Case Study: Sodexo achieves measurable promotion, retention and diversity gains with River mentoring platform

Sodexo - Customer Case Study

Sodexo, the global food services and facilities management company, sought to scale and accelerate its Spirit of Mentoring initiative to drive diversity, retention and promotions—particularly for women, women of color and other minorities in operations. After running a successful but manually hand‑matched program, Sodexo adopted River’s mentoring software and web‑based mentoring platform in 2009 to meet growing demand and expand mentoring across levels, regions and program types.

Using River’s platform, Sodexo implemented a mix of formal and informal programs (IMPACT, LEAD Mentoring Circles, LIFT, Peer2Peer and self‑directed mentoring) to connect employees cross‑functionally and cross‑culturally. River’s solution helped deliver measurable impact: a 2:1 ROI ($2 saved per $1 spent), IMPACT participants saw +10% promotions for women, +5% for minorities and +4% for women of color, 96% of participants said the program was a worthwhile career investment and 98% reported enhanced job performance; LIFT achieved 92% retention and LEAD showed a 33% promotion rate — outcomes that contributed to industry awards and higher DiversityInc rankings.

Sodexo

Laura Antal

Sr. Manager of Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives