New training facility in Atlanta

The Sodexo Live team hopes the new training center will help inspire and educate managers and front-line employees alike. What might that mean for consumers? Better service and a more premium experience at the company’s many lounges.

Sodexo Live expects the center to train 2,000 employees in the first year alone. Managers are then expected to train thousands more employees at lounges around the world. The new facility, just about a 15-minute drive from the bustling Atlanta airport, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday evening.

“This training center is the next phase of the Sodexo Live Academy, which continues to enrich the skillsets of the 40,000+ global team members who support the organization’s global portfolio,” per a Sodexo press release announcing the opening.

It’s all about team bonding and skills building, with the hopes of improving customer service and employee retention at the company’s work sites in airports (and other venues) worldwide.

The training center will offer five-day training sessions for managers, but eventually front-line employees will be able to visit the center for one to two days of in-person training.

“In order to elevate the overall business, we have to start with our leaders,” Arica Allen, a vice president of hospitality and innovation for Sodexo’s global aviation group, said. “This center is a testament to that.”

They are calling it an “aviation academy,” and it is set up with a classroom for teaching sessions.

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The coolest feature, though, might be the realistic lounge the company has set up to train workers.

It includes a living room-type space with a massive interactive screen and a full bar with various seating areas.

In the next rooms, you’ll find a coffee bar set up along with a pretend buffet and dining areas.

My favorite feature was the busser robot that was buzzing around the party. I’m starting to see more and more of these robots at hotel restaurants and lounges around the world.

These facilities are designed to give workers real-world opportunities to practice various customer service scenarios.

There is also an attached culinary warehouse that services Atlanta’s eight Delta Sky Clubs. This is the first time Sodexo Live has had its own supply center. It previously relied on supplies purchased from outside vendors to restock the lounges at the nearby airport.

I asked Allen why the company invested so much in employee training and what it might mean for customers.

“It has to mean an elevated customer experience. It has to mean we’re not just in the service industry; we’re in the hospitality industry, which is very emotional,” she said. “It has to lead to an elevated experience for the guest.”

She explained that guests were no longer just looking for cheese cubes on a buffet — they want an elevated experience.

Sodexo Live is also investing in five new full-time training and development positions for its airport lounge portfolio. I look forward to seeing how these investments in training change the culture of Sodexo’s lounges around the world.

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