7 Cool Plans to Make Your Office Catering Time Fun for Your Employees

Office catering can be one of the more stressful parts of your workday. Finding a restaurant with enough options to suit everyone, trying to meet dietary restrictions, and ensuring that your employees stay healthy are all things you need to consider when arranging a lunch meeting.

A recent study by ResumeBuilder reflects that more and more companies want their employees back in the office, with 66% of employers who want their staff available to the office for work.

At the same time, 90% of employers are working on making their employees come to the office to work by 2023. Around 88% of businesses are offering perks like office food catering, travel benefits, and better pay to encourage staff to come and work from the office.

While catering seems to be the best way to keep them motivated, you should plan for catering services that keep your employees involved in the workplace. The article lets you take some of this tension out by looking at ways to make office catering fun and easy.

Celebrate Milestones.

Every time there’s a big milestone at your office, take the time to celebrate it with an event that goes above and beyond the normal Friday happy hour. It could mean anything from throwing an elaborate birthday party for one of your employees to hosting a summer barbeque in the park with all your staff members’ families.

Don’t forget those who have been with you since day one. Celebrate their years of service by throwing them a surprise celebration where they can enjoy some cake and reminisce on how far they’ve come.

Celebrating milestones also encourages a sense of belonging to the company. The employees feel more engaged with such events and thus more productive.

Research by Zippia states that businesses with higher employee engagement rates are 21% more profitable than their competition. The research also states that 54% of the American workforce is little or not at all engaged with their work. However, office events and milestone celebrations can enhance their sense of engagement toward work.

Plan a Weekly or Monthly Office Happy Hour

One of the best ways to build relationships and have fun with coworkers is to plan a weekly or monthly office happy hour. It can be a great way for your employees to get to know each other better and make it easier for them to collaborate on projects.

You must plan these events, so everyone knows when they’ll be taking place. Also, make sure you choose a different location each time. You want this event to be fresh. Here are some happy hour ideas:

• BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze)
• Karaoke at a local karaoke bar with plenty of food options available nearby. Ask people what songs they would like beforehand so that everyone has fun singing together.
• A scavenger hunt that ends at an ice cream truck.

Make it Fun and Educational.

You can make your employee’s meals fun and educational by offering cooking classes. It will allow them to learn how to cook healthy and delicious dishes they can also prepare for their families. Depending on what you have available in your office, you can also pair the food with wine or other drinks.

A variation on this idea is hosting a food and wine pairing class where employees learn which wines go well with certain types of food. It allows them to enjoy their meals even more while learning something new.

Create Themed Lunches.

Another way to make your office catering time fun is to create themed lunches. Themes can be anything, and there are many different ways that you can theme a lunch. Here are some examples:

• Italian-themed lunch
• Mexican-themed lunch
• Greek-themed lunch

You can have simple themes with just a couple of food items or complex themes with multiple courses and decorations. A seasonal theme is always nice if you’re aiming for something with less effort. There are also festive occasions like holidays and birthdays that will give you great ideas for themes.

Go Casual in the Conference Room.

If you want to turn the conference room into a more casual, relaxed space, put away your conference table and chairs. If there’s room for it, bring in some furniture from home. Your employees will be more likely to enjoy their lunch breaks if they feel at home instead of in an office environment.

It also helps if you use the conference room as a meeting area during work hours so that employees can meet with clients or customers while eating lunch. Again, this helps make them feel comfortable having conversations while enjoying their meal, and it won’t seem unusual once they get used to it.

Bring in a Food Truck.

Food trucks are a great way to get food delivered to your office. IBISWorld claims that there are around 30,156 food truck businesses in the US as of 2022. The food truck industry has seen an increase of 8.2% over the past five years since 2017. The stats clearly show that Americans’ love for food trucks and street food is growing. Thus, having a food truck for your business to host an office event can be a good idea.

Food trucks can be themed to your company. For example, if you’re in the marketing department of an arts nonprofit and want an “artists-only” event, you could work with a local artist to design the vehicle and menu for this occasion.

Bringing a food truck into your office is a great way to celebrate milestones, like reaching ten years as an established business or having over 100 employees working simultaneously. In addition, this type of party can help build camaraderie among coworkers while they munch on snacks together around their lunch tables.

If there’s something specific about your company’s values or goals that you’d like employees to learn more about, consider bringing in a food truck themed around this topic. You might offer free desserts or snacks at meetings throughout the week on Mondays so that every employee gets some chocolate chip goodness.

Try Serving Breakfast Instead of Lunch.

The morning is a great time to get together with your employees, as it’s usually when everybody is most awake and energized.

Breakfast can also be a great way to start the workday on the right foot. Instead of rushing through everything to get lunch at noon, you can take your time and enjoy some good food while getting to know each other better over coffee or juice.

Breakfast foods are healthier than lunch foods, so they’re an excellent option if you want your employees to eat healthier throughout their day. You may even save money by serving breakfast instead of lunch.

Office Lunches Can Brighten Your Day at Work

How you cater an office lunch can make a big difference in the day of everyone at work.

No matter what kind of business you are in, it is important to have fun at work. People who have fun at work will be more productive, and they will be happier overall. It means that catering an office lunch should always include entertainment so that having a good time is involved.

A good relationship with your coworkers and boss is also important for having a successful career. To build these relationships, it’s important to spend time with them outside of the office as well as inside the office.