Criterion Report 1.6 General Food Policies

Dear CRITERION Members,

We are thrilled to present to you our latest endeavor: the CRITERION Benchmarking Report 1.6, focusing on General Food Policies in the workplace.

As valued members of our community, we understand the significance of staying informed and equipped with the latest insights to navigate the evolving landscape of organizational policies.

This survey delves into the realm of food policies within various workplaces, shedding light on the diverse approaches adopted by organizations to address this crucial aspect of their operations. With almost every participating organization reporting the implementation of various amenity policies, it’s evident that managing company policy and meeting customer expectations can pose significant challenges. Often, the responsibility falls on client liaisons to spearhead efforts in ensuring smooth operations and adherence to safety protocols, particularly concerning specific policies surrounding amenities.

In this comprehensive report, you will find:

ƒ Top Five Highlights of the Findings: A concise overview of the most significant discoveries gleaned from the survey results.

ƒ Narrative Summary of the Results: A detailed narrative elucidating the key trends and observations unearthed during the survey.

ƒ Visual View of the Results per Question: Visual representations providing a clear and intuitive understanding of the data across various survey questions.

ƒ Respondents’ Comments on Various Questions: Insights directly from survey participants, offering additional context and perspectives on the findings.

Moreover, as part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the CRITERION Benchmarking experience, we are excited to announce the transition to version 2.0. With this transition comes the launch of two annual surveys: Customer Experience, slated for release in January 2025, and a comprehensive exploration of Away from Home Markets, scheduled for publication at the end of summer.

In the meantime, if you have specific surveys or research topics in mind that you would like to explore to make informed decisions, we encourage you to reach out. Our team is dedicated to providing tailored assistance to meet your informational needs and support your decision-making processes.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement with CRITERION Benchmarking. Together, we strive to empower organizations with the insights necessary to navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape.

Sincerely,

Ann McNally

Ann McNally Practice Lead CRITERION Benchmarking

4xi Global Consulting & Solutions

e: annmcnally@4xiconsulting.com

p: (732)677-9060

w: www.4xiconsulting.com

TOP HIGHLIGHTS

This survey had 16 respondents.

have various general food policies in place.

permit speciality caterers (Pizza, Thai, BBQ, etc.) on-site in addition to their resident foodservice provider.

allow external event caterers on-site in addition to their resident foodservice provider.

offered free catering as a free meal option to entice employees back into the office

have an executive dining room meal policy.

RESULTS SUMMARY

RESULTS SUMMARY

As stated in the top five responses, 94% of the responders have amenity policies in place at their locations. Some of the policies include catering policies such as allowable use of catering, a set dollar amount permitted depending on the meal, the use of off premise caters for both general caters and specialty caterers. We also dive into leftover meal donation policy, bringing food away from the event and back to an office, executive dining room policy, fitness center, and even how potluck meals are viewed at your organizations.

Regarding the catering policies 69% of the responders allow catering for both client and non-client attended meetings. Sixtythree percent of the responders do not have any dollar limit per person as to what can be spent on their catering. 56% of the responders allow external caterers on site and this grows to 63% when asked if they allow specialty caters on site such as Pizza, Thai Food or BBQ. Thirty-eight percent of responders have their on-site food service provider manage the external caterer.

Regarding food donations, the handling of leftovers and how a company views potluck meals, 44% of responders donate to a local food kitchen or charitable organization.

Fifty percent of responders allow admins or meeting attendees to take food back to their workspace or pantry and 38% do not allow potluck meals on-site. The responders stated 19% allow potluck meals.

For employees working late at night, 38% allow a free meal. Out of the 38%, 31% allow ordering the meal from external

restaurants. The dollar amount permitted for the late-night free meal was $15-$34 for 50% of responders and $35-$49 for 13%.

Of the responders that have executive/ client dining rooms, 56% of them do not have any policy regarding dollar amounts, or if clients need to be in attendance.

For the responders that have an on-site fitness center, 63% have policies in place such as a sliding scale dollar amount for the membership fee, various membership levels, full time employees only policy and requiring a signed waiver to sign prior to joining.

Regarding having executive leadership support and the overall feeling of amenity policy at your organizations 19% of responders have a tough time getting leadership support; 44% are neutral on this and 25% answered not difficult. Overall, regarding amenity policies, the average landed at a 3.3 on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the most favorable.

More details on all the above are shared in the next section as well as in the specific survey section of this report.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RESULTS

Catering Policies Overview

Catering as a free meal option

Set dollar amount per person

6% 6% $51-$75 $35-$50 13% 38% $25-$34 $10-$24

Educating admins on placing the correct amount on the order/count for the number of attendees.

Stated on the website.

Call the admin if it looks incorrect.

Email client with the updated information.

Automatically increase/decrease the count of food to match the attendees.

Other

Food Donations

ƒ Tracking the count for corporate affairs.

ƒ Vendor manages and tracks.

ƒ Pick-Up 2X times a week, only provide foods that can be frozen, no perishables.

ƒ Donations tracked; data supplied to community affairs.

ƒ We do not donate food from catering.

ƒ Pickup by arrangement at some locations.

ƒ Local shelter to staff places of worship.

ƒ Only unused over production of food is donated.

Catering food allowed back to the office or pantry area?

Free Late-Night Meals

Allowable Spend

13%

50% $35 - $49

$15 - $34

How Cost is Handled

ƒ Through SeamlessWeb.

ƒ Client provides a Purchase Order, or expenses via their Corporate Credit Card.

ƒ Full subsidy if in program, if ordered out of program, department head manages.

ƒ Approved third party delivery i.e. UberEATS, DoorDash, etc.

ƒ All work-related meals go through a charge back process.

Potluck Meals?

Concerns with Potlucks

Top Three Challenges Regarding the Amenities Company Policies

1. 2. 3. Cost, Cost, Cost

Future Proofing the Office

Executive Support

SURVEY RESULTS

How would you best describe your catering policy?

Catering ordering permitted for any employees/any event/meeting.

Catering permitted for specific internal events.

Catering permitted for external client attended events only.

It’s a mix, some internal some external attended clients.

Catering is limited, must be approved prior.

Percentage of Respondents

Do you allow external general caterers on site outside of your on-site provider?

57% 43%

Do you have a broad range of Amenities related company policies in place?

94% 6%

Do you allow specific specialty caterers on site outside of your on-site provider?

If you answered yes to question 5 do you have them subcontract through your food service provider? No Yes N/A No Yes N/A

Have you offered free catering as a free meal option to entice employees back into the office?

Do you have an allowable dollar amount/not to exceed for on-site catering?

If you answered yes to using free catering as an incentive for return to work, what is your allowable lunch amount per person?

How do you handle educating admins on the proper per person ordering procedure?

IE the count is 50 and they order food for 30. Or the count is 50 and they order food for 75.

Do you donate leftover food?

If you donate leftover food what is your policy?

ƒ Tracking the count for corporate affairs

ƒ Vendor manages and tracks.

ƒ Pick-Up 2X times a week, only provide foods that can be frozen, no perishables

ƒ Donations tracked; data supplied to community affairs.

ƒ

.We do not donate food from catering.

ƒ Pickup by arrangement at some locations.

ƒ Local shelter to staff places of worship.

ƒ Only unused over production of food is donated.

Regarding donations who manages the donations and who receives the food?

ƒ On-site food company manages the donations, Food Rescue USA takes food.

ƒ Vendor.

ƒ Contractor.

ƒ Handled by Compass.

ƒ Food Service Team.

ƒ Local Leadership.

ƒ Our on site Food Supplier manages the program. Client approved “Share My Meals” organization.

In the event the admin over orders above the event attendee count do you allow them to take food back to their work area/pantry?

Do you have an executive dining room meal policy?

If you answered yes to an executive dining room policy, please describe it below.

Do you offer free meals for employees who work late?

If you offer free late evening meals do you allow external restaurants to supply these meals?

If you are providing free late meals what is the allowable spend per person?

For late night and after-hours meals how are the expenses handled?

ƒ SeamlessWeb.

ƒ Client provides a Purchase Order, or expenses via their Corp Credit Card

ƒ Full subsidy if in program, if ordered out of program department head manages.

ƒ Approved third party delivery ie. UberEATS, DoorDash, etc.

ƒ .All work-related meals go through a charge back.

Do you allow employees to bring in pot luck meals?

Please describe any concerns you may have with employees bringing in potluck meals?

ƒ Will not allow on-site provider to heat or touch this food.

ƒ Food-born illness, allergic reactions, safety concerns, facility concerns (tripped breakers, etc.).

ƒ They cannot use our kitchens.

ƒ Not allowed to use our kitchens, so if they do this, they are responsible by themselves for cleaning up and any illnesses.

ƒ We worry about safety, but it is a hard battle to fight.

ƒ Food safety. Some still do but we try to monitor.

ƒ Potluck meals are not encouraged, however, client doesn’t encourage this, no policy around it.

ƒ Food Safety.

ƒ Food safety concerns.

ƒ Food Safety issuesunsafe.

ƒ Safety, quality, clean up, heating. Delivery of the food (always becomes a bigger draw on resources).

ƒ It has always been a concern for us regarding food safety and keeping the food at the proper temperature when it comes to potlucks. Especially when it is not prepared by our on-site food service provider.

On a scale of 1-5 how do you feel your employees rate your overall approach to policy?

Do you have a fitness center policy? (N/A)

If you answered yes to a fitness center policy, please describe it below?

ƒ Pay $40 per month to join.

ƒ Employees must enroll and sign a waiver prior to accessing the fitness center.

ƒ Available to staff and vendor staff.

ƒ Employees can enroll and pay a membership fee.

ƒ We have various levels of membership and certain times for each group to work out. Since Covid we are softening this policy and re-looking at busy and slow times.

ƒ Available for employees only at a client approved monthly discounted cost.

ƒ Full time employees only, open 24 hours.

ƒ On-site facilities in some locations, monthly allowance also available.

How difficult is it to get your executives to support any company policy that affects amenities?

What are your top three challenges regarding the Amenities company policies?

ƒ Top challenges on policies and any other feedback on policy.

ƒ Repeating it to clients.

ƒ Cost, Cost, and Cost.

ƒ We are downtown, so food competition is surrounding us. We try to offer great products and services to keep people in, but do not “force” staff to use only our in-house services. We may be looking to expand amenities, adding dry cleaning and a central location for services, such as IT devices.

ƒ Cost on-going budgetary support. Equity across sites.

ƒ Customers understanding they should order food for the correct count in catering.

ƒ Employees thinking potluck meals are ok.

ƒ Outside restaurants coming on site for eventsprefer on-site handles but it is a battle.

ƒ Hard for executives to support us sometimes it’s a battle to get their buy in.

ƒ Client reluctance to implement, manage and enforce. Indecisiveness on who wants to own the policies (facility/HR/etc.).

ƒ Amenities all over the place. Budget, who owns the amenity. (Example HR or Facilities).

ƒ Using the internal caterer.

ƒ Creating facilities future proofed for office configuration changes and changing ambitions of the food program.

ƒ Space, cost, timing.

Are there any other areas you would like to share regarding your various Amenities company policies?

ƒ Hybrid makes it more challenging to administer.

ƒ Looking forward to comparing my policies to others in this survey.

ANN MCNALLY Practice Lead CRITERION Benchmarking

Ann worked on the client side of the business for over a decade at both Morgan Stanley and Bristol-Myers Squibb. One of the biggest challenges she faced was senior executives regularly asking how their company compared to others. It ranged from various topics from what and how they offered their amenities to miscellaneous operational questions on just about anything. Ann created CRITERION to help companies answer those questions. Ann had the privilege to lead a survey team at Bristol Myers Squibb where the team created a survey process for 17 departments across facilities. As an experienced leader and subject matter expert Ann will help clients get the answers they are looking for with CRITERION.

annmcnally@4xiconsulting.com

PUBLISHER

4xi Global Consulting

EXECUTIVE TEAM

Simon Elliot Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Barbara Boden Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Tony Johnson Leadership Advisory Council Chief Experience Officer (CXO)

SUPPORT SERVICE

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4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a boutique advisory company focused on a people-first approach to changing experiences for GOOD. Whether for people at work, in education, at rest, or at leisure, 4xi leverages the tenets of a hospitality focus to drive impact, facilitate change, and make a real difference.

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