Food is a fantastic resource for bringing people together. All around the world, food is a way to strengthen communities and cultures, bring joy, and even unite people with opposing ideas. When it’s done right, the power of food knows no bounds.
Within company cultures, food is an underutilized resource. Providing your staff with a free meal inspires all sorts of positive benefits, including happier staff, increased loyalty, employee retention, and higher productivy. According to Entrepreneur, well-fed employees are more focused, more productive, and can potentially earn an return on investment of 150%.
Food is one of those things capable of igniting all five of the human senses simultaneously. We can see beautifully plated dishes filled with color while we smell and taste delicious flavors. We can hear the crunch of crisp ingredients and feel the velvety textures. When we eat, all of our human senses work together to create a memorable experience, and along with that memory is a sense of grattitude toward the source: your company.
Invest in Your People
Yes, food is powerful. It’s capable of creating memories and influencing people’s moods. We know full people are happy people, but what benefit do happy people bring? According to Forbes, happy employees are a key to unlocking serious profits.
For instance, companies ranking on “best to work for” lists experience greater revenue increases, on average, than their unranked counterparts. Similarly, these companies attract new hires at a rate 5x greater than the national average.
I know you might be thinking: “We need to make our employees happy!” And that’s great. There are lots of ways to create a culture of happiness for your business: fair wages, quality benefits, sharing profits, and creating spaces for fun within the workplace. While any and all of these options can lead to a happier workforce, I’m going to talk about how great food contributes to your culture.
Employee Appreciation Builds Morale
For all the fantastic benefits food brings to the workplace, most companies don’t have an unrestrained budget or the resources to make free, quality food a priority. But most do have the capacity to reap the benefits of bringing employees together for meals, like increasing your staff’s communication and productivity.
Considering that workplaces with heightened communication and productivity also report happier employees, less sick and personal days, lower instances of employee burnout, and higher annual revenues, investing in food might be worth it after all.
When you’re faced with the task of catering for a corporate event, take a moment to think about what you’re telling your employees with your menu choice. Will you choose a pasta bar where everyone can fill up a plate and sit together like family, or maybe a party platter where everyone can stay standing and socializing as they hold a snack in one hand and a cocktail in the other?
Cutting Edge Catering St. Cloud Caters Corporate Events
When it comes to menu options for corporate events, consider putting into the catering what you hope to get out of it. This St. Cloud caterer believes in the impact good food can have on company culture and productivity. Good food makes for full bellies, involved conversation, and positive effects that last much longer than a meal.
