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Tag: Sodexo

  • Companies learn the positive side of WFH

    Companies learn the positive side of WFH

    MUMBAI: As the spread of COVID-19 is causing ripples in the economic system, companies around the globe have temporarily shifted to the work-from-home (WFH) model. They are enabling remote working to keep the business running while helping employees to follow social distancing.

    Considering the recent world crises around the COVID-19 outbreak, industry experts believe it has become more critical than ever for companies in India to be able to support remote working for their employees. They are resorting to virtual meet-ups, VPNs, Google Slack, Zoom calls, Microsoft Teams, etc., for better functioning.

    Sodexo vice president technology and operations Priya Dronadula says, "Sodexo BRS India has adopted the split – team routine for employees to work from home. Cloud video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams and Blue Jeans have been deployed for employees to connect virtually and share presentations and have multi-party conversations, real-time. We are also encouraging our clients to adopt these safe and reliable tools for virtual meetings. Even our customer support teams have moved to this model so that there is business continuity without impacting the customer experience. VPN connection network creates a safe, encrypted network-enabled with strong authentication factors for hustle-free communication.”

    The way people work has evolved significantly. Digital offers businesses the right tools to support remote work schedules at any time and on any device that they can imagine. Logicserve Digital founder-CEO Prasad Shejale thinks that it is important for companies to evaluate and make necessary arrangements to equip remote workers at scale. Companies should check whether their workers can join virtual meetings and accomplish important tasks irrespective of their location with available devices and applications.

    “At Logicserve Digital, the health and safety of our team members and partners is our top priority. We are aligned with the government's efforts to curb this global crisis and have instituted a robust work-from-home programme as we already had the right collaboration tools in place including uKnowva," he says.

    Shejale elaborates, “Logimates have stepped up engagements with our colleagues as well as clients on emails, calls and video chats. The company has made sure that all the teammates have available resources to work from home and there is a separate ‘Emergency Response Team’ that engages with co-workers regularly to ensure everyone is safe.”

    Every morning, the live stream is led by Prasad with 350+ team members, which is another step towards social distancing and prioritising employee engagement while keeping them abreast of important updates and also motivating them during these tough times.

    Dentsu Aegis Network India has been working from home since the outbreak and teams have adapted to this efficiently and are not causing any work-related hassles. Says CEO Anand Bhadkamkar: “Availability of internet bandwidth and connectivity is definitely critical; yet, the infrastructure across the country during this period is holding up quite well thanks to our network operators. This robustness and stability will surely provide a push towards the transition to digital.”

    Surprisingly, the WFH trend has been growing around the world, but without much acceptance in India. To this, Bhadkamkar adds, “People are now getting used to this working environment, be it through choice or by force. Hence, it won’t be surprising if some companies completely switch to digital now when we come out of these challenging times.”

    “A few companies including Ogilvy have introduced partial WFH in the last year or two. But, overall in the Indian industry, very few jobs allow full WFH. In fact, this approach has been looked down upon as a 'part-time' way of working for someone who is not properly employed. The lockdown is teaching us the positive side of WFH and after the crisis is over, it will become a far more significant way of working in India than ever before,” says  82.5 Communications chairman and chief creative officer Sumanto Chattopadhyay.

    While work from home becomes the temporary norm, it will be worthwhile to check on the same a few months after this pandemic will be under control.

  • Sodexo, Zone Startups launch enterprise foodtech program

    Sodexo, Zone Startups launch enterprise foodtech program

    MUMBAI: Hospitality company Sodexo , in partnership with Zone Startups, has announced an Enterprise Foodtech Program—an initiative to work with Indian start-ups and closely connect with the local digital and innovation ecosystem to strengthen food offers for its clients and consumers. The program is an effort to extend Sodexo’s Open Innovation Program that is now focusing on Asia Pacific – India and China to explore market-leading innovations.

    Sodexo On-Site Services India country president Rishi Gour said, “By associating with innovative start-ups, we aim to transform not only the perception of workplace cafeterias but also the way we operate and serve consumers. With start-ups offering innovative technologies and business models, we look forward to creating new services together and generate a differentiated experience for our consumer. It will allow us to reach consumers in a way we did not do before, create better connections and deliver better customer-centric services and experiences”.

    The first cohort of the accelerator program under the partnership with Zone Startups in India is dedicated to identification of new technology and corporate food models, for which start-ups can apply through a dedicated website. Sodexo and Zone Startups will collaborate to identify, assess, test, and validate the most relevant start-ups to coach and run pilots within a Sodexo context.

    The one-year program aims to bring new food experiences to Sodexo’s corporate clients and consumers. Overall, the partnership will help Sodexo India to closely work with local digital and innovative players in sourcing and accelerating new technologies and business models for Sodexo business offers.

    Sodexo chief digital and innovation officer Belen Moscoso Del Prado said, “We are deploying local initiatives under a global strategy of moving closer to our consumers through such strategic partnerships and are therefore keen to work closely with Zone Startups on attracting partners with leading-edge technologies and emerging business models. We are sure that this partnership will bring new energy to Sodexo’s business in India, and even inspire innovation across other markets.”

    Zone Startups India managing director Ajay Ramasubramaniam said, “We are pleased to partner with Sodexo to co-create this first of its kind open-innovation program in the enterprise food experience space. This program opens up collaborative avenues for start-ups working in emerging food services. Sodexo's global domain expertise and large consumer base is a strong ally for selected start-ups to attain scale at speed.”

  • Jio & Sodexo to accelerate digital transformation

    Jio & Sodexo to accelerate digital transformation

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio and Sodexo, the leader in Employee Benefits today announced the partnership to accelerate India’s digital transformation. Jio and Sodexo will leverage complementary strengths and offerings to create an enriched digital life ecosystem for Indians.

    JioMoney, the PPI wallet offered by Jio Payments Bank Ltd., has enabled integration of Sodexo Meal Cards with a user’s JioMoney account to allow mobile-based payments via Sodexo Meal Card. The partnership will enable thousands of Sodexo Merchants like grocery shops, kiranas, restaurants and cafes across the country, to accept digital payments via Sodexo.

    Sodexo’s proprietary meal benefit solution, Sodexo Meal Pass can be linked to the JioMoney App for making quick payments on-the-go. It will also be an added digital transaction option for JioMoney’s rapidly growing user-base across India. Consumers no longer have to carry the Sodexo’s physical card for the purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages. They can simply add the Sodexo Meal Card balance to the JioMoney app and start transacting on-the-go. Jio and Sodexo will continue to work together to accelerate adoption of services offered by both the brands.

    Speaking on the association, JioMoney, Business Head,  Anirban S Mukherjee said, “Jio’s partnership with Sodexo will further Jio’s endeavour to deliver the benefits of evolving digital technologies to every Indian and allow them to live Digital Life to the fullest. The integration will bring convenience and new digital transaction options for both JioMoney and Sodexo users in India. Going forward both brands will leverage core strengths, develop synergies and expand their reach and presence in India’s growing digital ecosystem.”

    Rewards Services India, CEO Sodexo Benefits, Stephane Michelin said, “At Sodexo, we constantly strive to enhance the consumer experience by expanding the ways to use the Sodexo Meal card within our proprietary network. Our endeavour has been to improve the retail experience for our 3 million daily users. With this partnership, JioMoney’s MPOS system will help segregate the food & non – food items among standalone, smaller merchants, which will further strengthen Sodexo’s position as a compliant meal benefit solution in the country.”

    The solution has already been launched in Mumbai and the consumer response has been excellent. The JioMoney solution will be enabled at all Sodexo accepting merchants nationally over a period of time. This partnership between JioMoney and Sodexo, both being leaders in their respective spaces brings high levels of domain expertise will bring about a radical change in the payments landscape across the country.