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Diversity & Digital This is the Innovation in the headline of Tech World the feature DIGITAL REPORT 2022
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DIGITAL REPORT 2021
Diversity & Digital Innovation in the Tech World 2
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Alexandra Montgomery, Director of IT, Comfort Keepers®, Sodexo, discusses diversity, equity and inclusion, and how to become a digital innovation leader
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s Director of IT at Comfort Keepers, Sodexo Home Care North America, Alexandra Montgomery’s efforts are focused on aligning the company’s global enterprise architecture, data and digital transformation. “We look at it as harnessing the power of technology to truly add value and a better quality of life for our end users,” says Montgomery. She adds: “At Sodexo, our core mission and purpose is to create a better every day for everyone, to build a better life for all. It's not only about the clients that we serve, it's rooted much deeper and truly represents how the company views its employees and partnerships as well.” Women in technology Inspired by the concept that ‘technology offers optimism’, Montgomery’s background in sociology - which requires a person to continuously ask ‘why?’ - made her a prime candidate for the technology industry. “Working in technology encourages people to see new possibilities, challenging what was once done to what can be done,” explains Montgomery. “I first saw a job posting to assist the IT department with traditional IT Help Desk support for a large company and looked at it as an opportunity from the beginning.” 4
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In today’s modern organisations having a dedicated team for diversity, equity, and inclusion is more commonplace, alongside leaders committed to greater representation. While Montgomery believes that progress has been made, she emphasises the need for such efforts to be intentional and authentic. “In order to continue the momentum and for a culture of inclusion to exist within an organisation it needs to start with leadership and must be real and rooted in every team – not just IT,” says Montgomery. She adds: “It’s a journey of learning and reminding others - colleagues or friends - of bias that is faced. Identifying and 6
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eliminating bias is everyone’s responsibility. As industries evolve and firms look at implementing algorithms, organisations need to be aware of the potential for bias to creep in from AI learning that’s based on past human behaviours.” Montgomery emphasises that mentorship is key to increasing diversity across industries. “Mentorship is critical because it creates a talent pipeline and intentional peer learning. It’s a two-way street for the mentor and mentees,” says Montgomery. She adds: “Mentors are there to encourage and enable another person’s professional development and be a
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ALEXANDRA MONTGOMERY TITLE: D IRECTOR OF IT, COMFORT KEEPERS LOCATION: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA Alexandra Montgomery is the Director IT, Digital & Innovation North America at Sodexo, CK Franchising Inc. Alexandra supports the Home Care Segment, where she has been responsible for leading enterprise architecture, data initiatives, and other various digital transformation and innovation projects that leverage technology to enhance the lives of their clients & caregivers. Alexandra is a SoTogether Ambassador driving & supporting Sodexo’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion goals enhancing women’s individual and professional growth across the organisation. Alexandra graduated with honors from Brock University with a degree in Sociology and minor in Business Communications. In her spare time, Alexandra has a passion for mentoring girls & women early on in their career through programmes like Girls in Tech Toronto or other community initiatives to help connect them to the best opportunities.
“ Let go of perfect, say you don’t know when you don’t know” ALEXANDRA MONTGOMERY
sounding board for advice and guidance. It's invaluable to have mentors. “If you’re at a table where you have talent at any level and they’re not speaking up, it’s your responsibility to pause and ask for their point of view. By doing so, you’ll make people feel that much more comfortable and confident going forward, knowing their voice is appreciated.” Montgomery continues: “The greatest and most highly motivated teams are those that are multi-disciplinary, diverse, and respectful to one another. I’m privileged and grateful to count on such amazing leaders and peers who work hard to make change happen.”
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DIRECTOR OF IT AT COMFORT KEEPERS, SODEXO HOME CARE NORTH AMERICA
What if applying for a job was as simple as this ad? It can be. See for yourself.
Comfort Keepers (Sodexo) transforms their home care Hiring with Paradox Sodexo’s Alexandra Montgomery and Paradox’s Joshua Secrest reflect on the adoption of AI and automation in recruitment for Sodexo’s Comfort Keepers brand Born out of the desire to improve the applicant experience, the partnership with Paradox has been fundamental for Comfort Keepers in taking advantage of the opportunities in recruitment. When your product is people, it’s really important that, throughout the experience at all levels, we are making an impact,” says Alexandra Montgomery, Director of IT at Comfort Keepers, Sodexo Home Care, North America. “So just like Alexa and Siri, we brought these personal virtual assistant solutions into our offices with the help of Paradox, but we named ours Joy.” It is this shared belief that makes Paradox the perfect partner for this project. Joshua Secrest, Vice President of Marketing & Client Advocacy at Paradox, explains: “Our three core areas of focus are to be fast and easy to get more applicants, to automate processes to give time back to managers and teams, and to really care about the experience we are providing for our customers. It is
truly interesting to see the use of AI to supplement and support these goals.”
Paradox’s impact on Comfort Keepers’ recruitment Simply put, Montgomery says: “The differences we have seen are incredible. At first glance, it’s the admin time and the ability to automate that have benefited our teams, but most importantly, we now have access to relevant data to pinpoint and zone in on any problems a lot quicker than we would have before with a paper process. “Paradox’s solution has changed the conversation from ‘I feel’ or ‘in my opinion’, to facts driven by data and the option to further explore the insights. And we are seeing much happier applicants because they are not only hired quicker but can complete the recruitment process on their time.” Agreeing with Montgomery, Secrest adds: “The last couple of years have been very telling when it comes to how much staffing can impact business results. Those that are adopting and transforming fast — like Comfort Keepers — are starting to build a competitive advantage.”
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Innovating with technology in Home Care Under the Home Care segment within North America (Comfort Keepers), Montgomery describes the company’s dedication to research and development: “We have dedicated research, development and innovation hubs where we encourage employees to challenge existing ways of doing things.” But innovation for Comfort Keepers doesn’t mean simply using new technology. It is also about reviewing processes to improve the end user experiences. “In regards to data, we have embarked on our data journey and I’m lucky to work with teams who are so eager to use data to power our digital transformation and cross-sharing of information,” says Montgomery. She adds: “Harnessing AI will allow us to automate processes, but we will only see short term gains if we do not continue to reimagine our business and redesign our operations.”
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“ Working in technology encourages people to see new possibilities, challenging what was once done to what can be done” ALEXANDRA MONTGOMERY
DIRECTOR OF IT AT COMFORT KEEPERS, SODEXO HOME CARE NORTH AMERICA
LEADERSHIP AND BUILDING A CAREER IN TECHNOLOGY What makes a good leader? “Always keep an open door for your teams – whether that’s virtual or physical,” says Montgomery. She adds: “Take time to build connections and celebrate wins. You are only as strong as your team, so make sure to say thank you and give kudos, they go a long way! “One of the most important and easiest ways as a leader to ensure trust within your team is transparency; let your team know that you have their backs when they are not in the room. That you are there to support them. Each employee is unique - figure out what it is that will help make them thrive and provide your team opportunities for professional development.” Montgomery’s best advice for someone looking to build their career “As a leader, I always ask what can I do to help
someone grow in the organisation? And what do you need from me? Your managers don’t know your goals unless you share them. Make sure it’s known and be vulnerable. Do you want to take on more responsibility? Would you like more exposure? Be intentional with your actions, take risks and find what inspires you,” says Montgomery. She adds: “If someone is still evaluating and trying to figure out what s/he needs in the form of professional development and objective setting, that’s normal and something most people face. Don’t be shy about making those statements because you can’t assume your organisation has that insight. People have different goals. Some are very content staying in the same role, and that’s ok. But know when to speak up if an opportunity presents itself and ask for change when you need it.”
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WORKPLACE CULTURE Committed to investing in its culture, Montgomery describes it as ‘authentic’. “Advocating for yourself is important – but so is advocating for each other,” she says. She adds: “One of the first things that we have to do to foster culture and support women is create programmes to recognise that there is inequality. This often starts with highlighting the different ways that people contribute to the company. There are many paths to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and overlooking some in favour of others is detrimental to employees following different paths. “Spreading opportunities around isn’t as simple as promoting women up the corporate ladder. And it doesn’t happen by accident. It's really about working hard to nurture talent and keep doors open when someone says, ‘Hey, that interests me’.”
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“We believe in using forward-thinking technology solutions to improve transparency of care, reduce social isolation, and improve engagement - really harnessing the power of technology to foster connection between clients, caregivers, and family members,” says Montgomery. She adds: “Human problems require human-catered solutions, so it is important that our partnerships are considering the needs of all users and our clients are at the heart of everything we do.”
“ At Sodexo, our core mission and purpose is to create a better every day for everyone, to build a better life” ALEXANDRA MONTGOMERY
DIRECTOR OF IT AT COMFORT KEEPERS, SODEXO HOME CARE NORTH AMERICA
One such partner for Comfort Keepers is Paradox AI. “We knew we needed to address our speed, scalability, availability and flexibility for caregiver job applicants, and we also knew that we wanted to skill up our employees in the local offices,” explains Montgomery. She continues: “We didn’t want to burn out our office employees due to the manual administrative follow-up that happens during the recruitment process. We knew there was a better way of utilising technology that would reduce burn out and empower our employees to focus on the interview. sodexo.com
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“I love helping to solve problems, especially when it involves technology and creative solutions” ALEXANDRA MONTGOMERY
DIRECTOR OF IT AT COMFORT KEEPERS, SODEXO HOME CARE NORTH AMERICA
“This is when we came across Paradox our virtual recruiter. We can screen caregiver candidates now within seconds as opposed to days. Data has helped us understand the recruitment process and the experience that we create. In the absence of reliable data, we would never have had this visibility. This increases both speed and accuracy in our hiring process but also leads to strategic business decisions.” What does the future hold for Comfort Keepers At Comfort Keepers the future will be focused on automation, integrations, and improving its client experience. “We’ve built the foundation, so now it’s about turning up the volume on some of those initiatives and then, of course, the era of data continues, machine learning, and AI,” says Montgomery. She adds: “Technology is playing a big role in the transformation and evolution of home care, this is the future and we need to embrace that. “We are already seeing large players invest in the home care space. Industries like health care - where we were still seeing paper processes in 2020 - are now digital. I believe the industry will see rapid perception changes and the acceptance of digital tools, client centric solutions, and a big focus on the labour market.”
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