A lot of research is going into understanding ways to motivate staff to boost productivity more so in academia and business. And as good economic news continue to come out of the blocks and companies under increasing pressure to raise pay packs for their staff, is not a good time to consider free lunch arrangements for your staff? This can be one sure way to boost staff morale and hence productivity.

Free Lunch Boosts Staff Morale

In the immediate years gone by when the economy was not performing to all cylinders, few would argue when company executives tightened their belts pulling back on spending while rebuilding company accounts. A Staff lunch arrangement would have been one of those last things a company would think about. But the economy is rebuilding strongly and a lot of other good factors like low fuel costs are also in the mix. And the campaign to raise pay packs is slowly gaining momentum alongside all this.

But most importantly, the coming years will signal a return to higher performance expectations from executives. And one sure way to ensure goof performance is through building staff morale.

When staff love their job and morale is high, they will not only feel the most loyal to the company they work for but work harder too on set targets. There is every reason staff will be content with their job offering and spend less time looking out for greener pastures so to say. This takes the strain off the HR department on endless recruitment for the same positions. With the cost of hiring new staff which accounts for lost output and logistical costs of getting that new guy in estimated at over £30,000, it’s clear why staff retention is important in ensuring performance and success of a business.

Happy staff will make you money, and when they’re not, they will cost you. In short, one way to build your staff morale and build company loyalty which may end up saving you money in the long run is providing staff lunch facilities.

We are all acutely aware either from personal experience or through friends the difference in work experience and morale staff with free lunch as part of their perks will show. Even something like a fully fitted kitchen or free lunch vouchers to an onsite restaurant or one next door does make a lot of difference. Free meals don’t just save your staff some money but offsetting daily food expenditure, they save them time too. In the mornings, staff would have to spend some time to get their dinner prepared, time that they could benefit from while keeping work time clear.

By having lunch arrangements, staff will feel much more appreciated in their work, and cheeky as it may sound, many will stay put because they are offered free food. These free lunch sessions also serve another hidden but important purpose, engagement. Instead of staff veering off to the nearest café or sandwich shop or park to catch up on their lunch, there is engagement and interaction between employees as well as managers often during these free meal times since everyone will generally have lunch at the same time.

It’s these factors that make workplace free lunches worthwhile and of benefit to most businesses that can offer them. Not only does it raise morale it also fosters staff interaction during meal time conversations that would’ve otherwise not taken place.

Free Lunch Helps with Staff Health

Who still doesn’t know that a healthy staff saves you money for exactly the same reasons outlined earlier? Unhealthy staff cost business through missed work days, lower productivity, or higher costs for company health insurance. It’s a win-win situation when staff stay healthy and maintain healthy lifestyles. Am sure some would be wondering what this has to do with providing a free lunch perks for staff? Well, Everything!

By making a decision to provide work place lunch to your staff, you in a way get an opportunity to determine what they eat for at least one meal five days per week. This might not necessarily mean a lot in their overall health plan, but it’s one step on helping them. Many will not normally worry in the morning the quality of food that goes into their lunch box, as it’s all about getting ready for work at that time. However with a well-planned healthy menu, this can more than often transform staff and open their minds up to healthy eating habits, even when they go back to their homes. This surely can only be a good thing!

Free Lunch Helps you Get More out of Staff

A work place lunch arrangement can also mean staff keep engaged with work during the lunch break during their interactions. Of course it’s important that staff get break between work, and what a better way to keep then engaged informally even as they are catching up on their lunch. Such creative ways such as engagement through digital signage in the eating hall littered with work messages can keep staff working which will result in less expense and deliver higher revenues through higher productivity.

Well, you know now, go ahead, make it a New Year plan to reintroduce that much feted lunch hour if you want to stay ahead of your competition.

The Author is the CEO/Founder Quick Buffet a Manchester based Caterers Market place, for caterers by caterers. We’re savvy, self-driven and focused on delivering solutions that help our customers with their event needs, for any event, be it a wedding, corporate or private.

Contact: Joas Serugga
Email: info@quickbuffet.co.uk
Telephone: 03333 442241
Web: www.quickbuffet.co.uk