Complimentary food is a core component of the happiest workplaces. A recent Forbes article presented three pillars to the healthiest workplaces: “eat, move, live.” Eating well with healthy foods, having regular opportunities to move throughout the day, and promoting work-life balance can allow employers to establish a culture of well-being. While offering healthy snacks can promote engagement and wellness, employers with weekly or special occasion NJ office catering could gain an edge when it comes to employer branding. “Catering foods in an office setting helps promote the brand, so it’s important that the foods be fresh and served at the appropriate temperatures,” says food service analyst Julia Gallo-Torres. “A negative experience can negatively impact the brand.”
Fresh, healthy and delicious food offerings for meetings, parties and other events can communicate a culture of caring and value to employees. Selecting the right opportunities and food choices for catering can contribute to healthier and more productive employees while reinforcing brand values.
When Does Your NJ Office Need Catering?
For many companies, NJ office catering has historically been used for work holiday parties, big client meetings and other special occasions. However, many organizations are now following in the footsteps of Silicon Valley tech companies and offering food services on a more frequent basis.
One study of U.S. and U.K. employees revealed that regular catering can make a big impact on employee engagement and employer branding:
- 60 percent of employees say company-provided food makes them feel “valued and appreciated.”
- Over 50 percent said complimentary catering would “strongly influence” job offer decisions
- 33% say that free food at meetings would entice them to attend non-required meetings.
Employees perform better when they’re well-fed. NJ office catering can be a highly effective tool for employee productivity, performance, and encouraging relationships between colleagues. To strengthen your brand and employee satisfaction, consider the following three opportunities to offer complimentary catering service.
1. Weekly Lunches
Not every company can afford to offer free food on-demand, but weekly team lunches can be a powerful tool for building community and relationships between employees. For New York-based software company Impraise, encouraging regular team lunches around one table has facilitated community during a fast growth phase from 5 employees to 30.
“We’ve found this has a great effect on maintaining open communication as we grow,” says Impraise CEO Bas Kohnke. He credits shared lunches with “ensuring that people never feel divided, even if we’re working on different things.” For organizations like Impraise and many others who seek out NJ office catering for team lunches, these events aren’t necessarily focused on work discussion. Instead, they’re an opportunity to encourage the types of healthy, interpersonal relationships between colleagues that can support workplace collaboration and creativity.
While weekly or regular lunches is a trending way to communicate employee appreciation and support communication, they’re not the only regular opportunity to provide free food. Advertising technology company System1 sponsors weekly happy hours for employees to network and relax. For other organizations, catered breakfasts are a productivity tool.
2. Achieving Goals
Trends in human resources may come and go, but employee recognition is a concept with lasting importance. Employees who feel appreciated are happier and less likely to leave their jobs. According to one recent study, nearly 90 percent of employees who “received recognition or thanks from their boss in the past month indicated higher levels of trust in that boss.”
NJ office catering can be one way to show appreciation for teams or companies who achieve big goals, such as exceeding quarterly revenue targets or other initiatives. When used in conjunction with other types of recognition, such as peer-to-peer recognition and bonuses, office catering can ensure employees feel valued and rewarded for their efforts.
3. Training and Events
Catering could significantly improve employee performance and attendance at annual meetings and long training sessions. Not only can catering encourage employees to attend non-required sessions, it can be an important tool for performance.
When it comes to optimizing catering for training and events, the quality of food is an important consideration. “The primary catalyst for losing focus during a long workday is the food you put in your body,” writes health expert and trainer Jennifer Cohen. She recommends the use of healthy foods as a focus tool, including slow-digesting whole grains to support blood sugar levels, fresh fruits, healthy fats such as avocado and lean proteins like fish and chicken to promote performance during long, focused days.
Improve Your Culture and Happiness with NJ Office Catering
While daily catering isn’t the right fit for all organizations, employees of all ages consider factors like catering when making decisions about where to work and whether to attend optional training. In a competitive talent market, office catering for weekly team lunches, employee reward, and long meetings can improve happiness, engagement and productivity. Not only do healthy catered lunches communicate gratitude towards talent and support focus, they’re a tool for a healthy culture and happy employees.
Corporate Essentials and Martin + Fitch offer a wide array of options for NJ office catering, including a full-service range of options designed to revolutionize food service in the workplace. Through our partnership with a collection of James Beard Award honored chefs, our catering options range well beyond the typical sandwich trays and boxed lunches many associate with corporate catering services. Our catering experts can also assist organizations with venues, equipment and other necessities beyond the menu.
