A Step-By-Step Guide to Organizing Team Lunch

Want to organize your team lunch but don’t know how or where to start? This article will tell you all you need to consider.
by
Megan Ballingall

The benefits of a staff team lunch are endless, especially in a competitive modern office where deadlines are quick, productivity is vital, and clients need to be satisfied. Without enough glucose throughout the day, our brains get tired, and focus becomes increasingly difficult. So, as an employer, it’s important to make time for staff meals.

There is also the added value in bringing remote workers into the office to reap all of these delicious, crunchy perks. Bringing people into the office in real life has a bunch of benefits that are collaborative and productive. Mostly, it’s about creating a team that’s as cohesive and in sync as possible, which is the dream of any office manager.

But with everybody on different deadlines and the workplace being the untameable beast that is, how do you organize staff lunches? Getting everybody to eat at the same time might be a challenge, so boxed lunch catering might be your best bet. Otherwise, there are many ways that you can organize recurring staff lunches on a daily basis. In this article, we will look at the steps that you can take to lead everybody to take a productive break at a time that suits them.

The Benefits of Team Lunches

  1. Camaraderie. Lunches are a perfect time to build camaraderie between employees, which often results in higher levels of collaboration and more cohesive teamwork.
  2. Idea-sharing. It gives teammates the opportunity to share ideas, especially for sessions like lunch & learns. Otherwise, it’s simply a great time to bond and kick back.
  3. Boost productivity. Team lunches allow employees to rest up, which imbues them with a greater productivity level when they return to their desks.
  4. Collaboration. Bonding makes employees better at communicating with one another, which streamlines their collaboration. Plus, that extra energy will come in handy!
  5. Work-life balance. This is the ultimate solution to the Jack Torrence issue of all work and no play. Team lunches break up the day and give everybody something fun to look forward to.

Organizing a Team Lunch

Now you’re sold on the team lunch benefits, then comes the question of how to host a team lunch. There are many work modes and dietary preferences to consider, so leave no stone unturned and make it as good as it can be for everyone involved. With that in mind, here is a basic strategy to get the ball rolling.

1. Gather Ideas

In order to get a full idea of the dietary needs of everybody in the office, make the process collaborative. How about a suggestions box or a group chat where employees can share their favorite local spots and lunch ideas? This way, no matter what kind of food you are ordering, you have it as a reference point for that order.

2. Consider Dietary Preferences

Diet must be accounted for. Many people don’t eat certain foods, whether this is a personal preference or for health reasons, for instance, but this step is important because it keeps the process inclusive and ensures that everyone is getting a fulfilling meal.

3. Order Through a Reliable Platform

Then comes the platform through which you order it. This step is fundamental, as this is how you make the process simple, convenient, and quick. For these reasons, you will want to order your staff lunches through a reliable, user-friendly platform like Ritual.

4. Evaluate Your Purposes

Recurring staff lunches can be utilized in all sorts of ways. It might be because you have deadlines incoming and are unable to step away from the desk, or it could be budget-related or ordered in for the purpose of lunch & learns. In any case, office lunch has the benefit of streamlining your day.

5. Reintroduce for Staff Events

The other scenario is staff events, whether formal or informal. Through platforms like Ritual, you can easily order a meal of your choosing from top local restaurants and coffee shops nearby your office. Ritual can be used to bring staff together, for instance, to celebrate a holiday or an employee milestone. Encouraging staff back into the office using real-life interaction with other humans has scientifically proven benefits. Really!

The Conclusion

Organizing a team lunch comes down to communication and inclusion, and its purpose is pragmatic: to simplify the lunch process and improve things like camaraderie and collaboration that much more.

After that, it’s all about the platform. Ritual for Companies provides you with a social and user-friendly way to implement recurring employee meals for the whole office. Start your program today and roll the purple carpets down for the grand entrance of your team lunches!

Megan Ballingall
Megan Ballingall