Creating Inspirational Workplaces to Fuel Employee Retention

Darlene Dsouza, Vice President, Talent, Development & Diversity,Compass Group Canada , Compass Group Canada

In today's fast-paced world, creating a workplace that inspires and motivates your team is essential for keeping top talent. At Compass Group Canada, we understand the importance of employee retention and are proud to be the country's leading food services provider, with over 20,000 associates on our team.

But what sets us apart is our people-first culture. We know that hiring the right talent is only the first step. To truly engage and retain employees, we must create a workplace that ignites their passion and fuels their ambition.

That's why Compass Group Canada was thrilled to be recognized by Waterstone Human Capital as one of Canada's Most Admired Workplace Cultures in 2021 and 2022. We believe that our award-winning culture is the result of our unwavering focus on three key areas:

Development is at the heart of our retention strategy. We know that people often leave organizations because they feel stagnant in their position or don’t have a clear plan for reaching their career goals. That’s why at the Compass Group Canada, we make it a priority to invest in the personal development of our employees. We offer clear career paths and opportunities for growth, and we work closely with our employees to create individualized development plans that are reviewed on a quarterly basis. This not only helps our employees to see the potential for growth within our organization, but it also offers leaders the opportunity to give candid feedback and offer support as our employees work towards their goals. By demonstrating our investment in our employees’ professional development, we inspire them to remain committed to our organization.

Strong Leadership - At Compass Group Canada, we invest in ensuring that we have strong leaders who serve as role models and mentors, guiding our team to reach their full potential.  We believe great leaders inspire and motivate our associates to achieve greatness and build positive relationships that foster a sense of belonging.That’s why we focus on building strong relationships with our leadership team, through leadership training opportunities and deliberate communication of our strategy and leadership commitments of “We Care, We Share, We Dream, and We Deliver.”  We recognize that leadership is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and we work to develop leaders at all levels of our organization. We recently implemented a mentorship program that allows experienced leaders to share their knowledge and experience with up-and-coming leaders, and we have in place training and development opportunities to help our leaders grow their leadership toolbox. By fostering strong leadership, we create a sense of belonging and a culture of excellence within our organization.

“Recognizing and valuing the efforts of our associates is essential for fostering long-lasting and high-performing talent within our team”

Recognition – Recognizing and valuing the efforts of our associates is essential for fostering long-lasting and high-performing talent within our team. We believe that every employee should feel valued and appreciated for their contributions, and we make it a priority to recognize and reward our team members for their hard work and achievements. From small wins to big successes, we celebrate our employees and make sure they know how much their efforts are valued. We use technology like Nudge, an app designed to make recognition easy and accessible.  We have created programs that link our company’s leadership commitments to on-the-spot recognition and large-scale recognition gala events. We have also made every effort to keep our recognition programs simple and easy to use, and we use them to also share our amazing employee stories across our business. By fostering a culture of recognition, we create a sense of loyalty and a high-performing team.

Creating an inspiring workplace culture is not easy, but it is essential. At Compass Group Canada, we understand the importance of investing in our employees, and we have built a culture that is focused on development, strong leadership, and recognition. By focusing on these three areas, we have been able to foster a culture that is not only admired, but also one that inspires and motivates our team to achieve greatness. We believe that by investing in your employees, you are investing in the future of your business. By creating a culture that values and supports your team, you will not only retain top talent, but you will also create a positive and productive work environment. As we return to in-person work events, it is important to remember that workplace culture is more than virtual coffee chats and games in breakout rooms. It is the foundation on which all other efforts are built, it is the foundation of your workplace culture, and it is the foundation of your company's success.