Our Head of Talent Alex Jones knows a thing or two about attracting top candidates to the right roles. And providing tasty food perks for employees is an important part of that! Today, Alex lets us know more about how food can help attract and retain talent in the ‘next normal’.
Did you know that 41% of employees would be more likely to join a business if it provided regular hot lunches for free*? That’s a pretty substantial figure. And since starting my career in recruitment and talent acquisition, I’ve found that food perks really do play an important role.
Bringing the team together, saving employees time and money, celebrating successes, promoting healthy habits, encouraging breaks and much more. There are so many great reasons to feed your teams at work - and attracting and retaining top talent is one of them.
As the workforce becomes increasingly more populated by Millennials, we have to listen to their wants and needs and adapt our workplace culture and benefits accordingly. A study by KPMG found that Millennials prioritise work culture. They want to enjoy their working experience, socialise with co-workers, and celebrate the small successes as well as the large. There’s no doubt that food at work can help contribute to all those desires.
According to our own 2019 YouGov survey, almost 60% of employees said sitting down regularly for a meal with colleagues promotes a positive work culture and 45% would be more likely to stay at a business if it provided a free hot meal once a day.
Let that sink in.
And the evidence doesn’t stop there. Our 2020 Workplace Benefits report revealed that food is a favourite benefit among office managers and employees. It’s also the most used workplace benefit, which shows that free food at work is something that everyone can enjoy, unlike more specific benefits like cycle-to-work schemes, for example.
While we may have to keep a 2-metre distance from our co-workers at the moment, just the action of getting food delivered to the office and eating at the same time contributes to that positive culture and sense of belonging. Even if it’s not quite the same as the real deal, socially distanced team lunches aren’t forever and we’ll be around the table again soon enough.
But we have to remember that it’s not just food in the office that makes a great company culture. With many businesses adopting a more flexible, hybrid approach to work post-pandemic, providing workplace benefits like free food to remote teams too is equally important. Ideally, we should be aiming for parity in benefits, so no one misses out.
That’s why at Just Eat for Business we offer both office food deliveries and at-home solutions. We make it easy for companies to provide great food to their employees wherever they’re based. In a nutshell, we’re here to help company culture - and employee satisfaction - thrive in the ‘next normal’.
At the end of the day, food may not be the ultimate deciding factor that makes a candidate apply for, accept or stay in a job. Salary, career progression, flexibility and overall company culture all play a huge role too. But food is certainly a big attraction and it shouldn’t be ignored when you’re planning your post-pandemic talent and retention strategy.
So, go ahead and order a feast for your first day back in the office!
*Just Eat for Business’s 2019 YouGov survey
Want to provide delicious work perks to your teams in and out of the office? Click the button below to find out more about Just Eat for Business and how we can help you.
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