Showing staff they are valued – Food and drink!

As well as thinking about the communication, what can you do to help people feel better and take care of themselves with food and drink?

Firstly – drink more

I’m not talking about the alcoholic kind, but the everyday coffees, teas and cold drinks. Most offices have a kitchen area or coffee machines stocked with “okay” coffee, milk, sugar and sweeteners, along with mugs for staff and “nice” cups for the visitors. For years, this has been seen as sufficient. But not any longer and, for all sorts of reasons, people want other drinks – decaffeinated coffee, herbal and fruit teas, chilled water or juice and will bring their own favourites with them.

So, how about a visit to your local supermarket or corner store and stock up on fruit teas, herbal teas and decaff drinks? If you have a machine which only dipenses “standard” coffee, it probably has a button for hot water and, if not, a kettle will suffice.

For cold drinks, ignore bottled water – it takes about 2,000 times as much energy to produce, package and transport your litre of bottled water than it does to provide the same amount of tap water. And, the water in the UK is certainly safe and clean to drink! Maybe you could invest in a filter tap in the kitchen, or simply a filter jug plus a couple of water jugs to fit in the fridge. Take your turn to refill the jug regularly and you have a supply of chilled water for all, throughout the day.

Secondly, eat well

I’m not suggesting you provide food for all your staff throughout the day, but how about a small supply of fresh fruit. Support your local greengrocer with a regular order of fresh fruit and encourage everyone to take some. Depending on the number of people in the office, a small supply each day or once a week may suffice. A bowl of fresh fruit, every few days, depending on nnumbers – if it’s there, most people will eat it and say it’s better for them than biscuits. Might even add some colour to the office and provide a good contact with a local supplier.

Maybe that supplier will be able to deliver to your office and take staff orders – saving them some time!

Again, not a high cost item, but something which people really appreciate.

Rocket science? Definitely not
Common sense? Yes, probably
Common practice? Unfortunately not

Contact Sue if you’d like to discuss ways of motivating your staff and developing their team skills.