A new ‘normal’ in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown.

As more people will be expected to work from home, the workplace is likely to change significantly in the foreseeable future including ‘takeaways’, shift-based lunches and more pre-ordering during the next 12 months. The foodservice forum of UK Hospitality is using insights on workplace catering to inform government policy on release from lockdown.

Facilities Management Journal have reported that attendees at a recent ‘Connect and Collaborate’ workshop developed by Bartlett Mitchell summarised key findings as follows:

Menus

needing to be more ‘delivery’ friendly, or be workable in newly designed workplace restaurants

 self-service or shared style food will need to be removed

Health and safety

specific training and development will be required by teams when preparing for a return to work in a new socially-distanced environment  

customers and guests will need to be offered guidance and information about new ways of working to include zones and control the movement of people

Shifts

some city businesses are likely to implement shift patterns for those who come to the office. This means footfall will deplete dramatically.

there are likely to be lunch shifts in some organisations to reduce traffic and queuing wherever possible

Technology

there will be more on an emphasis placed on using technology to pre-order food, as well as communicate key messages to customers and guests to help reassure them during the initial post-lockdown period. ‘Click and collect’ is expected to feature heavily during the initial months.

 

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