The Bay Area economy will have a slow, steady reopening as we move through the rest of 2020. This means businesses will start to rebalance work-from-home assignments with in-office work. The small-pod approach may be where people start: Small groups of employees who work together each day as long as the members of the group remain constant.
Social distancing rules in public may still apply, as well. This means people may have less chance to head out to lunch when they return to an office.
As a result, we already see a rise in office meal delivery. This offers an opportunity to managers to have the work “pod” gather over lunch as a team-building, employee-engagement opportunity.
Lunch Catering Builds Employee Engagement
There are three options for using a team lunch as an engagement method:
Home-Packed Bag Lunches – this is the lowest-key approach. The team members bring their own lunches into the break room and eat lunch together.
Catered Box Lunches – Give the team a treat by ordering lunch for them. Caterers like Handheld Catering offer special menus for boxed lunch catering services. Benefits include the ability of each employee to order their own item.
Self-Service Catered Lunch – This is the most formal option. A lunch with hot entrees and sides is ordered with staff input on the menu. The Caterer delivers the serving equipment and sets up the serving area, then steps aside to allow the employee “pod” to serve themselves lunch observing the hygiene protocols set up by their pod. When the gathering is over and the group departs, the caterer returns to collect its equipment.
Reconnect and Re-engage Work Groups with Lunch Gatherings
The disruption caused by the hurried switch to remote working last March has had a material impact on team cohesiveness. Online chats and virtual team meetings only go so far in keeping co-workers connected. Managers must revive morale and collaboration by scheduling social interactions like team lunches. This speeds the process of renewing efficiency and productivity.
Handheld Catering has had some very creative recent engagements with small groups to help them run these intimate lunch or afternoon training sessions. How may we help you regain team cohesion and productivity?
Call us for ideas at 408-692-4782
Or get the conversation started using the chat box on this page, or by sending us a note here.
We look forward to having that conversation with you!
