Refreshing Your Workplace: The Importance of Accessible Refreshment Solutions

As a business owner or manager, you spend a lot of time—and sometimes money—making sure your employees have what they need to thrive. From comfortable workstations and the latest technology to good HVAC and more, you want to set your teams up for success from the moment they walk through the door.

Food and beverage service falls directly into this category of employee experience and satisfaction. Making quality meal, snack, and drink options available to your workers will be appreciated, and it will save them time throughout the day, too. Specifically, having the right refreshments on hand so they can quickly grab a drink and get back to work is a wonderful amenity.

Benefits of Accessible Refreshment Solutions at the Office

Improve Overall Employee Satisfaction

As a general rule, satisfied employees are productive employees. There is more to it than that, of course, but having your employees feel a high level of satisfaction about their role in your organization is only going to mean good things for their performance. When an employee is happy to report to work and thinks positively about the association they have with their employer, it is only natural to strive for great things.

It’s easy to think about satisfaction in terms of the big stuff—salary, time off, benefits—but the little things can add up to make a big difference. Making quality refreshments readily available throughout the office is one example. Knowing that they can always reach for a tasty cup of coffee, or a chilled beverage in a vending machine, is a nice perk that will make their time in the office more enjoyable.

Enhance Productivity

At the heart of it all, every employer wants their employees to be as productive as possible. There are plenty of variables involved in the productivity equation, but staying hydrated and nourished certainly plays a role. Human beings perform at their best when they have the necessary nutrition and hydration to power their performance, and your employees are no exception to that rule.

It’s well-known that the late afternoon period of the work day is particularly susceptible to a drop in productivity. A couple of hours after lunch has been consumed, that meal starts to wear off, and some employees feel a dramatic dip in their energy levels. Ultimately, they struggle to keep going as strongly as they were in the first half of the day, and not as much work gets done. If you are able to play a role in helping employees stay nourished, this dip can be moderated (or even eliminated), and you may be surprised to find how much more work is completed.

Promote Health and Wellness

The dietary choices of each individual employee are, of course, their own choices. You can give them the opportunity to make healthier dietary choices by presenting a range of foods as part of your refreshments. With plenty of options available, including fresh snacks and drinks, employees will be able to determine their own path and decide what they want to use to fuel their bodies for the day ahead.

You could include a refreshment program that offers healthy snacks and beverages as part of a bigger push for wellness in the company. Many organizations have started to implement other measures such as fitness classes or groups, gym memberships, wellness retreats, and more as a way to help employees take care of themselves mentally and physically.

These endeavors are not only the right thing to do from a human perspective, but they can also directly benefit the company. Healthier employees are likely to miss less work during the year, will need to seek healthcare less often, and should be able to remain more productive day after day in the face of a demanding schedule.

Develop a Strong Workplace Culture

Every office manager dreams of having a workplace where the employees collaborate freely, support each other, and work together without being required to do so. A supportive, helpful culture can take the company to heights that a group of individuals would never be able to reach.

Having refreshments on hand is about more than just the calories and fluids consumed. It can also directly benefit the business by promoting engagement between coworkers while they are taking a break to refuel for the rest of the day. Instead of taking this break at a nearby convenience store or fast food restaurant, where they would likely be alone, employees can utilize your on-site refreshments and may sit together to chat. This opportunity for spontaneous collaboration is a powerful thing, and it might lead to connections and breakthroughs that you would never have expected.

Support Employee Retention

Turnover is one of the great enemies of every office. Each new hire comes with a tremendous cost, and you also lose the accumulated knowledge and experience of the person who walked out. Of course, you’ll never get to a point of zero turnover, but keeping that number as low as possible is certainly in your best interest.

Is the availability of snacks and drinks going to single-handedly keep your employees on board for the long run? Probably not—but it can be part of a bigger package of attractive perks that keep them engaged and loyal to your organization. Think of this as another step that you can take to prove how much you value and respect your workers. They will notice the effort and investment that goes into these kinds of programs and will likely talk among themselves about the steps you have taken to keep them happy. By elevating the employee experience through exciting food and beverage offerings, you can become a hero to your people!

How to Implement Quality Refreshment Solutions

By this point, you are probably pretty convinced of the importance of available refreshments. So, how do you present your teams with what they need without taking on too many additional responsibilities? InReach has the answers to that question.

• Add a Micro Market: One of the fastest ways to upgrade the employee experience in your building is to implement a micro market. This is a one-stop shop for snacks, made-to-order meals, drinks, and more. As soon as it is installed, this feature will quickly become one of the most popular spots in the office.
• Upgrade Coffee Service: You may already have some form of coffee service for your office, but is it meeting the expectations of your employees? Coffee from InReach isn’t what you are used to getting from typical coffee vendors for offices, as it can feature a large selection of coffees and teas, cold brews, energy drinks, and more.
• Install Modern Vending Machines: The technology available in vending machines has advanced significantly in recent years. With InReach, you can stay on the cutting edge and take advantage of the many impressive features now offered. Best of all, we can manage an office vending machine efficiently for you, taking the responsibility off your plate while ensuring outstanding performance and user satisfaction.
• Provide Clean, Fresh Water: Don’t overlook the value of having good water on hand in your office. If your employees have been drinking from the tap or have been bringing in their own bottles, our water service is a fast and easy upgrade.

A Better Employee Experience is InReach 

For everything from simple solutions like an office water dispenser to an integrated micro market with popular beverages like kombucha and energy drinks, InReach is the right partner. Elevate your office with solutions that are as convenient as they are delicious, and watch your teams reach a new level of performance. We look forward to your call!