How To Work With Caterer Companies For Great Working Lunches

The working lunch is an underrated method for increasing worker productivity, developing corporate culture, and making the most out of your normal business hours. There are always occasions (especially in industries with “busy seasons”) when you may need to ask for more from your employees, and working lunches provide a great way to show your appreciation for them while asking them to put in some extra time.

However, pulling off a great working lunch isn’t as simple as just ordering in some food from Grubhub or your nearest sandwich shop. A better option is to work with caterer companies, who have plenty of great ideas and techniques for helping your business take your working lunch to the next level. With that goal in mind, here are some of the best tips and considerations for making the most of working with caterer companies to organize and host a working lunch that benefits your business, your employees, and their stomachs!

Tip #1: Plan out the formality, goals, and structure of your working lunch

While caterer companies have menus and ideas for all types of working lunches, the more you figure out the goals of your event ahead of time, the more you can make it clear to your caterer what will be needed to help the lunch go smoothly and productively. Before you reach out to the caterer, consider the following important planning questions first:

• How long do you want your working lunch to be? A normal lunch hour, or an all-afternoon affair? You may also want to consider creatively scheduling the lunch itself, if there are speakers or presentations, to help maximize attention and engagement.

• Is this a formal or informal event? Your menu can reflect the tone that you wish to set for your staff.
• Is the goal team-building, or purely productivity? A team-building lunch offers options for interactive food displays or creative catering ideas that make icebreaking or networking more effortless and productive.
• Traditional or innovative? If you want to make your working lunch stand out from the pack, your caterer may have some innovative ideas for serving, creating, and packaging your food to keep your employees or clients talking long afterwards.

Tip #2: Consult your caterer for advice, tips, and best practices on making a working lunch successful

This may sound like common sense, but often the best resource for helping with the planning process is the caterer company itself. With experience working with a variety of clients, and helping to organize and create similar events, your caterer offers a wealth of knowledge that you can tap into to avoid having to do all of the brainstorming yourself. Here are just a few of the areas that your caterer can offer guidance in:

• Picking the right menu and food service options to match the goals of your event
• Helping you structure the seating and organization of the food service itself, to ensure that the actual work being done isn’t disrupted
• Working with your office or business budget to craft a creative menu that goes beyond the typical lunch offerings and stands out from normal working lunches
• If clients or peers will be involved, your caterer can help you decide on some memorable ideas for incorporating your brand seamlessly into the food service itself.

Tip #3: Consider disrupting the traditional working lunch with creative ideas and activities

While a formal working lunch may not call for this, for companies attempting to inject some fun and innovation into their working lunches, there are numerous creative ideas out there that can make your working lunch feel less like work and more like a unique experience that disrupts the day-to-day office environment. Here are some of the best to consider for your upcoming working lunch:

• Interactive food displays, like a make-your-own panini station or cupcake decorating station, can help get employees up and moving, perfect for keeping the event energy high and improving collaboration and networking
• Incorporating brainstorming games or puzzles into stages of the event (or even the food service itself) can also help with team-building and idea generation
• For a working lunch with set deliverables (like finishing project milestones or outstanding tasks), you could offer up tasty treats as a reward every time an employee finishes a chosen task

Tip #4: Go beyond a one-time event, and consider making creative working lunches something that your employees and clients anticipate and expect

Creating a productive and rewarding office culture is never an easy task, especially so if your business operates in a competitive or high-stress industry. That’s why finding easy, convenient ways to get employees and clients excited about working together is incredibly important for increasing employee retention, productivity, and the happiness of workers in any industry.

For this reason, you should always consider finding ways to make creative working lunches a regular and anticipated part of your office culture. From the traditional “Taco Tuesdays” of the past, to some of the newer and more groundbreaking ideas we’ve listed here, employees love events like this that can disrupt the normal day-to-day, or even serve as an important mental break during especially busy times at the workplace. 

While your budget or your schedule may not allow for a weekly or monthly event, numerous studies show the correlation between productive working lunches and long-term benefits for employees and the business as a whole. Give your first creative working lunch a try, and if you see the benefits, you should expect even more from making it a regular affair for your office or company.

Hire a Leading SF Catering Company for Your Next Event

Need to hire a top-quality SF catering company for your next event? Contact Left Coast Catering today and discover how we can enhance your big day with elegant, interesting, and delicious foods and event management!