One of the biggest challenges that companies big and small face is keeping employees happy. The change in dynamics of the workplace in recent years has potentially made it even more difficult, that change being what’s commonly referred to as perks. Companies are no longer fighting for customers, but for employees as well. In order to attract the best candidates, companies are raising the stakes by offering a multitude of perks such as:
- Remote working schedules
- Transportation reimbursement
- On-site fitness centers
But one of the biggest perks is providing access to free beverages and snacks. As noted in this Time article, 10% of employees are more likely to be happy with their employers when free snacks are offered. And, perhaps to no surprise, access to free food in the office is most important to millennials. As they are now the largest group in the workforce, passing Generation-Xers, office managers should take heed in these statistics to help attract (and keep) the best employees for your business.
Providing snacks to help employees get through the workday is quickly becoming standard practice, so where do you begin?
Different Ways to Purchase Snacks
There are different ways to get snacks for your office. How your business operates, and the time and money available, will largely determine what approach you take to providing free snacks for employees. Here are three options:
Vending Machines
Vending machines are the old school way of providing snacks and beverages for employees. Even though most vending machines require payment for items, you can avoid this by purchasing the equipment and maintaining it yourself, or subsidizing the items and have a vending company service the machines.
Grocery Shopping
Some offices have a designated employee that will go grocery shopping for everyone. This person will go to a local grocery store as often as necessary to get the items requested. Wholesalers like Costco and Sam’s Club are good for this strategy because you can buy product in bulk and save money.
These two options might work well for certain offices, but they aren’t without one major shortcoming: they’re time-consuming. It takes at least a couple of hours to go grocery shopping, and vending machines can be a hassle to manager on your own.
That’s where the third option comes in.
Snack Delivery Service
Many companies are finding office coffee and refreshment services as the answer to providing snacks. With this option, you have access to a full range of snacks, beverages, and coffee products that can be delivered right to your office.
Which Approach to Offering Free Snacks is Right For Your Office?
There are some important questions to ask before making a final decision about how your company will go about providing beverages and snacks for your employees.
- What is your budget?
- How much time can you allot to ordering snacks?
- What kind of items do your employees want?
The cost of getting product delivered to your location varies and will largely depend on how many employees are in your office, and the time it takes to get all the items and put them on the shelves or in the cabinets needs to be considered. You’ll want to take a survey from your employees and see what kind of drinks and snacks they like. The answers to these questions will guide you towards a final decision.
Just Be Sure To Avoid These Mistakes
Mistake # 1: Choosing a service that delivers in bulk.
Some services can provide all the items you want, but can only deliver in large quantities. Unless you have the space to store all the extra product, this approach can be cumbersome. It could also lead to expired products if employees aren’t going through them fast enough.
Mistake # 2: Not keeping track of your orders.
When signing up for an office coffee or snack delivery service, you want an easy way to keep records of everything you purchased. This makes it easy for accounting to process invoices, and for insights into what type of products your employees prefer. A platform like Supply Wizards provides an easy way to order and track your purchases.
Where to From Here?
You should have a pretty good idea of what direction your office wants to take when it comes to providing snacks and beverages for employees. Each one is a good choice if it works for your office. Whichever path you choose, just be sure that it benefits employees and the business altogether.