Building Trust in Uncertain Times

I'm going to focus my remarks on you by talking about some trends and recommending some strategies that we believe can help you succeed in the global marketplace. And then I'll conclude with a short video that I hope you'll find inspiring.

Sodexo has evolved from a food and facilities management company into a unique space as a global provider of quality-of-life solutions.

Our mission is to improve the quality of daily life, which means that we see ourselves as an integral and contributing member of the communities we serve.

Sodexo is truly an international company:

• Our revenues are almost $18 billion worldwide
• We have business in 80 countries
• With 29,000 locations
• We are one of the world's top employers with more than 350,000 employees worldwide
• We serve more than 50 million customers every day

I'm proud to lead our business in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. 

Our North American headquarters is off I-270 - we have 3,500 employees in Maryland and another 125,000 across the rest of North America. 

You'll find Sodexo proudly serving food to men and women of the United State Marine Corps on every single base in the U.S. 

You'll find our people working at the Arctic Circle and near the South Pole. 

On mountain tops in Peru, in Madagascar and even serving the Queen of England. 

We work in hospitals.retirement homes.schools.colleges and universities.and corporations.

In the Washington area, we also serve organizations like the French and Canadian embassies, National Geographic, George Washington Hospital and Johns Hopkins.

And we even serve some federal agencies.whose names I can't mention because we don't have enough time for all of us to go through the security clearance!

The challenges of managing business in 80 countries has taught us several lessons that I think you'll find helpful.

This is a milestone day - It's the twentieth anniversary of Embassy Day.

The last twenty years have also been a remarkable time for world trade -

Twenty years ago, US exports were about $430 BILLION.

Sounds like a lot, but last year our exports had almost quadrupled to $1.6 TRILLION.

Expanding world trade has created millions of jobs in the U.S. and around the world, raised living standards, and spurred innovation. 

I'd bet almost every organization here relies in some way on imported or exported goods and services.

Since we're just outside one of the most political cities on earth, let's take a look at what you might call “the politics of international trade.”

We're less than six weeks away from the election. My crystal ball is no better than yours, so I don't know who will be in the White House on January 20.                         

But it is a pretty safe bet that he will have to work with a Congress that is more skeptical about the benefits of free trade than the current one.

The economics of international trade are changing, too.

People driving to the first Embassy Day 20 years ago paid about a dollar a gallon for gas. That sounds like the good old days now, doesn't it?

Today people are thrilled when the price of gas drops below 4 dollars.

With transportation costs suddenly so high, it no longer makes sense to ship chicken and fish from here to Asia to be filleted and packaged, then ship it back across the Pacific to be sold.

Finally, I think there is a global shift in attitudes about trade.

People and governments are becoming more aware of the environmental and social impacts of the international economy. They want organizations to pay attention to these as well as to the bottom line.

What do these emerging trends mean for all of us in this room?

We've thought a lot about that question, listened to our clients and the lessons we learned might surprise you.

All these economic developments have re-emphasized the importance of something very fundamental - trust. Yes - it's all about trust.

In an uncertain global economy, winning the trust of those with whom you do business is more important than ever.

So I've put together something I call the G4 - George's Four Keys to Building Trust for Companies that Want to Explore International Markets.

First - Good Citizenship is Good Business.
Our global clients have made it very clear that they trust companies that are clearly demonstrating good corporate citizenship practices.

We're finding that all customer populations are concerned with environmental impact, as well as economic and social development.  And everyone is concerned about understanding and working with an increasingly diverse population. 

One of the reasons Sodexo has been so successful globally is that we take our commitment to corporate citizenship very seriously.

I'd like to mention just a couple of examples:

• In the United Kingdom, Sodexo made a commitment to convert 97 percent of our offices and sites to “green energy.”
• Last year, Sodexo launched more than 200 anti-hunger programs in 23 countries.
• Ours is a service culture and so we encourage and support our employees' involvement in their communities.

The second of my G4 is - Think Globally, Act Locally.
This slogan from the environmental movement of the 1960s has a new meaning today.
Companies that want to expand their presence abroad must find ways to work more closely with local producers, suppliers and contractors.

This is also an excellent way to build trust because it strengthens local economic growth, and protects the local environment.

Third - Be Consistently Consistent.
We've learned from our clients that to win trust, a global company has to demonstrate that it has clear standards in all its operations in each market.

Twenty years ago, our clients were only concerned about issues that impacted them in their US operations. 

Today, organizations are increasingly looking for partners who have international networks and can provide solutions in many countries. 

To achieve this consistency, senior management of the company has to commit to a shared set of values and standards.

I want to emphasize the commitment in particular - we're not just talking about words on paper. I struggle with this every single day.

It's about execution - executing consistently every single day.

The final of the G4 is It's all about Talent.

This may be the most important of the G4, because you can't accomplish the first three keys to building trust unless you have the talented people you need.

Consider these facts - Demographic shifts are causing a global talent shortage -

In the next ten years:

• Of the 460 million new jobseekers, only three percent will be from Europe and North America; two-thirds will be in Asia
• European countries will have to look elsewhere for workers as their population ages.

In the U.S., demographics will shift as well - by the year 2050 -

• 23 percent of the population will be Latino; 11 percent Asian and 53 percent Caucasian. This is a tremendous shift

It's obvious, then, that we all need to broaden the search for talented people beyond the traditional method that says “find someone who looks and thinks like me.”

At Sodexo, that's why our current priorities include expanding opportunities for

• Women in senior management
• Ethnic minorities
• People with disabilities
• People from a range of generations.

Recent headlines tell us that the challenges and opportunities posed by the international economy are constantly changing.we all know that.

But my experience has led me to believe the key to outstanding performance always remains the same - winning the trust of the people you serve.

Let me share a video that shows some of the people Sodexo serves -

You'll also notice the diversity of our company. . .our products and services, our people, our customers and the countries and cultures we serve. . .

VIDEO PLAYS

So you can see some that Sodexo works very closely with our customers every day - and it is imperative that we - and any company focused on customer service - build trust with them with every interaction.

To sum up -

I believe trust is built on what I call the G4:

• Good Citizenship is Good Business
• Think Globally, Act Locally
• Be Consistently Consistent,
• (and never forget that it's) ALL ABOUT THE TALENT

If you make these the foundation of how you operate in the global marketplace, I believe you will have what it takes to make new connections, find new markets, and seize the opportunities that will bring YOU global success.

Text of Sodexo executive speeches is for informational use only and should not be reproduced in part, or as a whole, without permission from Sodexo. For permission or additional information, please contact Sodexo Public Relations at pr.usa@sodexo.com.