Setting the Bar High in Colleague Hospitality
Today there’s no shortage of news and reviews about innovations in the restaurant and bar industry, as owners and operators seek to attract consumers, respond to developing food trends and implement operational efficiencies. The hospitality world feels dynamic, attractive and progressive.
Consigning canteens to the distant past
Colleague hospitality is going through the same transformation. For many years now Food and Beverage (F&B) in the workplace has been shaking off its association with staff canteens and tray stacks, first making the leap from functional food delivery halls to in-house restaurants, and latterly to food environments that offer true engagement with their users. Where the surroundings before were impersonal at best and the choice limited, these new food offerings are now fast becoming driven by attracting customers through their environment, menu range and flavour profiles - in the same way any entrepreneurial operator would seek to establish a point of difference and build loyalty with its devotees.
The workplace has changed
Today companies around the world are embracing a completely different approach to their workplaces. The Covid pandemic has left a permanent imprint on the way colleagues regard their workplaces and companies have responded with more flexible ways of working which can mean less footfall for in-house facilities and potentially putting such investments at risk. But out of adversity comes opportunity and some companies have taken the view that their F&B offer can make the critical difference between a colleague choosing to be in the workplace or work from home. When the quality of working environment, colleague interaction, internet speed, convenience, cost of travel and the myriad of other factors that play a part in a decision to be ‘in’ or ‘remote’ are balanced up, the added feel-good factor of food that exceeds expectations can make all the difference.
Market place equivalents
Several factors are driving this different approach to colleague hospitality. First, the standard set by chefs and food companies operating in the larger hospitality world has raised the bar for the whole sector, driven by increasing consumer demand and awareness. Visit any city centre, high street, shopping precinct or transport terminal these days and choice and quality - both in terms of F&B offer and environment - are the norm. Operators, who want to maintain a distinctive standard and offer, compete to attract the best talent in their kitchens and restaurants. Similarly corporate organisations seeking to attract and retain the best talent see colleague hospitality as an important element of their overall package. So, there is an emerging interdependency between the quality of the workplace F&B offer and how a company’s employer brand is perceived. As a result, chefs and a wealth of food expertise and talent, is being attracted to operate in workplace settings as well as the public marketplace.
Healthy eating
Secondly, with the ever-increasing focus on healthy eating and dietary choice (carnivore, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, etc.) companies are exercising the role they have to play in their employees’ health - both physical and mental. This has led to companies not only offering a greater variety of food choices but playing their part in dietary ‘education’, with information on calories, sugar and salt content, etc. It has also seen the development of ‘main meal’ food choices, in an effort to encourage employees to eat this at lunchtime, instead of in the evening when it can disrupt sleep patterns and can result in poor digestion, hypertension and other negative health effects.
Patterns of work
Thirdly, the changing patterns of work have influenced the types of F&B venues that companies provide. Nowadays employees often work flexible hours and need to be able to eat and drink at any time of the day. Working patterns are less formal, with one-to-ones or group sessions often held in more informal settings than meeting room (such as coffee bars or break-out areas). Deadlines and high-pressure work environments mean that for some refreshments or sustenance ‘al desko’ is a common occurrence. Companies are responding to the changes in work behaviour by not only adopting a range of options and F&B formats but employing technology, such as apps, to enable their employees to choose the food and drink they desire at their desk or on the go.
Social behaviour
Lastly, as companies seek to attract staff back to offices after working from home during the pandemic, providing great tasting food and drink in attractive surroundings is not only having a magnetic effect in itself but is also a catalyst for social interaction between colleagues. It’s bringing people together in an enjoyable, refreshing and rejuvenating way - a way that only ‘breaking bread’ can. It’s also converting a need for sustenance into an altogether more enjoyable part of an employee’s day.
Sky - Believe in Better
Among the companies that have adopted this approach is Sky, for whom Sedley Place has been working on F&B projects for over 10 years. During this time we have collaborated with Sky’s team, its F&B provider Gather & Gather, and architects and landscape designers to create a full array of F&B offerings, from fine dining to quick ‘grab & go’ facilities. Over the years we have seen it set the bar higher and higher in terms of the quality of their colleague hospitality. We’ve also seen them be more in step with marketplace F&B trends. Our most recent project, The Pavilion at Sky’s Osterley Campus, provides a revolving menu of high-quality street food and integrates the latest technology, such as apps and ordering terminals, to ensure a quick service. All of this is provided in a beautifully designed pavilion (by the architects Atkins and engineers Arup) which seamless integrates with landscaped gardens and lawns (by Alexandra Steed URBAN). The project was managed by G&T and constructed by ISG.
