5 Tips on How to Budget for Office Catering
Dreaming of catering your next office party, hoping to promote health in your office, or looking to provide an additional benefit to employees? Turn to corporate lunch catering!
While corporate lunch catering earns you money through increased productivity and decreased sick days, the initial cost can be a challenge to budget for.
Refer to these five tips on how to budget the next time you’re looking into office catering.
Ask about discounts and negotiate fees.
Does your company have a large car? Ask if you can pick-up your order to skip the delivery cost. And if you’re ordering for a large party, ask if the caterer offers discounts depending on the size of the order.
And instead of ordering individual meals for each employee, opt for buffet style. Not only is it more convenient and cost effective, you’re likely to satisfy employees with dietary restrictions.
Start a lunch collection.
If your employees are all for office lunch but you can’t fit the entire cost in your budget, start a collection. Each week collect $5 from every employee and commit to match each contribution with at least $5 from the company. Depending on how many employees participate, you may be able to order lunch monthly or even weekly. (Be sure to limit lunch to only those employees who contribute to the collection.)
Consider it a teambuilding activity.
More companies are on board with team building whether through office retreats, holiday decorating, and now corporate lunch. Enjoying a meal together builds camaraderie and helps your employees develop deeper working relationships. Therefore, if you have money in a teambuilding or “happiness” budget, office lunch certainly applies.
Think about drinks.
Ordering or not ordering drinks is a top question when hiring a corporate lunch caterer. If your budget is tight, skip the drinks but be sure to stock your office vending machine. It could offset some of the lunch cost.
Include it in your employee benefits package.
More employees would prefer new or additional benefits to a pay raise, one of them being office lunch. The next time HR recommends re-evaluating your current benefits package, suggest include office lunch from a healthy caterer. The benefit will pay back your company many times over.
With a bit of budgeting your company can afford office lunch catering. Not only will your employees be satisfied, they’re also likely to be more productive.
Meet Rootasters:
Meg is a dreamer, entrepreneur, and homesteader based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She loves her cats, feasting, and road trips in her green VW Bug.