E-mail Interview with Janet Hoskins
Q. How close to the event can customers make changes to their orders?
· In our policy, it's 3 business days prior, but we try to accommodate all the up to the day of their event (of course, there are late charges).
Q. Describe your job description.
· Develops relationships with new clients.
· Maintain and enhance relationships with existing clients
· Assist in planning and executing in-house catering and special events. Ensure that Catering and Service standards are maintained.
· Ensure compliance with ARAMARK Policies, Procedures and Standards. Ensures that all government legislation is adhered to, including but not limited to Food Safety and Sanitation, Occupational Health and Safety, Workers Compensation, Employment Standards, Human Rights and Labour Laws. Management experience in a fast paced food service operation.
· When it comes to on-campus dining, facilities services, sport arenas and conference center services, ARAMARK is the real head of the class.
· Partnering with close to 600 colleges and universities throughout the United States, we strive to provide the best residential, retail, and catering options, service and facilities for students, faculty and administrator. Our programs are second to none in their innovation, excellence and results. As part of our commitment, we are determined to build and develop the best team of professionals in the industry - people who aren't afraid of spearheading change, who know how to lead and who appreciate endless opportunity.
· Develop and be accountable for a safety culture that creates a work environment where no one gets hurt.
· Represent property in significant interactions dealing with customers relative to sales and operational questions, concerns, and issues.
· Negotiate contracts with customers.
· Initiate the preparation of proposals and/or contracts to advise prospective customers of their catering proposals.
· Follow up with customers after events so that we can continue to grow and improve.
· Engage in outside sales activities to discuss business opportunities outside university.
· Attend weekly sales departmental meeting and other scheduled meetings to support business operations.
· Conduct site inspections with potential customers, visiting guest rooms, meeting space and banquet facilities, as well as other property facilities.
Q. Describe the tasks that you perform on an average day.
· Calling clients re: questions about their events, answering phones, answering emails, following up with clients, meeting with new clients, talking with Events & Conferences about room set ups, taking reservations for the Montpelier room, drawing diagrams of the room set ups in the Montpellier room, ordering supplies for the entire special events dept., looking at scheduling to ensure enough staffing, meeting with the service managers and kitchen to ensure that the events will meet/exceed the client's expectations, meeting with the chefs about menu planning and menu costing, meeting within the sales dept. to discuss current policies
Q. What are the companies values?
· ARAMARK is a leader in professional services, providing award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world. In FORTUNE magazine's 2009 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," ARAMARK was ranked number one in its industry, consistently ranking since 1998 as one of the top three most admired companies in its industry as evaluated by peers and analysts. ARAMARK seeks to responsibly address issues that matter to its clients, customers, employees and communities by focusing on employee advocacy, environmental stewardship, health and wellness, and community involvement. Headquartered in Philadelphia, ARAMARK has approximately 255,000 employees serving clients in 22 countries. Learn more at the company's Web site, www.aramark.com, or www.twitter.com/aramarknews.
· Our Vision:
o A company where the best people want to work.
o Customers who recommend us to others because we constantly exceed their expectations.
o Success measured in the growth of the company, its earnings and ourselves.
o The World Leader in Professional Services.
· Our Guiding Principles
o Because we value relationships, we treat customers as long-term partners, and each other with candor and respect.
o Because we succeed through performance, we encourage the entrepreneur in each of us, and work always to improve our service.
o Because we thrive on growth, we seek new markets and new opportunities, and we innovate to get and keep customers.
o And because we're ARAMARK, we do everything with integrity.
· Our Business Purpose
o We are a professional services organization dedicated to excellence.
o We develop and sustain our leadership position by engaging and supporting our most valuable and differentiated asset: the competence, commitment and creativity of our people.
o We provide world-class experiences, environments and outcomes for our clients and customers by developing relationships based on service excellence, partnership and mutual understanding.
o We enable our clients to realize their core mission, and we will anticipate the needs and exceed the expectations of customers, by dedicating our skills in professional services - hospitality, food, facilities and uniforms - to the goals and priorities of their institution.
o We create long-term value and capture the greatest opportunity for all ARAMARK stakeholders - our people, clients, customers, communities and shareowners - by delivering sustainable, profitable growth in sales, earnings and cash flow in a global company built on pride, integrity and respect.
· ARAMARK Strategic Guidelines
o We will attract, develop and retain the right People - recognizing and appreciating that our business performance is entirely driven by their success.
o We will recognize their contributions and expertise, we will remain dedicated to their development, motivation, diversity and safety, and we will seek to provide them the best resources and tools to succeed.
o We will utilize a Market-Focused Service Model - aligned by major businesses - healthcare, education, business, sports & entertainment, and corrections. Based on our experience, specific client needs are influenced by the nature of their unique organizations.
o To benefit all, we will foster an organization with clear understanding of the strategies, operations and needs of particular business sectors.
o We will create deep Business Relationships - seeking to exceed the expectations of our clients through excellent service and active relationship management at multiple levels in the client organization. Our differentiated approach deepens the relationship between the company and the client, and provides multiple contact points for direct feedback, leading to better service and enduring relationships.
o We will foster a Consumer Focus - through insight, innovation and execution. We focus on the ultimate customer based on the knowledge that anticipating and meeting the needs of our customer is critically important to our client. A deep, fact-based understanding of the end-consumer enables ARAMARK to develop services and products to meet client/partner expectations and customer needs. We will create value through Cost Efficiencies - using our scale and resources to create real cost efficiencies that improve the economics for ARAMARK and our clients. These efficiencies result from (1) purchasing/manufacturing of food, supplies and uniforms through centralized supply chain management, (2) centralizing processes to recruit, train and motivate our employees, (3) applying systems to efficiently manage labor and labor-related costs, and (4) dedicating technology investments and standardizing processes to reduce costs.
o We will offer Multiple Services - providing a portfolio of related professional services that are logically connected and offer tangible benefits. These multiple services take two forms: (1) an integrated multiple service package, and (2) value-added services provided downstream to an existing client. This multiple services portfolio provides for more valuable and differentiated business relationships with clients, and increases the depth of connection between ARAMARK and the client.
o We will pursue Global Expansion - recognizing that non-U.S. sectors are generally less penetrated by service providers than in the United States, representing a substantial opportunity for future business growth. We seek to expand global operations through a combination of (1) organic growth driven in part by the transfer of our domestic capabilities, (2) penetration in non-U.S. countries into faster growing business sectors such as healthcare and education, (3) entrance into high-growth new countries/regions through staged acquisition of leading independent operators, and (4) selective add-on acquisitions in the countries in which the company already operates. We will make Value-Added Acquisitions - operating in frequently dispersed and fragmented business sectors, we will create value by selectively acquiring and integrating other companies. In these arrangements, we create value by (1) utilizing the ARAMARK infrastructure and other operational synergies, (2) strengthening our client portfolio by the addition of new client contracts, and (3) acquiring additional service capabilities or geographic coverage that complement our existing portfolio.
o We will practice Portfolio Management - aiming to maximize sustainable, profitable sales and earnings growth while maintaining strong cash flow. In our approach to operational excellence, we weight both our "capital" investments (i.e., capital expenditures, acquisitions) and "P&L" investments (i.e., sales force, business development) toward those businesses that display the best opportunity for highest returns on investment.
o We will explore Nontraditional Markets and Services - seeking to drive additional profitable growth from our core competencies by anticipating developing needs for 1) new services, and 2) emerging business verticals. We may address these new, adjacent opportunities via acquisition, or by building and dedicating in-house capabilities.
Q. Can you describe the overall process in your department and describe the specific roles within that department.
· Sales - speaks with client - communicates to
· Kitchen and Service the client's vision - sometimes attends event to be liason between client and
· Service/Kitchen - follows up with client after event
· Service - executes the event from beginning to end (gathers equipment/manages staff/sets up/cleans up)
· Kitchen - prepares food for the event
Q. What do you think are the main strengths and weaknesses of the processes that the organization completes on a daily basis?
· Strengths:
o everyone knows their role
o many long term staff members that help
o guide/mentor newer ones
o in sales, all of us try to help any client - even if they have been working with another sales manager
· Weaknesses:
o inconsistencies in kitchen with so many student
o helpers are plattering up food (sometimes a tray of fruit for 15 looks like a tray of fruit for 50 and vice versa)
o communication - since service managers work all different days/hours it's impossible to have a meeting with all of them
Q. What is the process of receiving orders and are there any methods to improve communication from the customers and the sales office?
· Clients can book catering online, via email or phone.
· During busy times when sales managers are asked to be service managers, there is no coverage in the sales office so a client may not be able to make a last minute request. Sales could use an office assistant to take calls when all of sales is out.
Q. Describe the effect of last minute changes by the sales department from the customers .
· Usually hectic. In sales, we always try to accommodate the clients (say yes), but for last minute requests, sales checks with the kitchen for availability of the items and then sales walks back the contract to the kitchen and service to hand it to a human being to confirm knowledge of the change.
Q. How close to the event can customers make changes to their orders?
· In our policy, it's 3 business days prior, but we try to accommodate all the up to the day of their event (of course, there are late charges).
Q. Describe your job description.
· Develops relationships with new clients.
· Maintain and enhance relationships with existing clients
· Assist in planning and executing in-house catering and special events. Ensure that Catering and Service standards are maintained.
· Ensure compliance with ARAMARK Policies, Procedures and Standards. Ensures that all government legislation is adhered to, including but not limited to Food Safety and Sanitation, Occupational Health and Safety, Workers Compensation, Employment Standards, Human Rights and Labour Laws. Management experience in a fast paced food service operation.
· When it comes to on-campus dining, facilities services, sport arenas and conference center services, ARAMARK is the real head of the class.
· Partnering with close to 600 colleges and universities throughout the United States, we strive to provide the best residential, retail, and catering options, service and facilities for students, faculty and administrator. Our programs are second to none in their innovation, excellence and results. As part of our commitment, we are determined to build and develop the best team of professionals in the industry - people who aren't afraid of spearheading change, who know how to lead and who appreciate endless opportunity.
· Develop and be accountable for a safety culture that creates a work environment where no one gets hurt.
· Represent property in significant interactions dealing with customers relative to sales and operational questions, concerns, and issues.
· Negotiate contracts with customers.
· Initiate the preparation of proposals and/or contracts to advise prospective customers of their catering proposals.
· Follow up with customers after events so that we can continue to grow and improve.
· Engage in outside sales activities to discuss business opportunities outside university.
· Attend weekly sales departmental meeting and other scheduled meetings to support business operations.
· Conduct site inspections with potential customers, visiting guest rooms, meeting space and banquet facilities, as well as other property facilities.
Q. Describe the tasks that you perform on an average day.
· Calling clients re: questions about their events, answering phones, answering emails, following up with clients, meeting with new clients, talking with Events & Conferences about room set ups, taking reservations for the Montpelier room, drawing diagrams of the room set ups in the Montpellier room, ordering supplies for the entire special events dept., looking at scheduling to ensure enough staffing, meeting with the service managers and kitchen to ensure that the events will meet/exceed the client's expectations, meeting with the chefs about menu planning and menu costing, meeting within the sales dept. to discuss current policies
Q. What are the companies values?
· ARAMARK is a leader in professional services, providing award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world. In FORTUNE magazine's 2009 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," ARAMARK was ranked number one in its industry, consistently ranking since 1998 as one of the top three most admired companies in its industry as evaluated by peers and analysts. ARAMARK seeks to responsibly address issues that matter to its clients, customers, employees and communities by focusing on employee advocacy, environmental stewardship, health and wellness, and community involvement. Headquartered in Philadelphia, ARAMARK has approximately 255,000 employees serving clients in 22 countries. Learn more at the company's Web site, www.aramark.com, or www.twitter.com/aramarknews.
· Our Vision:
o A company where the best people want to work.
o Customers who recommend us to others because we constantly exceed their expectations.
o Success measured in the growth of the company, its earnings and ourselves.
o The World Leader in Professional Services.
· Our Guiding Principles
o Because we value relationships, we treat customers as long-term partners, and each other with candor and respect.
o Because we succeed through performance, we encourage the entrepreneur in each of us, and work always to improve our service.
o Because we thrive on growth, we seek new markets and new opportunities, and we innovate to get and keep customers.
o And because we're ARAMARK, we do everything with integrity.
· Our Business Purpose
o We are a professional services organization dedicated to excellence.
o We develop and sustain our leadership position by engaging and supporting our most valuable and differentiated asset: the competence, commitment and creativity of our people.
o We provide world-class experiences, environments and outcomes for our clients and customers by developing relationships based on service excellence, partnership and mutual understanding.
o We enable our clients to realize their core mission, and we will anticipate the needs and exceed the expectations of customers, by dedicating our skills in professional services - hospitality, food, facilities and uniforms - to the goals and priorities of their institution.
o We create long-term value and capture the greatest opportunity for all ARAMARK stakeholders - our people, clients, customers, communities and shareowners - by delivering sustainable, profitable growth in sales, earnings and cash flow in a global company built on pride, integrity and respect.
· ARAMARK Strategic Guidelines
o We will attract, develop and retain the right People - recognizing and appreciating that our business performance is entirely driven by their success.
o We will recognize their contributions and expertise, we will remain dedicated to their development, motivation, diversity and safety, and we will seek to provide them the best resources and tools to succeed.
o We will utilize a Market-Focused Service Model - aligned by major businesses - healthcare, education, business, sports & entertainment, and corrections. Based on our experience, specific client needs are influenced by the nature of their unique organizations.
o To benefit all, we will foster an organization with clear understanding of the strategies, operations and needs of particular business sectors.
o We will create deep Business Relationships - seeking to exceed the expectations of our clients through excellent service and active relationship management at multiple levels in the client organization. Our differentiated approach deepens the relationship between the company and the client, and provides multiple contact points for direct feedback, leading to better service and enduring relationships.
o We will foster a Consumer Focus - through insight, innovation and execution. We focus on the ultimate customer based on the knowledge that anticipating and meeting the needs of our customer is critically important to our client. A deep, fact-based understanding of the end-consumer enables ARAMARK to develop services and products to meet client/partner expectations and customer needs. We will create value through Cost Efficiencies - using our scale and resources to create real cost efficiencies that improve the economics for ARAMARK and our clients. These efficiencies result from (1) purchasing/manufacturing of food, supplies and uniforms through centralized supply chain management, (2) centralizing processes to recruit, train and motivate our employees, (3) applying systems to efficiently manage labor and labor-related costs, and (4) dedicating technology investments and standardizing processes to reduce costs.
o We will offer Multiple Services - providing a portfolio of related professional services that are logically connected and offer tangible benefits. These multiple services take two forms: (1) an integrated multiple service package, and (2) value-added services provided downstream to an existing client. This multiple services portfolio provides for more valuable and differentiated business relationships with clients, and increases the depth of connection between ARAMARK and the client.
o We will pursue Global Expansion - recognizing that non-U.S. sectors are generally less penetrated by service providers than in the United States, representing a substantial opportunity for future business growth. We seek to expand global operations through a combination of (1) organic growth driven in part by the transfer of our domestic capabilities, (2) penetration in non-U.S. countries into faster growing business sectors such as healthcare and education, (3) entrance into high-growth new countries/regions through staged acquisition of leading independent operators, and (4) selective add-on acquisitions in the countries in which the company already operates. We will make Value-Added Acquisitions - operating in frequently dispersed and fragmented business sectors, we will create value by selectively acquiring and integrating other companies. In these arrangements, we create value by (1) utilizing the ARAMARK infrastructure and other operational synergies, (2) strengthening our client portfolio by the addition of new client contracts, and (3) acquiring additional service capabilities or geographic coverage that complement our existing portfolio.
o We will practice Portfolio Management - aiming to maximize sustainable, profitable sales and earnings growth while maintaining strong cash flow. In our approach to operational excellence, we weight both our "capital" investments (i.e., capital expenditures, acquisitions) and "P&L" investments (i.e., sales force, business development) toward those businesses that display the best opportunity for highest returns on investment.
o We will explore Nontraditional Markets and Services - seeking to drive additional profitable growth from our core competencies by anticipating developing needs for 1) new services, and 2) emerging business verticals. We may address these new, adjacent opportunities via acquisition, or by building and dedicating in-house capabilities.
Q. Can you describe the overall process in your department and describe the specific roles within that department.
· Sales - speaks with client - communicates to
· Kitchen and Service the client's vision - sometimes attends event to be liason between client and
· Service/Kitchen - follows up with client after event
· Service - executes the event from beginning to end (gathers equipment/manages staff/sets up/cleans up)
· Kitchen - prepares food for the event
Q. What do you think are the main strengths and weaknesses of the processes that the organization completes on a daily basis?
· Strengths:
o everyone knows their role
o many long term staff members that help
o guide/mentor newer ones
o in sales, all of us try to help any client - even if they have been working with another sales manager
· Weaknesses:
o inconsistencies in kitchen with so many student
o helpers are plattering up food (sometimes a tray of fruit for 15 looks like a tray of fruit for 50 and vice versa)
o communication - since service managers work all different days/hours it's impossible to have a meeting with all of them
Q. What is the process of receiving orders and are there any methods to improve communication from the customers and the sales office?
· Clients can book catering online, via email or phone.
· During busy times when sales managers are asked to be service managers, there is no coverage in the sales office so a client may not be able to make a last minute request. Sales could use an office assistant to take calls when all of sales is out.
Q. Describe the effect of last minute changes by the sales department from the customers .
· Usually hectic. In sales, we always try to accommodate the clients (say yes), but for last minute requests, sales checks with the kitchen for availability of the items and then sales walks back the contract to the kitchen and service to hand it to a human being to confirm knowledge of the change.