The ‘Generations’ network is a group of multi-generational employees who are focusing on the diverse range of Sodexo’s employees.
The network aims to support employees in understanding the personal and professional development needs of these groups and how they are affected by each other.
Sean Haley, managing director of service operations and executive sponsor of the Generations network, said: “Sodexo employs and serves a broad spectrum of people in a diverse range of workplaces, such as stadia, prisons, hospitals, schools and offices.
“It’s important we recognise everyone’s background and values to help us give our employees a rewarding career and support them in delivering the best service to our clients and customers.”
The United Nations categorises the working age population into four generations, each of whom has a different expectation and experience of the workplace: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y.
To mark its launch the network divised the GenMatch Game, an informal way for Sodexo employees to start learning about the different generations and each other’s experiences. Around 2,000 sets of the GenMatch Game are being delivered to Sodexo teams across the UK and Ireland.
Haley added: “As many of our employees are based on a diverse range of client sites, the GenMatch Game has been designed in a short format to be played in a relaxed environment to get people talking and thinking about the differences in the four generational groups.
The Generations network is one of six areas Sodexo is focusing on as part of its approach to diversity and inclusion. It becomes the seconds employee network the company have started, after Women Work, which started in 2008 to achieve gender balance with the business.
Sodexo employs over 35,000 people in the UK and over 380,000 people worldwide.