I feel like I could write an entire book about my experience but I'll try and keep it short. First off, the pay at initial hire seemed extremely fair if you compare salaries with similar titles around the country. HOWEVER, once you really get into the job you feel like the pay is way too low for the amount of work the position actually entails. Reading the job description seems very fair for the wage, but there's so many more tasks and responsibility that comes with the job that wouldn't be clear just from reading the description. This is also dependent on the size of your account. If you're at a small account (like I was), you will most likely be the only one in the department, therefore you are responsible for everything, hence why the pay seems too low for the job. The larger accounts that have several people in the department may not feel that way since there's more people to share the work. I personally would have been much happier at a larger account that actually had team members. It's tough being the only one in a department and having everything fall on you and it can feel like you're very isolated. If there is an event or something that needs to be done, and you're sick or have an emergency, there's literally no one else that can cover for you. You just have to find a way to come in. If you're the only marketing member, you are literally responsible for everything: social media, events, email communications, dining promotions, sales, event and dining venue decorations, signage, website, all marketing materials and graphics (although you don't actually do the graphic design, you're in charge of overseeing the process), and way more that I can't even think of right now. Oh and the annual raises are a joke- pretty sure my annual raise was like $.70.
Second, the disconnect between your account (unit) and corporate is huge and can often cause confusion and difficulty. Your account may feel one way about a specific topic, while corporate feels another way, so you sometimes have to decide which side to agree with. It's a constant battle between pleasing your account and pleasing corporate/doing what YOU think should be right.
Going off of my second point, the chain of command is pretty confusing. As a marketing person, you technically report to the GM of the facility (who obviously doesn't know about marketing), but you get all of your marketing support and knowledge for the corporate marketing team. Just makes for an awkward flow of communication. It also makes your annual review challenging. The reviews are done by your unit managers (GM, etc) and again, they typically do not have marketing experience and don't know the ins and outs of what you do on a daily basis, so it seems unfair that they are the only ones who review you. It should be your unit managers as well as your regional marketing support.
Next, your account definitely determines whether or not you will enjoy your experience working for Sodexo. My account was less than sub par. We had a very high turnover rate of managers which really hinders the cohesiveness of your management team. Terrible lack of communication, constant negative energy, tense working environment, every man for himself type feel, etc. It also doesn't help when your account (school) is difficult to work for. They have no professional experience with dining, yet they somehow get to make major decisions regarding it. You constantly have to answer to them, which adds to the confusion of the chain of command.
Next, this might not be a con for everyone, but the pressure to always be high energy for the account is pretty annoying. Obviously you shouldn't be grumpy all of the time, but the other managers see this position as a "cheerleader" for the account and always want you out on campus promoting your services/events and it can be exhausting. If you're not super outgoing and energetic on a daily basis, the position may not be right for you.
Overall, working at Sodexo can either be an amazing or terrible experience depending on the account that you work at. It's really hit or miss and unfortunately, there's no way to really tell until you're actually working at the account. Luckily, if you don't like your account, there are opportunities to transfer, but that often requires moving.
