Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Recruiting and retaining talent with Meal Perks

Providing water to employees is employer’s duty in China. Many employers in Shanghai go however beyond this requirement and make coffee and tee available to employees for free. Some companies offer fruits (e.g. JWT) in the afternoon and some other a noodle soup when one is working after 7pm (e.g. TBWA).

The NetCircle offers a full food service program (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner) free for all employees. By providing meal perks, the company’s founders hope to keep its workforce happy, motivated, efficient and productive. The perk also allows for a greater community building among employees. There are little to no incentives to leave company office during lunch hours. Instead, employees can socialize and have a conversation. In addition, an inviting well-designed kitchen serving delicious food from 8.00am to 8pm might lure talent and certainly for some employees is a good argument to stay.

To mention on the micro perspective: The menus are planned by an administrative assistant and the two cooks usually one week in advance. Cooks consult employees daily in terms of food preferences and likability of served dishes. They are especially interested in employees feedback after they’ve cooked something new, particularly a Western meal, prepared based on a recipe from a cook book. The cooks start their day by visiting the market to buy fresh ingredients. Notably, in The NetCircle’s kitchen as much as possible is made from scratch.

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