Employee engagement has grown stagnant, much to the chagrin of companies and management. The extent of actively disengaged employees has grown to an all-time high — costing organizations $1.9 trillion in lost productivity. Your company may be following a similar path, but how do you address the issue?
The answer may lie in team lunch programs.
By offering team meal programs on top of other benefits and perks, you improve company culture, bolster morale, and encourage open communication and collaboration. Though the idea is relatively straightforward, implementing a new team lunch program is an arduous and tedious task.
To alleviate the hassles and streamline operations, you need to use one of the top platforms for team lunch programs. Discover what to look for and some of the best software solutions to design the best program possible.
Team lunch programs are simple at first glance. You call a restaurant or catering business, choose your menu items, and set a date. However, this system ignores some of the nuances of the program and can be excessively time-consuming.
By using one of the top platforms for team lunch programs, you can excel in your time management initiatives while keeping your employees happy and fed. Look for some of these top features to ensure your lunch platform meets your specific needs, price concerns, and more.
Flexibility is an integral component of any team lunch platform, especially with regard to your work arrangements. Whether you have in-person lunches or need to send food delivery to your remote team, your team lunch platform should have the right functions and flexibility.
A top platform for team lunch programs should simplify this process through a variety of features, including online ordering systems, numerous vendors to choose from, and multiple delivery options.
Old-school cafeterias or catering services often lack healthy and diverse menu options. This can lead to food waste, poor turnouts for team lunches, and a lack of suitable foods for team members with dietary restrictions.
The top platforms for team lunch programs eliminate these shortfalls by partnering with top-tier food services and caterers or offering lunch ideas and menu planning from national or local restaurants.
In many aspects of business, less is more — but when it comes to food for onsite and remote workers, the more options, the better.
Regardless of your industry, team-building activities can foster a sense of belonging and collaboration. During the workday, a team lunch gives employees the opportunity to converse about workflows or go off-topic and unwind — key aspects to improve mental wellness or build camaraderie.
With the right platform, you can use lunchtime to dive even deeper into engagement and culture with team-building integration. On-site teams can play trivia while they eat, while remote teams can enjoy Slack-based lunch and learns or virtual events. By integrating your team lunch program with team-building, you can achieve multiple goals at the same time.
Multiple payment options are a crucial aspect of any team lunch platform. When teams make their lunch orders, they should be able to use a company credit card, gift card, or stipend to make a purchase. Streamlined platforms should also facilitate an easy reimbursement process that returns money to the buyer quickly and without hassle.
The top platforms for team lunch programs make the entire process quick and simple from start to finish. However, the right platform for your needs is subjective. You should put a value on each platform component to accurately analyze the ideal one.
We’ve broken down some of the best available options so you don’t have to. Check out each of these platforms to see which one is the perfect fit for your team lunch program.
Hoppier isn’t a platform specifically for team lunch programs, but its gift card-based system allows you to easily set up a lunch and learn program that works for you. In just a few clicks, Hoppier enables you to design and implement lunch programs or meal stipends, including free rein over your budget, vendors, and more — plus, the ability to send the cards to recipients in over 60 countries. Here’s how it works.
Hoppier is a top platform for team lunch programs primarily because of its ease of use. Start by creating a program, adding your company logo, and setting a color scheme that reflects your company colors. Next, choose a dollar amount for each digital gift card and start and expiration dates so you’re always in control of your spending and timing — all while letting employees choose where and what they want to eat.
Finally, upload a CSV file of your employees’ email addresses and send your gift cards immediately. Each employee will receive the gift card and information on how to use it. It’s that simple!
Hoppier is also a premium choice for lunch team-building activities. If you have remote teams, set up lunch dates via Lunch Roulette or send virtual cards for lunch and learns. You can also use Hoppier’s free templates to set up meeting agendas, so you’re ready to engage your employees while they dine.
To add to the platform’s attractive features, Hoppier returns any unused funds left at gift card expiration to your account, jump-starting your next round of lunches or other initiatives.
Popular for providing food for school lunches and cafeterias around the globe, Sodexo is also a top platform for team lunch programs. The Sodexo Meal Pass is a physical meal card that functions just like a debit card. Employees go to their restaurant of choice, swipe the card at any POS system, enter the PIN, and they’re good to go.
What makes the Sodexo Meal Pass even more intriguing is the accompanying mobile app. Through the app, employees can view their purchases, change their PIN, and track their spending, ensuring there’s no waste or overspending.
“The meal voucher reinvented” is a bold slogan of any team lunch platform, but Swile hangs its hat on its innovative yet simple product. If you’re scheduling a team lunch but want to allow your employees to choose the food they want, the Swile Mastercard is an excellent feature.
Users can send the Mastercard in the mail fee-free to each employee, as well as reload the card or change the limit in real-time. You can also link a company credit card to the Swile card so that any overages are automatically paid for — perfect for pricey team lunches or traveling employees.
Swile also offers a handy app that employees can use to lock or unlock their card if it’s misplaced or stolen, change their PIN, or track their spending.
Since its inception, the famed food-delivery company has branched out from late-night fast food delivery to become a force in the corporate world. Grubhub Corporate Accounts is the business-centric portion of the company and one of the top platforms for team lunch programs.
Ordering flexibility is a key aspect of Grubhub, offering options for individual meals, group ordering, or catering. It also partners with more local restaurants than any other app, giving you the chance to give back to your community and shop local.
Another major benefit of Grubhub Corporate is that it has no sign-up or transaction fees, saving you money at every stage of your team lunch initiatives.
If you’re a company with a fully distributed or global team, being able to send food to your employees is integral. That’s just what Edenred’s “Ticket Restaurant” aims to achieve.
Available in both physical and digital cards in 45 countries, the “Ticket Restaurant” allows employees to purchase meals or snacks on their own, which is a great option for finicky eaters at team lunches.
Administrators will also find the Edenred platform easy to use. In just a few clicks, users can set spending limits, choose where employees can use the card, reload each card, and track spending.
DoorDash for Business is another one of the top platforms for team lunch programs, and with good reason. Through the DoorDash platform, group ordering is convenient and straightforward, even offering recurring orders through an online calendar.
If you’re doing a team lunch but want to give everyone the ability to choose their meal, a DoorDash for Business account provides $0 delivery fees, reduced service fees, and even 5% cash back if your employees pick up their order from the restaurant. Users will also enjoy 24/7 customer service from humans (not AI or bots) to rectify any issues with their account.
Employees have plenty of stressors at work and at home. Lunch shouldn’t be one of them. By using one of these top platforms for team lunch programs, you eliminate the expenses of dining while also boosting team engagement, productivity, and a stronger company culture.
Ultimately, the perfect lunch program platform is a matter of taste (no pun intended), but with multiple options, you should arrive at the ideal choice for your company’s needs.
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
Ready to 2x your global engagement at your next event, with Ox stress?
Make Hoppier your unfair advantage today, schedule a demo
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