Having an office cafeteria sounds like a simple way to say “thank you” to your staff for working so hard and maybe little else. However, implementing a cafeteria can go far beyond treating employees to food and snacks. Many companies have started cafeteria plans, as they can increase productivity levels, boost morale, and even help with retention.
You might ask yourself if that’s really true because initially, it sounds a bit ridiculous. Once you think about how often employees have fast food, take extra time to go get food, or skip their lunch break altogether, it starts to make sense. Food is fuel for your body and mind, which is why it’s an essential piece to your workforce’s success.
Throwing out some bad catering and calling it a day won’t do it, however. Half of the benefits gained from cafeterias come from the effort you’re putting in to make employees happy and excited to use your services. If you’re interested in a cafeteria plan or you’ve implemented one already but haven’t modernized it to work for you, we have some great cafeteria ideas for your office so your cafeteria plan is a definite success.
Embracing Innovation in Workplace Dining
One of the major benefits of having a cafeteria space is the actual physical space itself. People from many different departments congregate to relax together which can lead to networking opportunities and collaboration. You can encourage this collaboration by having an ‘open concept’ cafeteria, which means the cafeteria is kind of like one large open room.
Innovative cafeteria designs like this can maximize the use of your space, allowing your cafeteria to double as an informal meeting room. Flexible seating arrangements give you the ability to move things around as needed in this instance. Having plants and other biophilic design elements can enhance a sense of peace and relaxation as well.
Bringing modern cafeteria ideas to your office cafeteria shows you care about the space, meaning you care about the people who are using the space. The flexibility, beautification, and open design encourage collaboration in both relaxation and work relationships. Overall, creating a cafeteria design with people in mind maximizes the potential of your cafeteria.
Food Choices That Fuel Productivity
As we mentioned before, many people in the workforce choose fast food to eat for their lunch, usually because it’s fast and easy. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but fast food tends to be a little greasy and makes you feel not so great later on. So what if you gave your staff faster, easier, and more nutritious options?
Nutritious workplace dining options help encourage healthier eating habits, leaving staff feeling more refreshed and productive after eating. Foods higher in nutrition help with cognitive function and energy levels and help get you through the day. Offering high-protein meals, for example, can help a lot with sustaining energy and providing essential vitamins and minerals needed for cognitive abilities, blood pressure, and reducing food cravings.
If you’re curious about some healthy office cafeteria ideas, salad bars and smoothie stations are a good start. The customization and grab-and-go aspect make it perfect for staff who might need to take a desk lunch or just want something light. You can offer full grab-and-go meals as well, like bento boxes or pre-packaged lunches. Snacks should be available to supplement meals or to have on short breaks when you need a little treat. Be sure to offer vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options as well.
Go Green with Sustainable Cafeteria Ideas for Office
Companies have become aware of their carbon footprint and waste with the growing concern of global warming. For cafeterias, that can manifest as food waste, excess trash, and non-sustainable ingredients. One solution for office dining in particular is the implementation of sustainability practices. Using eco-conscious methods to run your corporate cafeteria reduces the amount of pollution you add to the earth.
The idea of an eco-friendly cafeteria should be to reduce overall waste and reduce the use of passive carbon emissions. Reducing waste is also a win-win, as waste reduction means you’ll be spending less money on food and utensils. Recycling and composting moves inevitable waste in the right direction so it doesn’t end up in a landfill. Implementing reusable plates and silverware means you don’t have packaging to throw away from lunches, and compostable packaging and utensils help make any waste you do have less impactful on the environment.
Finally, you should look into locally sourced, seasonal ingredients for your cafeteria menu. The locality helps reduce the amount ingredients have to travel before getting to your cafeteria, reducing carbon emissions from trucks. You’re also helping your community’s economy by shopping local. Seasonal produce is not only nutritious, but also sustainable, because it takes less resources to grow food during its peak season.
Smart Solutions for a Seamless Cafeteria Experience
Modernity has switched many of our regular analog tasks to applications and tech. Many offices are seeking ‘smart cafeteria solutions’ to help them manage their cafeterias in a more efficient, scalable way. Mobile ordering and digital payment systems make it easy to track payments, sales, and give staff the power to pay with more options. Self-serve kiosks and automated checkout stations have become popular as well. Employees can pay for snacks or meals themselves without having to hire extra staff to assist them. These pieces of tech do a lot to save money on staffing and give people more options to pay.
Some companies are implementing health-centric applications on top of their existing tech. Apps that help you keep track of calories are popular for people looking to bring more healthy eating into their lives. No matter the tech-savvy office cafeteria ideas you utilize, it’ll generally make things more efficient and easier for staff. Even if you implement digital menu boards, it helps save time and frustration as you can quickly change the menu with no issue.
Make Dining Fun with Themes and Events
Coming up with creative themes for your office cafeteria can entice people to come and enjoy the space. It’s key to make sure employees are actually coming into the cafeteria and using it so they can reap the benefits. Weekly themed cuisines are a good starting point. Taco Tuesdays have long been a popular way to draw in sales during slow days, you can utilize the same methodology. If you really want to punch things up a bit, having food pop-ups, guest chefs, or food trucks can be exciting as well. It gives people a chance to connect with restaurants in their local community and find new foods they enjoy.
Additionally, when we think of fun ideas for your office cafeteria, holidays are high on the list. It’s the perfect time to roll out seasonal menus or fun mini-events. Decorating and having special seasonal foods can keep things interesting.
More Than Just a Cafeteria – A Hub for Collaboration
Cafeterias are spaces for collaboration, even if it’s just coworkers sharing a meal together. When you design your cafeteria, you should envision how many ways you can utilize that space. Designing it with flexibility in mind can help you maximize its potential, allowing your team to use it for relaxation, casual meetings, event venues, and a place for team-building exercises.
When you get ideas for your multi-purpose office cafeteria, try to remember that the flexibility aspect is the most important. It’s still a cafeteria and a space for relaxation and your design choices should continue to reflect that. To enhance the emphasis on relaxation, adding lounge areas and even game zones can bring things back around. After all, the cafeteria you create is meant to recharge employees and get them ready to be their best at work.
Fueling Creativity with Coffee Bars and Beverage Stations
Drinks are a simple way to have a little treat without eating an entire meal or a heavy dessert. The idea of a beverage station in an office cafeteria is to have the ability to grab a pick-me-up and keep moving through the day. Specialty coffee machines and barista services can help give employees the caffeine push they need to finish their work or come up with a new plan. Coffee bars for office cafeterias allow employees to come up with new ideas with customizable drink options. The experimentation makes it fun and more enjoyable to grab a latte or specialty beverage.
For non-coffee drinkers, having kombucha, sparkling/infused water, and other specialty drink options makes it fun for everyone as well. The power of options goes a long way, especially for drinks, as they don’t expire like freshly made food does. This can tie into your sustainability practices and encourage healthier choices parallel to your pre-existing implementations.
Bringing the Outdoors In – Alfresco Office Dining
How fun and luxurious does rooftop dining sound? What about a luscious patio with shady plants? Being outside is an underutilized form of relaxation, especially during the time you’re meant to recharge during a stressful workday. The idea of an outdoor office cafeteria should be to bring fresh air and a peaceful space to your employees. Sunrays and foliage go a long way and oftentimes it’s quieter to sit outside than it is in an enclosed cafeteria space.
Creating a rooftop dining space creates a tranquil area to look out into the world. You can eat and relax outside, even in a busy area with no outdoor spaces. If you do have outdoor space, you can add patio furniture, outdoor grills, and picnic tables.
Weather-proofing the area can help make it usable year-round. Adding patio heaters and umbrellas or tents helps keep your rooftop or patio space more comfortable. Some people really enjoy the rain, so keeping things safe with non-slip pathways is important also.
Cafeterias Designed for Breaks and Mental Recharge
When you utilize your cafeteria space to be a meeting space as well, it’s important to include spaces dedicated to mental recharge and relaxation. Otherwise, staff might start relating the cafeteria to another workspace and feel unable to relax. Relaxation spaces in office cafeterias should be dedicated areas for people to goof off and put their minds on something else. TVs, music areas, and game zones can help take their minds off of work and get some well-deserved rest. Take surveys to see what ideas for office cafeteria entertainment people have.
Quiet areas are also important, especially if you have areas with loud TVs and games. Places where people are able to read quietly or meditate during a stressful day can make a huge difference in someone’s ability to continue performing work tasks. Adding thoughtful or motivational art to your cafeteria walls can help too. Maybe not those outdated motivational meme posters, though.
Keeping Your Cafeteria Fresh and Relevant
Constantly improving your office cafeteria ideas is essential to the effectiveness of your cafeteria as a whole. This cafeteria was created as an appreciation and investment in the employees who work hard to be there and your regular upkeep only cements that commitment. Regularly gathering and implementing employee feedback on menu options and the design of your cafeteria shows you care about the space and strive for an employee-focused cafeteria design.
Hosting tasting events and having feedback sessions allows people to voice their opinions openly and build trust over time. Honest feedback is valuable to the vitality of your cafeteria program. The best way to continue to get the productive feedback you’re looking for is by listening to the feedback you receive and regularly implementing it into your menus and cafeteria design.
Conclusion
Company cafeterias are becoming the new norm for many businesses because of their benefits. Some might even say a properly implemented cafeteria is essential to the development of a healthy and productive workplace. The increase in employee engagement, productivity, and overall satisfaction is well worth the work it takes to start a cafeteria.
Since there are so many companies getting their own office cafeteria plans, businesses like Zerocater have started to help those companies launch cafeteria plans in a much more organized and simple fashion. Instead of going through the steps to hire a caterer or separate services and staff to run the cafeteria, Zerocater has experts who help you design your space and menus based on your company’s requests. We even work with any budget size to design the perfect plan for you. If you’re interested in seeing how we can create a personalized cafeteria plan for you, contact us today and we’ll get started.
