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The Back Page

Keys to Success

for USF Dining BY DAVID DISALVO

rends within the hospitality industry tinue to learn from our guests every day. The
Tchange rapidly. Today’s innovative trends international recruiting focus of the university
become tomorrow’s expectations and point enables an inclusive, exciting dining environ-
of entry. In a world where “change is the ment. Through partnership with INTO USF
only constant,” the best place to get a peek [a program that helps international students
at innovation and the future is to spend time to succeed in higher education and adapt to
with the customers. the educational, social and cultural norms,
At the University of South Florida (USF), and then progress on to undergraduate and
the dining leadership team considers this graduate programs] and USF World [USF’s
point every day in all that we do. At each doorway to relations with the global com-
point of interaction throughout our day we munity] the dining team works with students
are gathering diverse perspectives and taking from all over the globe. We celebrate the
action to feedback. diversity of our students every day through
Five years ago, USF Dining, operated by our menus and environments. Each year,
Aramark, began a journey of transforma- cohorts from across the campus and across
tion with the USF students in mind. The the world collaborate on festivals, menus,
strategy was centered on gathering and ana- holidays; and we literally shape the program-
lyzing feedback from the diverse student ming together. The global student body at
body, incorporating those findings into the dining program USF keeps our dining program fresh and exciting while in-
and forecasting future trends while establishing a continuous corporating international flavors.
loop for the process moving forward. In addition to the involvement of our student body, we
Today, as you enter any of the 28 dining centers at the have an incredible team of employees that provide outstand-
University of South Florida, you are greeted with a smile by ing experiences at each location, every day. In fact, of our
one of our many employees, as well as a poster with the faces 1,100 team members, more than 600 are current students,
of the leadership team along with their contact information, with about 100 others that are graduates of the University of
including cell phone numbers. What has proven to be most South Florida. This number continues to grow through careful
successful for USF Dining has been meeting the customers strategy with the university. As a top recruiting institution for
on a personal level — where they are and where they want to Aramark, USF’s food service partner, there are several unique
be — whether virtual or in person. Food service is an intimate development programs that are available to students. These
experience, and having a true connection with your customers programs not only bolster the number of student employees
helps establish a positive culture where guests’ voices are heard. in the dining program, but increase the caliber of students
USF Dining began their journey by proactively seeking coming out of the institution.
feedback and perspective from a wide array of student groups
and campus constituencies. Key findings were that the cam- The Results:
pus community desired an extremely wide range of ways to We were serving more than 4 million meals annually, and
communicate and share their perspective and feedback with the largest growth we have seen in the past five years is within
the dining team. Not surprisingly, virtual application was key the residential dining program. The student-centered approach
and included text messages, survey apps, QR [quick response] to the program has created an inclusive environment, and the
codes and more. students have responded. On average we have served more than
However, equally important were in-person meetings. We 330,000 more residential meals each year after the project — a
found that students wanted to engage personally, and we devel- 26 percent increase annually.
oped a number of forums to connect with the campus. “Meet The future is bright for the dining program at the University
the Manager” sessions, dining councils, focus groups, food of South Florida, with a brand new state-of-the-art dining facility
forums and more structured meetings were critical ways the opening its doors to students this summer. This commitment
community wanted to communicate and were implemented to student involvement will enrich and nourish the lives of the
on campus. USF community into the coming year. —OCH
One of the reasons for the success of the dining program
at USF Dining is the international student presence and the David DiSalvo is district manager with Aramark at the
authenticity and engagement in the dining program. We con- University of South Florida in Tampa.

22 | MARCH 2017 ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY