Joanne's story: The more I saw, the more I wanted
Aylin's story: Finding my professional family
At the age of 13, I emigrated from Turkey to Austria with my family. None of us spoke German at the time, which made starting over very challenging. It was a difficult time, leaving our familiar community behind, but this experience shaped us and motivated me to explore new paths.
Professional cleaning qualifications
After a few years in this role, I was headhunted to join Sodexo as a site manager by a Sodexo regional director. He supported me on my career path and believed in my abilities. I was warmly welcomed at Sodexo and immediately felt part of the team. I also discovered my passion for working in the healthcare and senior care sector.
Sodexo supported me to gain professional qualifications, which have been so important to me. My father worked as a laborer and my mother couldn’t read or write. As a child, I often had no answer when I was asked what my parents did for a living.
A strong team is key
My brilliant team motivate me to come to work each day. My advice to anyone who wants to work in a role like mine would be to work towards the role you want by starting from the bottom and gaining practical experience. It’s important to never lose that connection with the practical experience.
I am fortunate to lead a team that is not only committed but also diverse. Like me, many of my colleagues have a migration background. I know exactly what it's like to build a new life in a new country, and it makes me proud to support their career path.
Building a future together with my team
For me, my focus is always the well-being of the people around me. Whether I’m looking after my employees or creating safer and cleaner environments for our customers – it’s always about people for me, they come first.
My journey is not over yet. I love challenges and look forward to continuing to grow together with my team and celebrating our successes together.
For me it’s the people around me that make the difference.
Read the story in German
More stories about our people
Jerry's story: Finding my place and my people
Yekaterina's story: Starting from scratch with the support of my team