The Snail's Pace Return to the Workplace

We’re lucky enough to talk to a lot of people both client side and caterers about the realities of the return to work. Things change daily, but given we’re now being encouraged to make a start, I thought I’d share initial learnings:

1. Most caterers are ready to go – there’s a plethora of documentation, webinars and online meetings. The answers to providing a safe and effective catering service are all out there. But it’s much more complicated than that…..
2. The reality is that it’s going to be a super-slow return to the workplace for many:

• Initially there’s fear and a huge issue around public transport.
• Many companies have found they are doing ok with home working and are happy to delay a return to the office, with some talking about a permanent change to the way they work.
• On that, some are deliberately making the workplace unattractive in the short term, with little or no catering to stop people returning before they are ready for them, also using this time to consider how the workplace can change in the longer term.
• HOWEVER, we’re also hearing some less politically correct whisperings that productivity is not as great as it could be and that there is a need to physically spend time with employees.
• July and August are typically slower business months anyway due to holidays, so here’s another reason not to rush with a remobilisation.
• The furlough system is making it easy to keep catering closed right through to September/October – though caterers who are losing out on turnover may not see it this way!

The upshot seems to be that for many, a significant return to the workplace won’t be until September/October

3. Despite all this, as I’ve commented before, there’s a worry around pushing those staff that have returned to the workplace out into the high street for coffee/lunch. Some are relying on staff bringing in their own food, but this may not be realistic even for a couple of months before some form of catering opens.

4.    We’re hearing very little about how important it is to make the workplace an appealing place to be – something that was a huge theme right up to March this year. Clearly, everyone currently has bigger fish to fry, but CSR, attracting and keeping the best people and maximising productivity still need to be addressed and catering of course is one of the more obvious ways to do this. Our own view is that the emphasis will change and develop as the way the workplace is used changes in the wake of recent events.

5.    It’s taken all this time to get to COST:

Oh dear; fewer people on site, a recession/depression, physical distancing in the kitchen and servery, lots of cleaning…..it’s all expensive. 

Whilst contracts still exist, the entire financial model has to change both in the short and longer terms. With this, where the financial risk sits will probably also change – caterers simply won’t take risk where clients can’t guarantee a customer base.

It’s clearly essential to completely re-cast both the operational and financial models. Caterers must ready sensitivity models (many have) to show the impact of ramping up or down. They are going to have to work openly and transparently with their clients to plan what works for both parties.

Along with this comes the historic challenge around openness and transparency about contractor earnings. If we’re having to revert to cost plus management fee models, clients are going to have to get their heads around true costs in order to be able to be confident they are getting best value.

6.    There is actually some exciting stuff along with all this. We’ve effectively jumped into the future in a number of areas, developing themes that were already there but without any real traction pre CV19:

• Pre-ordering and pre-paying via an app is going to be an essential part of the jigsaw puzzle.
• Self-scanning checkouts are going to be everywhere.
• Cash will more or less disappear in the catering environment.
• There’s going to have to be a more commercial approach to many services to make them affordable, with a focus on a limited range of services that are core to customer expectations.
• Caterers are having to be imaginative re grab & go services. Similarly, they will need to develop individually portioned hospitality food.
• Central production of high-quality foods is going to be essential, especially in those sites with smaller numbers and a more limited service.

So, it’s not all bad news but it IS all change.

We need to address what it’s going to look like later this year pretty soon. Sadly, it seems that even with the additional staff needed for cleaning, there are going to be a lot of redundancies. Planning and notice is needed for these, so waiting until September is probably not sensible, despite the way the situation seems to be changing daily. 

We’d therefore encourage clients to grasp the nettle and engage with the caterers in a positive way. Yes, the return to the workplace does feel slow, but it’s coming and we all need to be ready for it.