Sometimes, particularly in a larger business, it is difficult for everyone to enjoy all the break room has to offer. Maybe your company grew quickly and your break room spaces had to be sacrificed to make way for more desks; perhaps your business expanded into the next building, and the next one, and the break room is just inconvenient for everyone to gather in.
Or, maybe you are just trying to find a way to reach out and connect disparate groups of people with the benefit that office coffee can bring them – whatever the case, we have six great tips for making your office coffee cart the absolute best it can be.
1. Ask for Input
Before you start work on the new office coffee cart, ask for input from staff across the board. If there is really only one area where the cart can be located, you should still consider opinions from everyone about:
- What office coffee products would be enjoyed.
- When the peak times for demand might be.
- Other specialty items that might be useful.
- What is missing from your other on-site coffee venues.
One thing that all these years in the office coffee industry has taught us is that people like to be able to provide input on these matters – even if their choices do not make the final cut, knowing they were allowed to contribute to the process goes a long way in perpetuating an air good will.
2. Keep it Fresh
Whatever coffee products are selected, committing to providing an office coffee cart puts at least some pressure on you to ensure that the coffee offered there does not stagnate. This applies to the menu of office coffee products as much as the daily brew.
So to avoid disappointment, ensure a variety of new products appear on the menu throughout the seasons – and be sure the stock on hand is as fresh as possible by working closely with your office coffee service to dial in the requirements for your new cart.
3. Serve Something Special
Particularly where the new office coffee cart is designed to augment an already existing break room, add a little sizzle to the menu and a little buzz to your cart, by providing something unique. This serves to stimulate interest in the cart by people across the organization who might not otherwise trek to the fifth floor.
And, particularly if you involve people in selecting rotating “specials” on the menu, it gives those who are regularly served by the new cart a certain pride in their contribution(s) to the menu.
4. Make it Engaging
We have already mentioned the importance of asking your colleagues for input here today – but the beauty of office coffee is its true power to bring people together, so use your new coffee cart to capitalize on that.
The office coffee cart can be an additional outpost for the reciprocal culture that your break room established – provide feedback forms, suggestion boxes or an ongoing survey on your intranet to encourage staff to give their opinions and recommendations. And, let the open nature of the coffee cart provide a backdrop for interactive tastings, brew-off events and other entertainment functions that will draw staff together from time to time.
5. Detailed Design
One thing that is easy to overlook when you are putting together a coffee cart for the office is the overall look and feel of the cart itself. This is a great opportunity to showcase the design skills people in your firm might have that otherwise go overlooked – having a contest to design signage or create a theme for the coffee cart are great ways to involve your coworkers in the creative process of establishing a new office coffee cart.
6. The Little Things
Creating an office coffee cart that caters to a wide array of tastes in a compact space is not impossible – but we know it is far from easy. Think about maximizing functionality but shrinking the footprint of things overall – a solid, versatile office coffee maker like the Cafection Total Lite Brewer can really shine in a setting like this.
The bonus of a flexible brewer is that you have more space for all those different sweeteners, creamers and other personal touches people need to make their caffeine dreams come true.
If you are looking to branch out and take your break room desk side, the team here at Corporate Essentials would relish the challenge of helping you set up a bespoke office coffee cart. From innovative product suggestions to standard workhorse equipment and supplies, your office coffee concierge can help you make informed choices that lead to an awesome coffee experience for everyone in your workplace.
