Sara’s story: bringing the personal touch to a global client

I was on a train the other day and overheard two girls trying to work out the next stage of their journey, within a couple of minutes I’d mapped out their entire trip and given them some sightseeing tips. This perfectly sums up why a career in hospitality and my role at Sodexo as a front of house manager suits me so well. I just can’t help helping people! I always want to make a positive difference in somebody’s day.

I joined the business in 2024 and head a team of three looking after a major client’s employees and visitors at their global headquarters in London.

Having arrived from my native Italy in 2018 with sales assistant experience and four languages, I quickly found my first role in hospitality.

Starting out as a waitress, I then moved to chef assistant followed by other back of house roles, before landing a hotel receptionist position. I was able to progress to supervisor level with the same hotel and went on to secure duty manager responsibility in a boutique hotel. 

There was always somebody around who’d say welcome; everyone was so nice and warm. It’s a quiet, peaceful warmth that doesn't really stand out but when it's not there – and it isn’t in many companies – you notice it.

It’s that ‘one team’ approach that stuck with me from the beginning – the culture, the values, the care for people, the personal growth and the opportunities you can get. I feel that even though I’m part of a big global company, I matter. It’s a feeling of belonging that has only grown stronger.

We manage concierge, front of house and community events services at a major global headquarters so it’s a busy place – we can have 1,000 people coming through the door every day. My team looks after receptions on two floors, so we greet and welcome everybody that comes in to work here, and visitors. We’re then on hand to make sure everyone is taken care of. That can mean helping users with different apps around the office, looking after the visitors’ lounge or guiding people to all the facilities on offer.

We get lots of requests every working day and that’s my favorite part of the job, because we see the impact of our service and feel rewarded for what we do.

There’s always something happening that means we need to think on the spot.

I find I thrive in ever-changing situations where one day doesn’t look like the previous one. I love that there’s a sense that your work matters.