Corporate Prepared Food Gifts Tips
Read these 9 Corporate Prepared Food Gifts Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Prepared Food tips and hundreds of other topics.
The Ethics of Gift Giving at Work
Business experts warn to think through business gifts carefully. The right gift will be appreciated by your employees; the wrong gift could cause resentment among them.
Giving corporate gifts can be a touchy issue.
Some companies have restrictions on corporate gift giving. Restrictions on business gifts are not about the gifts themselves but about the expectation of payback. Though a gift is ideally a way to show you are being thoughtful, in the business world there is always a string attached. That's because if there were no business relationship, there would be no gift.
So follow these guidelines before buying:
1. Make sure employees can actually receive gifts. Some companies prohibit it.
2. If you are a government employee, realize that gifts are likely restricted because of the risk of favoritism in spending public money.
3. Find out past gift giving rules in your office. Is there a dollar limit set?
4. If there is a dollar limit, stick to it. Giving a pen to one employee and an elaborate food basket to another could cause resentment. Try to spend the same amount from year to year. If you spent $100 last year, a $20 gift this year might send the wrong message.
5. If you are elaborate in your gift, it might be better to give it outside of the office. A gift like this means your employee is considered more of a personal friend and you wouldn't give a friend a gift at your office.
6. Do not be tempted by gag gifts. They are usually considered taboo for the workplace.
7. As a rule, avoid homemade items. This could be viewed as being too personal.
10. Avoid gifts purchased at discount stores or dollar stores. You risk being viewed as being too cheap. But consider gifts that can be shared with the entire office, such as fruit or candy.
11. Be careful about sending alcohol, meat or nuts. Many people don't drink. Some are vegetarians. Some have food allergies, such as to peanuts.
12. Avoid giving gifts to former customers, experts recommend. It could be considered a bribe.
And remember: what you choose to give and how you present your gift will say a lot about the type of person you are. So represent yourself well!
The Benefits of Good Food in the Workplace
According to the Wellness Institute, it's hard to eat healthy while at work. People who eat a reasonably balanced diet away from work sometimes find themselves eating candy or soft drinks available in vending machines, or bad takeout as part of their work day. Others may be influenced by the poor eating habits of colleagues around them.
Our bodies require five to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, so it's unavoidable that some of those servings be consumed during the 8-hour workday.
An idea to promote better nutrition in the workplace, according to the Wellness Institute, is to make a pact to eat well together. A good way to do this is to chip in to order delicious and nutritious prepared food monthly to the office for your group of colleagues to share.
What if, once a month, a gourmet fruit basket or a balanced lunch of chicken and vegetables arrived? The hope is that everyone would then eat a sensible, nutritious lunch. Since the deliveries are only once per month, the expense won't be that great. But the benefits will be a great corporate gift for the whole office!
Here are some reasons for workplaces to promote healthy eating, according to the Wellness Institute:
1. Long term health of workforce
productivity and safety (alertness) during the day.
2. Workplaces can influence diets positively or negatively.
3. Work demands, especially overtime, can disrupt home routines that push employees to poor food choices for themselves and their families at home too.
4. Eating is a social activity and can be a way to bring staff together.
Corporate Gifts: Gourmet Food
The best corporate gift ideas contribute to a good feeling about your company and let your clients or employees know that you value them. For that reason, it's important that your coporate gifts are high-quality, but show personal attention. For easily customizable corporate gifts, consider gourmet prepared foods. A delicious gourmet meal can be enjoyed by the entire family and can be ordered with personal tastes and family situations in mind. Some prepared gourmet foods companies allow you to include your company logo or other company materials with the gourmet food packaging. However, to ensure your corporate gifts don't seem like an advertisement, handwrite a thank-you note to be delivered with the meal.
Add Your Company Logo
If you're ordering gourmet foods or baskets for your employees, feature your corporate logo somewhere on the gift to help boost company morale.
There are companies that will put your logo right on the food (an example, is chocolate or cookies), or on the packaging of the food you order (for example, on the ribbon or tin). Some companies will also put the company logo on custom-made cards to go along with the gift. Ask the company you are ordering from if it provides this service. It can be a nice touch that shows your company pride and sets a unified tone company wide.
Think Beyond Food to Ambiance
Show your boss your ability to think outside of the box by ordering up his ambiance along with his dinner. If he likes entertaining at home, don't stop at sending a gourmet prepared meal as a corporate gift. Show him how thoughtful you can be by choosing the perfect dining music to accompany his delicious gift.
Gourmet food companies suggest playing instrumental blues or jazz with a fine meal. Some companies allow you to purchase the CD along with the food and they'll ship it all together. All he'll need to bring to the table is his appetite!
Reasons for Sending Gourmet Corporate Gifts
Gourmet food companies are waiting to send your employee the perfect meal.
Here are 13 reasons to place that order for a gourmet food corporate gift:
1. Recognition awards
2. Sales incentives
3. Performance incentives
4. Employee safety & attendance programs
5. Service awards
6. New business development
7. Holiday gifts
8. Referral thank you's
9. Client satisfaction programs
10. Customer loyalty programs
11. Employee birthdays & anniversaries
12. New customer thank you's
13. Personal gift giving
Keep Buffet Food Safe
If you have ordered prepared food for your corporate gathering in the form of a buffet, you should heed the following government rules when it comes to keeping buffet food safe.
The law requires chilled foods be kept at or below 8ºC, while foods that are being kept hot before serving should remain at or above 63ºC.
The law allows food to be left at room temperature for limited periods during service or when on display. The temperature of chilled foods can exceed 8ºC for up to 4 hours, while the temperature of hot foods can fall below 63ºC for a maximum of 2 hours.
After one period at room temperature, food should be thrown away or chilled until final use.
Corporate Food Gift Cost
As far as the cost of a corporate food gift, you can spend as little or as much as you'd like. If you opt to send a food basket, you can purchase a small gift basket full of gourmet chocolates or coffees for less than $30 or a large gift basket full of seafood for more than $200.
If you are sending a gourmet meal to your employee's home or office, it will cost you anywhere from below $50 for basic meals of chicken and vegetables to well over $100 for more elaborate meals such as lobster and filet mignon.
Food Ideas for Corporate Parties
Office parties usually center around the highly anticipated free food. So make sure you put a lot of thought into what prepared food you'd like to order.
Are you aware of your colleague's dietary restrictions? When it comes to ordering, here are a few ideas for different budget ranges, according to www.familyeducation.com:
Tight budget: ($10 per person) — If you don't have much to spend, focus on one menu element, such as a fabulous cake or superb finger foods. Don't try to provide booze on a low budget; instead, provide sodas and water, and do a little research so you can suggest a great venue for an "impromptu" after-party, should anyone want to grab a few drinks.
Average budget: ($10-$20 per person) — With a little more money to spend, try to find unexpected and delicious food. Consider an ethnic specialty, such as Chinese, Thai, or Indian catering; you'll find prices are lower than you think for ample amounts of quality food.
Big budget: ($20 per person) — If you have a large budget, use it. People will appreciate elements of gourmet food and surprise. Surprise is the key to planning a successful menu for your co-workers. Decide on one that's least familiar to the people with whom you work. They'll get a kick out of trying something new, especially if it's on the company's dime.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Tammi Reynolds |
