Your workplace’s food program can enhance your pre-existing company culture. When you align your values with everything you do, it only enhances how your company culture is perceived. The commitment you make to acting within that culture creates big ripples in your business, helping your staff have a deeper understanding of the company they work for.
One big way to enhance your company culture is through food. Do you have a commitment to caring about your employees’ health and wellness? Do you strive to give back to your community? Those things can be reflected in how you feed your staff. According to Flair, 57% of workers say they would increase their efforts if they experienced improved recognition for their contributions. An easy way to start doing more of that would be to provide your staff with food that aligns with your company culture. We’re going to go over the details of how company culture is enhanced through office lunches and how to implement corporate catering into your business routine.
How Office Lunches Impact Your Business Overall
It might sound crazy at first because, after all, it’s just food, right? Employment positions with perks are more likely to attract and retain employees compared to those without. In a study by USA Today, satisfaction ratings increased from 56% to 67% when free food was provided at the workplace. Companies with high ratings for compensation and benefits experienced 56% lower attrition rates, indicating that they are creating an environment that reduces burnout and fosters a more positive overall outlook on the company. That lunch you’re giving employees makes an impact on whether or not people are interested in continuing to work for you or want to start working for you.
Food is excellent for your company culture, it shows that you value your employees and want to keep them on your team. 90% of employers say a sense of community is the key to success and a sense of belonging reduces employee turnover rates. Showing you care in whatever realistic way you can think of contributes to a greater sense of pride in the business your staff works for. That leads to increased productivity, a greater sense of well-being when at work, and overall a more positive experience for your staff.
What is Company Culture?
Company culture is the standards, values, beliefs, attitudes, and intentions you associate yourself with as an organization. It dictates how you manage your staff, how you conduct business, and quite literally everything else. A strong company culture should be easy to identify and your employees should be able to pinpoint how they should conduct business and work based on what they know about the company. They’re both written and unwritten rules, basically like a personality for your business.
So why is having a strong company culture important and where does the food come in? A bad company culture can be many different things, but some of the big ways are inconsistency, inaccuracy, and a lack of clear values. If you say you want to help your staff stay healthy but you don’t implement any programs to back that up, it’s become meaningless. At times, especially for smaller businesses just starting out, company culture can feel almost esoteric. Office lunches are an easy way to get the ball rolling or to reinforce your pre-existing company culture. If you want your staff to stay healthy, you can implement a lunch program with lots of healthy, local foods. It’s just as simple as that.
Maximizing the Power of Your Office Lunches
There are some specific things you should be paying attention to when you decide to start implementing office catering for your staff. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as picking any old catering company and calling it a day. 46% of job seekers cite company culture as very important when choosing to apply to a company, so you want to do your best to get it right in order for these office lunches to work. We’ll guide you through the process of maximizing the impact office lunch can have on your company culture:
Inclusive Dining
Inclusive dining means you’re being mindful of people’s dietary restrictions and allergies. According to FARE, a food allergy sends someone to the emergency room every 10 seconds. That’s a lot, and people who are affected by straying outside their diets will often avoid “unsafe” catering. If things aren’t labeled properly or if you don’t have allergen information, you could be alienating people and having the opposite effect on your company culture.
The same can be said for not knowing if food is halal or acceptable for other religions. It’s important to ask around and try to get as many bases covered for different diets as possible. You don’t need to have the entire catering operation exclude every single allergen or restriction, but having plenty of alternatives available is a great way to help your staff feel happy and welcome at their own company.
Health and Sustainability
Having junk food available all the time isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but you should try to provide healthy options as often as possible. Sustainability helps as well, doing good for the community and the environment. It shows that your company culture cares about the long-term health of its employees and the health of those in your community.
Every decision you make has a butterfly effect. Maybe you introduce an employee to a life-changing healthy recipe that helps them get the nutrients they’ve been lacking. You might help support a local farmer who needs funds to survive. The less your food has to travel, the cleaner your local air can get. Your staff will notice these things and it’ll help enhance your company culture.
Variety
Maybe you’ve asked your staff what kinds of lunches they’d like and it’s a split between 2, or your staff is starting to get bored with their current catering options. If you’ve found a good catering spot, make sure you still listen when it’s time to switch it up. After all, this is for your staff. Having a say is important for company culture because it allows employees to innovate and come up with new ideas. Your lunches are no exception.
Community Opportunity
Sometimes it’s rare for certain employees to get the chance to mingle. Creating thoughtful, engaging lunches can help change that. Facilitating a space for your staff to meet and learn more about the other people who work for your company can help improve their professional relationships. Especially for management, lunchtime can be a great time to open the door of opportunity for staff to come and interact with the people pulling the strings.
How to Start Your Office Lunch Catering Program
If you’re interested in improving your company culture through office catering, Zerocater can help. No matter what budget or company size, we have a variety of flexible catering options that work with you. Our app lets you browse catering options and filter dietary restrictions. We’ll even track your previous orders and use our AI to give you suggestions for the next time. Zerocater offers hybrid employees options as well so your company culture can have the widest reach possible. If you’re interested in learning more, send us a message today by clicking the “Get Pricing” button and tell us about your business. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
