Building a personal legacy, Sodexo employee celebrates 45 years

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi 

On this journey through life, we meet numerous people. Many of them cross our paths because of where we work. There are those who teach and guide us, those who inspire us and those who remind us about what really matters. And then there are those who embody all of these traits. People like Rita Sanders.

This week, Rita is celebrating 45 years with Sodexo, and while I’ve only had the honor of working alongside her for almost 11 of those years, it is clear that her life’s work is nothing short of a legacy.

Rita began her career with the company in 1976 when we were still known simply as Marriott, prior to the merge with Sodexo in 1998. Her start was simple enough as a carry out order taker. But Rita’s potential was quickly realized by many who promoted her through roles such as Supervisor, Administrative Assistant, Dining Room Supervisor and Food Service Director, until she made the transition in 1988 into a Staffing Analyst/Human Resources Analyst role.

“I just was lucky. I know that sounds cliché, but that’s the reality of it,” said Rita. “I always kept my head down and worked and was able to move through the continuum.”

That continuum poised Rita to find herself at the heart of the HR and recruiting function, building employee databases from the ground up, traveling the country to set up new accounts, and provide benefits and other HR training. This eventually led to her building the first employee referral program and now serving as our HR Technology Manager who oversees the systems that track all candidates and job postings for the company here in the US.

“I’ve been very lucky for the opportunities I have been given along the way. It’s been an amazing experience. I don’t even know what 45 years really is. How is that possible?”

Naturally, having been with the company for so long, Rita has many stories.

“I remember one time, I was the supervisor at one of the NJ Thruway restaurants,” she said. “There was a big blizzard and my dad said, ‘You’re not going to work today.’ I begged him to take me in anyway. He drove me to work in our powder blue Ford Grenada. Then, myself and a small team were snowed in for three days. We ended up on the news. When they asked what we did for three days, I told them that we threw snowballs in the lobby, stocked up the supplies and cleaned. That kitchen was never so clean!” 

In 1994, Rita was awarded the
JW Marriott Award of Excellence.

As the years went by, Rita’s promotions into HR and the advancement of technology provided new opportunities.

“I’m so proud to have been part of implementing every applicant tracking system we have used to date,” said Rita. “In the 80s, we entered everything into our payroll system using a desktop computer with a dot matrix printer. One time, there were over 6,000 management employees coming from other companies we had acquired at the time. I had to ensure all of the correct payroll, salary and other information was entered for them. I also was on a team that manually typed all job descriptions into the first system used by the company” 

And yet, Rita was a trailblazer ahead of her time more than 20 years ago.

“I remember when I told my boss that I was pregnant,” she explained. “He asked how long I would be out on maternity leave and I said six weeks. But then when I saw my baby, I knew that was not going to be enough. So, I laid out the budget and the pros and cons as to why I should be allowed to work from home. I was the first person on our team ever allowed to be virtual.”

As Marriott Management Services transitioned to Sodexo, Rita became an integral member of what’s known today as our Talent Acquisition team. Not only has she continued her work with candidate databases, but she has implemented interview scheduling tools, interview processes and training, and became a key partner with Sodexo’s legal and HR teams as Career Center guidelines were drafted to ensure compliance with policies. Rita also is the administrator of our Hiring Manager Satisfaction Survey and serves on many internal projects, including those that impact the candidate experience.

To say it plainly, to many of us in Talent Acquisition, Rita is the most knowledgeable and helpful individual on our team. She knows all the history and can tap her fingers on the keyboard to find nearly any data point related to hiring at Sodexo. She is always available (seemingly 24 hours/day), always responds quickly and always acts from a place of helpful kindness because she simply wants to do her best, every day.

But Rita’s story doesn’t stop at Sodexo. For the last 30 years, she’s been a dedicated volunteer at a local animal shelter where her passion for animal welfare finds her caring for a variety of animals nearly every weekend, attending adoption events and serving on the shelter’s board.

And, if she’s not at the shelter, Rita can be found at the community senior center where she leads yoga and stretching classes. 

“It’s about mind, body and soul,” she explained. “I get the seniors talking about their kids and they don’t even realize they’re moving and stretching. And sometimes I help out in other ways. I take care of one woman’s house for her by cleaning, and then there are some who need help with their animals. I’ll take them to the vet, or in some cases, I’ll be the one who’s there for their final moments when they simply can’t do it.”

Rita’s selfless nature has touched so many. I am honored to be her colleague and to call her friend. Of course, after 45 years, I felt the need to ask her about what’s next.

“That’s a hard question,” she said. “When do you move away and let others step up? I’ve been honored and blessed for so long. I keep wondering if I need to move into the next phase of life. But as long as I feel passionate and can help other people learn and grow, I’m going to keep coming to work every day.”