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Providing meals to staff? Options?
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
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We are about to move to a new office location which is pretty inconvenient for staff. Staff are used to stepping out of the office at lunchtime and having a wide range of eating options.
I have been
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Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » Providing meals to staff? Options?
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
posted at 9/29/2010 7:02 AM EDT
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Posts: 2
First: 9/29/2010 Last: 9/30/2010 |
We are about to move to a new office location which is pretty inconvenient for staff. Staff are used to stepping out of the office at lunchtime and having a wide range of eating options.
I have been asked to investigate the possibility of getting local restaurants or culinary institutes to come into the office and cater for staff maybe once or twice a week. I am not sure how feasible this is, and am wondering if anyons has successfully done this.... Thanks in advance. |
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
posted at 9/29/2010 8:18 AM EDT
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Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I recommend you develop a relationship with a local deli. Tell employees they may place orders with/give money to a certain person (say, the receptionist) by a certain time every morning, then he/she phones the order in to the deli, the deli delivers, and the employees pick up their orders in the reception area or perhaps a meeting room nearby. If the deli knows it's going to get a largish order every single day, the deli will be inclined to deliver for free. (And if the deli has fully embraced the 21st century, the deli will have a website where employees can place their orders themselves.) |
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
posted at 9/29/2010 10:42 AM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Will you have a kitchen where they could bring their own meals and at least heat them up? Or could you stock it with some basics? bread, crackers, pb&j, condiments, fruit, soups, etc? When we had a full service kitchen, our employees went out to eat far less because they liked the fact they could save money. But we only had a catered meal maybe once per quarter.
I think you will find providing lunch a few times a week will get pretty expensive. |
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
posted at 9/30/2010 5:19 AM EDT
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Posts: 79
First: 12/20/2004 Last: 2/17/2011 |
I would gett the menues of the local places that deliver and make sure they are avialable to you staff and that's it. I would make sure there is some type of break room where they can store and microwave food from home and allow them to set up a communal coffee pot that they manage. Getting too involved in this will only create major headaches and even more complaining. These are adults and they are responsible for their own lunch arrangements. |
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
posted at 9/30/2010 6:57 AM EDT
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Posts: 2
First: 9/29/2010 Last: 9/30/2010 |
Thank you for the replies. We will have a fully usable kitchen - with stove/microwave etc and ample space for preparation and storage.
We will definitely look into local deli/delivery options. Thanks for your help. |
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
posted at 9/30/2010 7:52 AM EDT
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
I don't know about the headaches of getting too involved. I agree that it would be going overboard to bring in catered meals more than a few times a year for special events. But stocking a kitchen with a few basics can promote healthy eating choices, build a sense of community, and demonstrate organizational caring (employee perception of organizational caring is linked to more discretionary effort and higher employee retention rates). It could also increase productivity because more people will remain on site.
But it depends on the existing culture. There could be problems with employees stealing food or with raising expectations. I Moving to a less convient site might be perceived as a "take away" so you may want to balance your decision based on that and what their past reactions to change has been. |
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Providing meals to staff? Options?
posted at 10/7/2010 1:26 PM EDT
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Posts: 18
First: 5/20/2009 Last: 4/19/2011 |
Depending on the size of your workforce, upscale vending machines can be an option as well. Establish a relationship with the vendor whereby you or the employees can dictate their food preferences, and ensure someone is assigned the responsibility to follow up on maintenance issues directly with the vendor. |
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