Training and access to career advancement resources are critical to staff retention in every industry. Our diverse and talented team members across the country have access to many tools and resources, and we proactively and continuously seek to expand on our training programming. Fortunately, and the secret sauce to successfully delivering on our commitments to our clients’, is that our team members know they genuinely own a stake in delivering on that success.
We place a high value on diversity because we know having multiple perspectives can uncover creative solutions and innovations in every service we provide. Our people first culture is intentional about encouraging all team members to hone in on what they are most passionate about in their roles and build upon that.
We recently interviewed Charron Williams, who was selected to represent CCL Hospitality Group at the 2024 Women in Culinary Showcase. Charron was nominated for her extraordinary culinary skills, leadership and enthusiasm for her profession.
The showcase was hosted at Middleby Innovation Kitchens in Dallas, Texas. This dynamic event provides a platform for 24 Compass Group culinarians to gather, display and be celebrated for their culinary talents. The showcase is sponsored by Compass Group and our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team.
I started in the foodservice industry when I was 21 and I’ve worked at hospitals and rehabilitation facilities over my 30 year career. I have been with Unidine for 11 years and am now the Director of Dining Services here at Little Sisters of the Poor in Washington, DC, which is a nonprofit community.
We are given donations of food and on the third of each month I get a big shipment of food. We never know what we’ll get in our shipments so from what comes in, I create weekly menus. Which is fun because I get to be creative with my recipes. Everything is homemade, from scratch and made with fresh ingredients. And everything I cook is homestyle, which is what our residents love and appreciate most.
The residents really show us appreciation for the meals we serve them. And they are vocal and give us lots of feedback and let us know what they like most. Our residents prefer homestyle and comfort foods that are simple – they don’t want fancy sauces or anything like that. So, if we serve them meatloaf or fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and everything is seasoned well, you should see their faces and you know, that’s what brings me the most joy doing what I do. And fortunately, that happens a lot here.
One of my favorite moments here at Little Sister was during one of our dinners, I was told one of our residents wanted to speak to me. And I thought – oh no, I’ve never had a complaint before! But it was one of our elder priests, Father Green, and he said he wanted to tell me that he has never had potato salad made just like what his mother used to make and wanted to thank me.
That’s a special memory because I was able to bring back such a personal memory for someone. That day really sticks out for me and is part of what makes me appreciate getting to do what I do so much.
I would say no matter what job you are hired for – you will always have support, training, opportunities for growth. In my role as director of dining services, I have been fortunate to be mentored by my Regional Director of Operations, John Nichols. He’s been working with me over the last 2 and a half years and still works directly with me to this day – I can call him with questions, and he calls and checks in with me too.
I didn’t go to culinary school, so I’ve learned everything I know while working on the job these last 30 years. And John has helped me learn even more, teaching me all the different aspects of my job. And when I learn something new and master that, he starts teaching some new skill or process that helps me do my job to the best of my abilities and helps me keep our residents happy too. Feeling supported and like there’s always someone that can help gives me a lot of confidence and just makes me want to continue to learn more and more!
So, anyone considering applying for a position at CCL, I would want them to know this really is a company where you’ll receive recognition for your hard work and lots if resources and tools to advance.
