Culinary Career Development Program

People stay at companies where they see a future or career path that aligns with them and their goals; through internal education programs, we not only provide growth opportunities to our Compass Group at Microsoft employees, but we also increase our positive employee retention long-term.

In 2019, Compass Group at Microsoft launched the first edition of its Culinary Career Development program. Designed for our existing talent, this internal, comprehensive six-month program was created to enhance our chefs’ culinary, administrative and leadership skills. Through resources such as learning modules, classes, connect sessions with specialists and in-unit application, we’re helping our talent grow within our organization.?

While many of our employees have mastered cooking techniques and methodologies from culinary school, we noticed an opportunity to teach key competencies and specific knowledge required to succeed in our dynamic and innovative corporate dining environment.

To bridge the gap, Compass Group at Microsoft’s Learning & Development Specialist Daisy Mendes designed the curriculum to focus on skills needed in specific careers and their respective growth paths to increase the likelihood of internal promotions. Currently, we’re targeting our mid-level culinary roles such as Lead Cooks, Culinary Supervisors and Executive Sous Chefs.

Through tailored modules related to their growth paths, Culinary Career Development participants learned about workplace safety, quality assurance, health and wellness, guest experience and leadership. By providing these resources and support for our team, they’re able to perform at the highest level and reach their desired career goals.

Since its inception, we’ve had over 40 participants successfully complete the program. While the program does not guarantee a direct promotion, 67% of participants have already been promoted to their respective roles in their growth path. Additionally, we retained over 90% of participants!

To recognize our employees’ outstanding achievements, we hosted an intimate graduation ceremony in front of their friends, peers and managers. Each participant gave a short presentation about themselves, shared what they enjoyed learning most from the program, received a diploma from their mentors and tasted some of our new innovative dishes from our catering team.

When asked about their takeaways from the program, our culinarians unanimously agreed that the program not only enhanced their culinary, administrative and managerial skills, but it also paved the way for their career advancement within the company.

After completing the program, Eddie Guarino was promoted to Executive Chef at Boardwalk, one of the campus’s full-service restaurants and pub. When he first signed up, he thought he “wouldn’t get much out of it;” however, he later admitted “he was very wrong about that” because he “learned something new in every session” that applied to his unit. Additionally, Eddie felt the course was beneficial because “almost everyone in [his] class has been promoted and is doing great in their new roles.”

Josh Critchley, Executive Chef at Café City Center Plaza, felt the program was “an important part of taking the next step in [his] career” because he was able to “hear stories and experiences from fellow chefs and culinarians” about what has made them successful as culinary leaders. He often reaches out to his mentors on a weekly basis to ask questions and collaborate.

Kristin Dougherty, Executive Chef at Café 25, appreciated how “devoted [Daisy and her team were] to their students” by “offering unique perspectives from a diverse group of instructors.”

Similarly, Andera Ladera, Executive Sous Chef at Café 83, felt the instructors did an excellent job of “teaching [participants] to motivate and direct [their] teams.” It was also “eye-opening and inspirational” to work beside the Regional Chefs, who they don’t necessarily get to interact with every day.

Jevic Acain, one of our Regional Chefs, shared that the “Culinary Career Development Program has been an incredible way to invest in our team’s growth both personally and professionally.”

Culinary Director Craig Tarrant believes it’s crucial to invest in our “graduates because they are the future of our culinary program; their commitment to the program is building a solid foundation for exceptional guest experiences.”

As we get ready to start our third edition of the Culinary Career Development Program, we’ve extended the nomination process to include self-nominations, making the program more inclusive. By opening the process beyond manager nominations, this year’s class size has increased by 40%! We’re looking forward to expanding the program and supporting our culinary talent’s career advancement within Compass Group at Microsoft.?