Having to attend meetings is a fact of working life. It is, however, not necessarily a welcome one. The key to breaking down resistance to meetings is to make sure they deliver value. It also definitely helps if you can make them enjoyable. Providing the right catering can help with both points. Here at Workplace Refreshments, specialists in office buffet delivery in Nottingham, share their must-know tips on what you need to know.
How The Right Catering Can Help Improve Moral and Engagement
Catering can make your meetings more productive by getting people motivated, encouraging them to network and helping them to focus.
1. Gesture of appreciation
Proving catering in a meeting shows that you appreciate people’s time. The better you match the catering to the occasion, the more effective this is. For example, many people will have a tea/coffee break mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon.
If you schedule a meeting around this time, people may resent the loss of their break. If, however, you provide hot drinks, attendees can still get their caffeine fix. If you provide high-quality coffee and some nice snacks, you have an active draw. This helps to get meetings off to a good start and you can build on that.
2. Encourages people to connect with each other
You can force people to attend meetings, but you can’t force them to comfort zone with each other. You can, however, lay the ground for them to do so. Providing the right catering is often integral to this. If appealing catering is provided then, generally, people will naturally gravitate towards it. This will help to get them to talk to each other.
If you don’t provide catering at times when people normally eat and/or drink then they are likely to bring their own food/drinks or wait. At best they will focus on their own food. At worst they will get hungry and thirsty. This could well end up with them becoming hangry.
3. Helps keep energy levels high
Food and drink really are fuel. It can therefore be extremely helpful to allow people to refuel during your meeting. Remember, it’s very possible that people may be squeezing your meeting in between everything else they have to do. They may not have had time for a proper break to eat and/or drink. Enabling them to top up their energy levels will enable them to make a better contribution to your meeting.
What to consider when organising catering for meetings
Organising catering for meetings does not have to be hard. It does, however, tend to benefit from some advance planning. Here are the key points to consider.
1. The time of the meeting
Try to provide the sort of food and drink people would be eating and drinking at that time of day anyway. Also, keep the seasons in mind. In the warmer months, people might be perfectly happy with lighter food such as soups and salads. In the colder ones, however, people will probably prefer heavier, comfort food.
2. The practicalities
Make sure you’re clear on dietary requirements. Try to accommodate preferences as much as possible. Also, think about the practicalities of people eating. In particular, will people be standing or sitting? Either way, will they have access to tables? Also, think about business waste disposal and clearing and cleaning the room after people have eaten.
How much time do you have to organise catering?
If you want food to be prepared specifically for your meeting, you must provide sufficient notice. In general, the amount of notice required will depend on the size and complexity of your order.
With that said, it’s certainly possible to provide good catering at short, or even no, notice. You will simply be restricted to ready-made foods that can be purchased locally.
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