SPRING 2018
PA R T N E R S H I P R E P O R T C A R D
DELIVERING ON THE EXPERIENCE GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 1 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
Hello. We are pleased to present the spring edition of our Partnership Report Card for Georgia Institute of Technology. In this report, you will find information on:
Customer Service
New Dining Website
Seasonal Flavors
Nine Commitments to a Better Tomorrow
We are proud to be your partner and appreciate the opportunity to help you achieve your strategic goals. Our goal is to continually drive student engagement, recruitment and retention by improving Quality of Life for the Georgia Tech community. Sincerely, Staci Flores District Manager Universities- Georgia Institute of Technology
TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Our Guest 8 Health & Wellness 12 Our Team 20 Innovation 24 Sustainability 2 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
OUR GUEST
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OUR GUEST
Keeping It About You GT Dining kicked off the year with a Local Fare event showcasing our dining program. In addition to educating customers about our meal plans and programs, several vendors came out to sample, including Twisted Taco, Coke, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Common Market. Those who stopped by for a visit were treated to house-made cookies and macaroons from West Village Bakery and were entered to win a Fujifilm camera. We also celebrated two new venues opening up: Auntie Anne's and Smoked & Grilled. These two locations were put in place based on student preferences and feedback. Also new this semester was the expansion of Meal Swipe options to center of campus. Students who find themselves in the middle of campus can now use a meal swipe at certain retail locations in the Student Center. GT Dining plans to expand these options in fall 2018.
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OUR GUEST
We Heard You Insert picture here
GT Dining is here to serve and create exceptional experiences for our customers. This semester, we conducted 4 surveys and 11 Focus Groups to hear from our customers and improve our services. From these conversations and feedback, GT Dining was able to start implementing changes to increase customer satisfaction. Among the changes made were an increase of vegan and vegetarian options, a West Village Vegan Guide, a campus-wide Healthy Eating Guide, Meal Swipe options in the center of campus, clearer signage to address allergens and Mindful options, as well as more flexibility on using a meal swipe at West Village. GT Dining also increased the number of cooking demos and pop-ups held at various dining locations across campus to increase variety and encourage student engagement by fostering conversations with our chefs.
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OUR GUEST
GT Dining brought back Late Night Bites to help satisfy students’ late night cravings during finals.
New location featuring BBQ flavors opened in March
Center of campus began accepting meal swipes 6 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
OUR GUEST
Tech @ Tech
Georgia Tech Dining knows the importance of convenience, speed of service, and having up to date information. That is why apps like Tapingo and Bite as well as the web feature, What’s Open Now, make dining at Georgia Tech a breeze. See what’s open, order ahead of time, and learn what's on the menu before you get there! Our texting program, MyDtxt also provides updates, discounts, and promotions directly to customers phones. The newest technology coming to dining is heat mapping, allowing operators and customers alike a more efficient dining experience.
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
Keeping it Balanced GT Dining strives to make it easy to have a nutritious and a balanced lifestyle through labeling, education, and resources. In partnership with the Health and Wellbeing Department, GT Dining Hosted Food for Life Cooking Demos in February and March where students learned how to make a balanced dish. National Nutrition Month was also celebrated campus-wide at our locations, including a cooking demo with Health Initiatives and West Village Restaurant Week showcasing items off our new menu release in April. Mindful dishes, like the Cauliflower Rice Bowl with Orange Cilantro Salmon, popped up around campus to highlight our dishes that meet specific nutritional criteria like lower sodium and fat. Cristina Caro, Regional Dietitian and Wellness Manager, gave a keynote address on the state of gluten-free in universities across America at the Gluten-Free and Allergy-Free Expo in Atlanta. Our very own Joe Polanco, Certified Executive Chef, and Katherine Benson, Certified Executive Pastry Chef, shared their insights and gluten and allergy-free tips! Chef Kat’s famous gluten-free, protein-rich bars were featured in Food Management’s Baked Goods: A Quick Bite article about trends in baked goods and snacks. 9 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
HEALTH & WELLNESS
GT Dining partnered with GT Health and Wellbeing to promote campus-wide Healthy Initiatives
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
Georgia Tech completely satisfied Partnership for a Healthier America’s 33 guidelines to become a full Partner of PHA 11 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
OUR TEAM
A key aspect to our Sodexo Customer Experience program is consistently obtaining feedback from our customers. This spring we introduced our Guest Impact Interviews to foster interaction between our management team and our guests every day. Every member of our management team is to have two or three short conversations with different guests in the dining rooms each day to find out what is on their mind and how we can do better. The end result? Improving the experience for our students every day. Multiple trainings were also conducting this spring to refresh our employees on the Customer Experience program.
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OUR TEAM
Keeping it Local GT Dining employees are dedicated to creating exceptional experiences for our customers, and in turn create a fun, safe, and creative environment in which to work. GT Dining welcomed the following new directors and chefs this spring: Shantel Saunders, Human Resources Director Liz Wood, Controller Chef Jonathan Martin, Catering Chef Jonathan Elwell was promoted from Campus Executive Chef to GT Dining Services General Manager.
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OUR TEAM
While our team focus is our customer, we would not be successful without our amazing employees! To celebrate their hard work and dedication to the GT Community, GT Dining held our 9th Annual Employee Party on May 10, where employees enjoyed a delicious dinner and played games together in the GT Rec.
On March 2nd, managers and directors passed out over 300 bags of popcorn as a part of the Just Poppin’ in to Say Thank You Employee Appreciation Day. Our team also participated in the Stop Hunger Campaign and volunteered with Campus Kitchens.
GT Dining Staff volunteering with Campus Kitchens to Prepare Meals for the Community 14 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
OUR TEAM
Bobby Dodd Institute Awarded Sodexo 2018 Employer of the Year in March to recognize our hiring practices around diversity and inclusion. 15 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
COMMUNICATION
Enhancing Customer Communication with New and Improved SodexoMyWay Dining Websites Today’s consumers expect a seamless web experience with easy-to-navigate sites that load quickly, whether they are using a desktop or mobile device. They also prefer to consume information in small, “bite-sized” quantities. It is increasingly important to ensure that websites are designed with mobile viewing and optimization in mind and that they present information in a way that makes it easy for users to locate, view, and process. To stay ahead of market trends and meet the evolving needs of students and universities, Sodexo recently upgraded SodexoMyWay, the comprehensive website platform solution that serves as the foundation of campus dining websites, to improve functionality and ease of access across a range of devices. The new platform enhances the customer experience with responsive, mobilefirst design that ensures optimal viewing on both mobile and desktop devices. The new SodexoMyWay platform enhances the ability to reach and communicate effectively with current and prospective students, parents, faculty, and staff. This premier solution aligns with current digital trends and offers the flexibility to quickly support future developments. The SodexoMyWay team is currently working to implement the upgraded platform at each of Sodexo’s partner campuses across North America. Their efforts will continue through the summer months and into the end of the year. Campuses that have introduced the new dining website have already achieved great success. Traffic from mobile users has increased by 10% on average. They recently won a gold-level AVA Digital Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in digital communication. Be sure to look for upcoming communications containing more information about when your campus dining website will be upgraded to the new SodexoMyWay platform.
Enhanced Features and Benefits Mobile-first design that recognizes mobile devices as the primary viewing method and creates an optimal user experience Dining website that reflects the college’s unique brand image by incorporating school colors and images of campus, students, and regional food favorites Responsive design focused on rich content Simplified interface for website editing Incorporation of current design trends, including scrolling content and the use of blocks of content Dynamic content that can match a time of day or season, creating relatable experiences and encouraging participation Time-sensitive promotions and special offers Improved e-commerce functionality
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gatechdining.com ...and its all about you! Events, shopping, menus and more.
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CULINARY
The Evolution of Flavor:
Seasonal As savvy consumers, today’s students are attuned to the latest trends, and they can easily become bored with standard dining hall fare. They expect their campus dining program to offer menu options that reflect their tastes and offer a mix of comforting classics alongside exciting new dishes. To meet these expectations, Sodexo is reimagining our approach to menu development. The goal is to create guest-centric dining experiences that address a wide array of needs. New seasonal menus change regularly throughout the year, highlighting the freshest in-season ingredients and offering a greater variety of options. In developing these menus, Sodexo aims to incorporate the latest culinary trends in a way that is tailored to each campus culture. One example is the growing demand for plant-forward foods, a demand Sodexo is ready to meet with innovative menu options. Our proprietary new burger, The Natural, is comprised of 25% mushrooms and 75% ground beef from cows raised without hormones or antibiotics. The addition of mushrooms gives the burger a firm, juicy, texture while also reducing calories, saturated fat, and sodium. The unique blended recipe also reduces negative environmental impacts, as beef production significantly contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases. The carbon footprint of one pound of beef is around 30 times that of mushrooms. The Natural Burger will roll out to more locations in fall 2018. Georgia Tech Dining is currently in a battle to win James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project. Campus Executive Chef Joe Polanco has submitted his “Stinger Burger”, which is made up of locally sourced beef and shiitake and Portobello mushrooms. 18 PARTNERSHIP REPORT C ARD
INNOVATION
Keeping it Fresh GT Dining hosted over 30 Elite Events around campus, featuring bison burgers, steak and seafood, crepes, and more! These events provide customers with an extra level of service and dining experience they may not have tried otherwise. With over 30 locations to dine at on campus and 6 executive chefs, dining at GT Tech is anything but ordinary. Events promoting meal plans, health and wellness, new locations, new menu items, and programs make up the innovative platform for creating “wow� moments for customers.
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INNOVATION Introduced Catering’s Buzz Pop-ups Various pop-up menus customers can order for any event or meeting to add some fun
Launched Payroll It
Featured Green Milkshakes at West Village for St. Patrick's Day
Brought Hug Me Coke Machine to Campus
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INNOVATION
Valentine’s Day was celebrated around campus. Delicious Braised Short Ribs and a Vegetarian Mushroom Stuffed with Couscous were served at West Village. Catering sold delectable house-made treats in the Food Court, Brittan, North Ave, and the Farmers Market.
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INNOVATION
Insert picture here
Super Hero Thank You The Avengers dropped in to help GT Dining thank the community for dining with us all year. House–made super food trail mix was given to all who stopped by for a chat about summer meal plans and new ways Faculty and Staff can deposit dining funds.
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SUSTAINABILITY
Keeping it Sustainable Fresh, Local, Sustainable continues to be at the forefront of each decision made regarding the GT Dining program. From our locally sourced menu items and compostable practices, to our Campus Kitchens donations and support of student-lead initiatives, GT Dining takes a closer look at the impact our program makes on the planet as well as our health. Local Chef at West Village was created to host local chefs! This semester we featured 6 chefs from around the community, including Chef Kevin Ouzts from Spotted Trotter, to encourage conversation between customers and chefs. Campus wide composting totals: 410,550 lbs. Weekly Farmers Market continued to be a favorite stop for the Georgia Tech Community. Going Straw-less campaign planning began and will launch in the fall.
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SUSTAINABILITY
During Earth Week, GT Dining utilized social media to promote sustainable tips to support a healthy planet.
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SUSTAINABILITY
Earth Day at Tech From 100 Mile Meals to Dirt samplings, Earth Day at Tech was filled with education and delicious food! Our 100 Mile Meals at Brittain and North Ave featured ingredients from within 100 miles from campus. Menu items included Roasted Turnips & Purple Potatoes from West Georgia Farmers Cooperative in Pine Mountain, GA and Haynes Farm in Cullman, AL. Our marketing team also participated in the campus-wide Earth Day event and sampled “dirt� served with carrot pudding, as well as fresh, local strawberries from Common Market. The dirt consisted of mushrooms, garlic, pumpernickel bread, bitter cocoa powder, olive oil, rosemary, and sage.
GT Dining Earth Day Samplings
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