Foodservice Cateys 2022: People and Training Award – ESS People Team
Sponsored by #FairKitchens
As the defence, energy and government services sector of Compass Group UK and Ireland, ESS delivers a wide range of culinary and retail services across the UK. This includes working with more than 250 military establishments from Cornwall to the north of Scotland, high-profile government and police sites, and offshore facilities including drilling rigs, gas plants and airline lounges.
The ESS People Team looks after the group's 7,500 colleagues and were described as going "above and beyond" to support employee wellbeing. This includes a Wellness Commitment, which over the past year has included initiatives such as running health checks for staff to monitor BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol, with the aim of encouraging staff to manage their wellbeing.
During 2021 the company trialled free meals for staff on-shift, which has now become a permanent fixture following positive feedback and extended to include everyone working over five hours a day.
Last year the People Team worked with Mental Health First Aid England to train over 130 volunteers as mental health first-aiders, with at least 70 more team members due to complete the course in 2022, ranging from those in frontline posts to senior leadership roles.
An ongoing project is seeing the team create wellness rooms for colleagues, with 21 created so far. These include comfortable seating, soft light and plants to create a calming environment where people can relax.
Through a partnership with Incredible Edible, 12 gardens have also been built to help staff engage with nature, with a further 15 in development.
As well as supporting colleagues, the People Team has overseen initiatives to encourage outreach in the industry. These have included collaborating with ESS chefs to run 10-week courses in local schools to inspire young people to consider foodservice careers, and there are currently 43 ESS chefs completing apprenticeships.
The team also plays an active role in Compass Group's wider diversity and inclusion networks, including Women In Food and Pride In Food, which celebrates LGBTQ+ colleagues in the industry. Six ESS directors have volunteered for ‘reverse mentoring', where they partner with junior colleagues from ethnic minorities to help understand the challenges they face.
The judges thought this entry was very impressive and showcased a wide range of initiatives designed to support staff and outreach to encourage more people into foodservice careers.
What the judges said
"Impressive how many ESS-only initiatives there are despite being part of such a large group." Ian Thomas
The shortlist
Wendy Elliott, Elior
ESS People Team
Claire Huish, Bennett Hay
Portico
Rapport People Team
Past winners
2021 Learning and development team, Rapport Guest Services
2019 Sarah Hutchings, Searcys
2018 CH&Co learning and development team
2017 Rik Razza, BaxterStorey
2016 Tim Sturk, BaxterStorey
2015 David Bridge and the food development team, ISS Food & Hospitality
2014 Graham Eveleigh, BaxterStorey
2013 Yen Chong, Harbour & Jones
