Sodexo’s culture of innovation and expanding the company into new markets. A firm believer in improving the quality of life and well being of the community at large, Mr. Nayak is also the founder and trustee of RA Foundation – a project dedicated to the education of poor and under privileged children in India.
Q. Take us through your career journey. What have been the key changes in all these years which are worth mentioning?
A. I came on board as the CEO for Sodexo in April 2009, following the acquisition of RKHS (Radhakrishna Hospitality Services). Prior to that, I worked with RKHS for over 15 years, starting with operations then heading sales and marketing and finally as the CEO.
The industry has seen significant positive changes over the last 20 years. It has gained respect and importance and companies are more and more convinced on the impact of quality of life for their people through our services. Thus, we are seeing increasing spends in budgets for our services across sectors.
This is driving employment for thousands of people who previously worked in the unorganised sector. The level of service, expertise and focus on safety has continuously improved.
Q. How difficult or easy is it to manage and ensure quality leadership for a workforce comprising over 40,000 people?
A. The heart of our organisation is our people. They are our assets and ambassadors. We work hard to engage our teams, build their skills and competencies and most importantly, live Sodexo values in everything we do. Growing our business and giving opportunities to learn and grow is the most rewarding part of my job.
Q. IBM Global CEO study 2012 states that our new connected era is changing how people engage. How big is it a challenge to fulfill the goals, develop business and protect employees during a time when organisational openness is making all the buzz?
A. People are engaged and empowered if they have access to information, are able to communicate freely, share views and participate in the success of the business. Our business model is based on having enpowered and engaged employees that deliver high quality services. New technology gives us a great opportunity to strengthen our business model and leverage expertise, knowledge and commitment of employees
Q. How has the company evolved in the last four years?
A. Sodexo has successfully grown its business globally through organic growth supported by strategic acquisitions. Our acquisition strategy revolves around merging the right expertise and talent into our existing business to grow further. We have done that similarly with RKHS and after four years we have grown our business, generated value for our shareholders and given many growth opportunities.
Sodexo’s vision in India is to be the outsourcing expert of choice, providing quality of life services that measurably improve our clients’ performance and development. Over the years, we have worked towards being a strategic partner to our clients and have consolidated our position by providing a range of comprehensive service solutions not only for clients, but also for their employees and visitors in the corporate, education, healthcare and remote sites segments. Delivering more than 40 different food and facilities management solutions to more than 1,000 sites, Sodexo is a market leader in India in terms of revenue, consumers served and employees retained.
Our recent acquisition of MacLellan Integrated Services India Pvt. Ltd supports our international leadership in quality of life services and strengthens the group’s technical expertise.
Q. How do you empower employees and engage customers to share a long-term relationship?
A. Empowering employees does not stop at merely assigning some task and letting them take all the decisions. Empowering means to share the company’s vision and mission, educate them about their responsibilities, motivate them regularly and make them accountable. This helps in establishing a standard code of conduct even when employees come from diverse backgrounds and have varied work profiles.
For the customers, all employees of our company speak the same language of trust and honesty. And this has helped us forge long-term relationships with our clients and customers.
Q. What is your expectation from the HR department?
A. We all need to be HR managers to succeed. HR plays the important role of embedding this into all our managers and leaders through the right strategy and framework. They support strengthening the culture and sharing the values and creating an engaged workforce. HR is an extremely important partner to the CEO in growing the business.
Q. Tell us about the talent base at Sodexo? Being the 20th largest employer worldwide, how do you see India evolving in the next five years in terms of ready talent?
A. We expect a constant growth over the next many years and to create a pool of talent through our investment in T&D. Sodexo encourages talent mobility and diversity. Over the last few years, we have seen many Indians working with the group in other countries and I believe India will continue to create great talent for the business globally.
Q. Tell us about the CSR initiatives undertaken by Sodexo?
A. Sodexo has embraced initiatives to protect the environment, promote health and well-being, and support the development of communities where we do business through a well defined plan called the Better Tomorrow Plan.
One such initiative in India is our partnership with ECO Kitchen in Chennai, where every day, 50 Sodexo employees produce food in their central kitchen, which is then distributed to local women at subsidised rates who in turn set up stalls to sell these meals and earn a sustained source of income. It was a proud moment for us when we received the Subir Raha Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2012 for Community Development, in partnership with ECO Kitchen, as recognition for our efforts.
Q. Sodexo launched Sodexo Women’s India Network (SoWIN) two years ago. Tell us about it?
The vision of Sodexo Women’s India Network (SoWIN) – Prernaprad is ‘Inspiring Change, One Person at a Time’. Prernaprad chapters are co-chaired by men and have an executive sponsor to support their initiatives and guide their leadership development. The four chapters aim to increase employee engagement, provide a positive forum to facilitate communication across gender and offer professional development opportunities for women at base offices and at client sites.
After a positive feedback on the programme, we are now evaluating flexible work options that enhance work-life effectiveness. We continue to monitor the safety and security of women at sites and our data on the retention of women underscores the business case for gender balance.
Q. What kind of a person are you once you step out of your cubicle?
A. I share the same values and principles in my work and personal life. I love sports, music and the opportunity to give back to people who are not lucky.
