When you organise a meeting at work, it can often be met with a sense of dread. People might feel that their time will be better spent elsewhere, or that the subject matter will be dry and boring.

They may not want to travel or could have been looking forward to a trip to the deli down the road instead of working through lunch. Whatever their concerns might be, every event can be made better by bringing food into it, so think about how your meetings can be enhanced through office catering.

In this article, Workplace Refreshments we take a look at how you can make your meetings that little bit more appealing through the use of some specialist office catering.

Make life more exciting

Whilst most of us are used to a few biscuits to accompany a meeting, using office catering means that you can make everything a little bit more exciting. Instead of playing it safe, why not bring in something a little bit different?

Try choosing food from a particular part of the world, such as India, Japan or Mexico! Alternatively, why not work around a theme such as Christmas, Halloween or St Patrick’s Day?

You could pick up on a major even taking place in the world such as the Olympics or the World Cup. Whatever you choose, it is sure to make the meeting more exciting and is a great way to get people talking.

Be brand aware

When you choose food for your meeting, you need to be conscious of whether it fits in with your brand. This might mean matching it to the personality of the brand or keeping particular values in mind when planning your menu.

Time of day

Where possible, you should try and plan your food options based around the time of day. Producing hot coffee with bagels, almond croissants and chocolate twists at breakfast time will make people feel much better about coming into work early. Later meetings might need something that is more representative of a formal meal, whilst late afternoon gatherings will probably call for sandwiches, tea and scones.

Make sure that you don’t plan anything spicy too early in the day, and if the food is likely to smell, make sure that no-one is booked into your meeting room after you or you could make yourself very unpopular. Buffets can work at any time of the day, and they also encourage movement and socialisation, making them a big hit at many types of meetings.

Be inclusive

Many meetings keep it simple in order to keep everyone happy, but you could look at offering food especially developed for every need. If you have anyone with intolerances or you have vegans or vegetarians in attendance, make sure that there is food made specifically for them, rather than trying to just provide something that everyone can eat.

This is a great way to make sure that everyone feels fully included and considered, particularly if they are used to just making do.

Sharing

Sharing is caring, so making use of things such as sharing platters or tables can be a really good ice-breaker. As people gather over a baked camembert or chocolate fountain, they are more likely to let their guards down and conversation can flow more freely.

Go retro

If you are looking to inject a little fun and create a talking point, then why not go a little retro with your food? Try to gather food that will serve as reminders of childhood, school dinners or a work memory to help people to relax and share thoughts and experiences.

Make an impression

If your meeting needs to make a good impression, then food can be a great way to do this. Use catering options that look interesting, exciting and professional to help people come away feeling good about their experiences with you. This can be best achieved by using outside catering to create showstopping food that will make everyone smile.

Stay focused

It is a fact that meetings can often run on longer that we would like them too, and this can let to your delegates becoming hungry. Once we are hungry, we can lose focus and concentration and become irritable and agitated. Having food on hand can make sure everyone gets the fuel that they need to stay on track, and you are much more likely to get some positive results from your meeting.

Networking

Meetings are intended to be a good way to bring people together either from within the workplace or from outside of it, but it doesn’t always work out this way. There can be a tendency for people who know each other to stick together, or for those feeling out of place to simply stay quiet.

Corporate catering is a great way to get everyone talking as it is incredibly effective at breaking down barriers. Whether it is asking someone to pass the salt, laughing over some misshapen fruit or simply extolling the virtues of delicious food, your catering can be a great way to get conversation started. Once this happens, the atmosphere can become more friendly and any attempts at networking tend to be more successful.

Feeling valued

When you arrive at a meeting, if the only thing that you are offered is a cup of coffee then you might wonder why you bothered. It is important to make people feel as though their time is valuable, and you can show this through the food that you offer. When you appear to have made an effort for them, it is more likely to be recognised and reciprocated, bringing about more fruitful results.

Food is not just fuel; it is an experience and so it can also help your meetings feel like one. By changing what would usually be expected, you can impact on how people feel and how they work while they are there. This means your meetings will be taken to the next level and could lead to some much more exciting and productive results.