Meet Sodexo
Sodexo is a global leader in food and facilities management services, with more than 400,000 employees working in many countries. The OKR Institute worked with Sodexo to put Objectives and Key Results in place in a way that would last, not just for a quarter or two. The coaching was led by Anita Bodnar. The aim was to bring more clarity to strategy, improve how work got done, and build a steady habit of improvement across a workforce that is large and very diverse. When a company employs hundreds of thousands of people in very different roles, a shared way to set and track goals can be the thread that holds the whole thing together.
The Scale Challenge
Sodexo's size was both its strength and its biggest hurdle. With operations spread around the world and a wide range of services, no single version of OKRs could fit every team. The framework had to flex to suit very different settings. Getting genuine buy-in was another challenge. People at many levels and in many countries needed to feel ownership of OKRs, not see them as a head office idea. And there was the long game to think about. Sodexo did not just want to start using OKRs. It wanted the practice to stick and become part of how the company works.
That last point shaped everything. Plenty of large organizations can launch a new framework with a burst of energy. Far fewer manage to keep it going once the launch fades. Sodexo wanted to avoid that trap from the start.
Built for Scale, Built to Last
The OKR Institute built an approach made for scale and built to last.
- Customized OKR framework: We created a version of OKRs that could bend to fit Sodexo's many business units, so it stayed relevant whether a team ran a kitchen or managed a facility.
- Global training and coaching: We rolled out training worldwide, backed by focused coaching for leaders and teams, to build real understanding and earn commitment across the company.
- Cultural and process fit: We worked alongside Sodexo to weave OKRs into the company's existing processes and culture, with a focus on continuous feedback and learning so the practice would hold over time.
The combination of a flexible framework and hands-on coaching mattered. The framework gave teams room to adapt, while the coaching made sure that freedom did not turn into thirty different versions of OKRs that no longer spoke to each other.
What Made it Work
- Flexibility over uniformity: A framework that could bend to fit very different business units earned genuine buy-in across the organization.
- Global coaching reach: Worldwide training backed by focused coaching ensured understanding was deep, not just broad.
- Cultural embedding: Weaving OKRs into existing processes and culture made the practice sustainable beyond the initial launch.
- Long-term design: The entire approach was built for staying power, avoiding the common trap of launch energy that fades after one quarter.
What Changed at Sodexo
Tighter alignment and execution
Strategy and daily operations lined up more closely, making execution smoother and progress easier to track across the global workforce.
More engagement and ownership
The wide-reaching training and tailored approach pulled more people in, building a sense of accountability and a shared push toward improvement.
A practice that lasts
Sodexo managed to fold OKRs into its everyday rhythm, setting up a sustainable habit that keeps driving clarity and better performance year after year.
What This Shows
Sodexo's case is a strong example of how to make OKRs work at very large scale. The secret was not forcing one rigid model on everyone. It was building a flexible framework, training people everywhere, and weaving the practice into the culture so it would survive past the launch. For any organization with a big, varied workforce, the lesson holds. Adaptability and genuine buy-in matter more than a uniform rollout. Get those right, and even a workforce of hundreds of thousands can move with a shared sense of direction, year after year rather than just for a single quarter.
