What's New With The New-Age Corporate Cafeterias?
In such tricky times, reopening of office cafeterias for staff use while being fully compliant with the latest protocols around social distancing, enhanced safety and hygiene across the entire value chain of F&B operations is a key priority.
A fully-functioning digital cafeterias were an option earlier. But, now with COVID-19, it has become a necessity. Hence, Sanjay Kumar, CEO & MD, Elior India is here to talk to BW Journalists and wanted to elucidate upon the present scenario and the changes which shall be taking place in times to come.
1) In times to come how do you think that the role of automation help in digitalizing corporate cafeterias?
There will be automation in the areas of payment and order processing through digital solutions. The reason being, a wider requirement of bringing down human contact-points in foodservice delivery. The automation areas will be limited to a few production and dispensation points because essentially, the key area of improvement in QHSE is limiting the contact points between the cooking of the food and its consumption. From restricted entry to allotted seating place at a pre-defined timeslot backed by pre-ordering of food to online payments, the concept of corporate cafeterias and the food-services industry is getting a digital makeover. While the developments during the pandemic phase have just set the context, there is a tremendous scope to build on the same.
2) What has been the growing relevance of employee well-being and a change in the way food was perceived in the pre-COVID era?
The importance of food safety has increased in food production. More organisations are focusing on the food that is provided at work is safe because it also acts as an enabler in helping employees return to the office. In order to do this successfully, organizations now are building strong sustainable partnership with food service providers and ensuring that both parties are equally rested in the relationship so that there’s shared accountability and commitment to ensure that the service provider and client together can meet the aspirations of employees, ensuring that food served at work is safe. So what we are going see is that safety will take precedents
3) How the hospitality industry will see a change in the post covid era?
The hospitality industry has been amongst the worst state in the post-pandemic world. Even though aviation has recovered, hospitality continues to suffer. Small and medium food-service providers have either shut shops bulking in lots of jobs being lost, or are now looking at making alliances wherever possible with larger players so that they can access both digital solutions plus safety best practices which typically a small food service provider is not able to invest in. So what we are going to see is as a consequence of pandemic, the role of both digitalization and criticality of safety organization within the food providers will become critical in ensuring clients feel reassure about food being safe at work.
Sanjay Kumar, MD and CEO, Elior India
Digital aggregators cannot bring in the expertise that foodservice provider have when it comes to food handling and production. Also the newer are able to monitor or provide the inputs to vendors to help with sustainable safety practices, it depends in monetizing through commissions from the vendors that is the reason this model has not worked anywhere in the world.
4) How is the Indian food services industry performing in comparison to other countries?
Indian food industry has been hit the worst in comparison to other developed pears largely because of the fact there has been no reimbursement of job losses, nor there has been the restoration of input tax credit which could have enabled formalization of the agriculture supply chain alongside the job losses which could place. There’s no compensatory mechanism for organizations, specially the small and medium enterprises to either access formal credit or get reimburse for raw manpower, so the first two three month most small and medium enterprises continue to somehow survive but gradually they shut shop due to absence of both formal credit low margin to removal input tax credit and lack of reimbursement of fixed cost either by the state or the client which is something different from how it was been done in other countries. Developed countries typically reimburse wages of all those employees in the food service sector who were earning anything in between trend of the cut off minimum wage. That enables employees to retain jobs and organizations too guide over the crises for having their fixed cost, so these are the three main differences between how other countries have handled it and we in India have handled.
5) What new innovations can be made on corporate cafeterias in order to make it more mingling for employees?
In the post pandemic world what’s been made is not innovation but meticulousness in execution. The solution doesn’t lie trying to rediscover or invent ideas, but the solution lies in ensuring that we implement goal and trusted ideas. We must ensure that water in which food is cooked is safe, ensure the raw materials secured have traceability, invest in personal protective equipment for all non-cooking staff so that there’s reduced contact in delivery of food services, these simple basic things delivered through digital platform will be the mantra for safety and for ensuring the food at work is consumed in a manner that it still provides joyful experience. It’s going to be critical to implement this to be able to deliver the biggest innovation for this country. When it comes to implementation, focus on getting the job done without focusing on the process.
6) Flexible office hours will be the new normal. How this will create demand for 24x7 cafeterias?
Increasingly 24x7 cafeterias will see diminishing footfall, the focus on food waste will increase in order to prevent food wastage. This will be absolutely critical and therefore with digitalization one can plan meal consumption having to ensure food is provided 24x7.
7) What will be the new tech coming up in corporate cafés?
Digitalization will become stable stake in the new world. The organisations which value employee safety will ensure that service provider have their own digital platform. Those that don’t will continue to mouth concern for food safety while working with digital aggregators who neither have the expertise nor the intent in providing safe food, such platforms monetizes on the basis of vendor margin. These vendor margins are going to be compressed by digital aggregators, hence safety will be compromised. The quicker organization in India realizes that digitalization is part of the food production process and not separate, they will be able to provide safer experience for food at work. Digital aggregators cannot bring in the expertise that foodservice provider have when it comes to food handling and production. Also the newer are able to monitor or provide the inputs to vendors to help with sustainable safety practices, it depends in monetizing through commissions from the vendors that is the reason this model has not worked anywhere in the world. In the post-pandemic, world will be dangerous if organization will continue to provide cheaper food to employees.
9) How employee bonding can be a smooth flow in corporate cafeterias in times to come?
The best way to understand the role of corporate cafeterias typically defines the work culture of an organisation. Those organisations who value employees typically to provide better food experience in their corporate cafeterias to safety standards are far superior to those organization who don’t, but this means when the employees come into cafeteria to consume food and in the ambience which is safe and clean they tend to spend time and interact with their fellow colleagues and exchange ideas in which will be beneficial for enterprise. Even sometime conversation can be anchored for long business issues, relax mind to improve productivity. Unfortunately not many companies in India value employee cafeterias, we can count that 50-60 cafeterias that invest in employee experience in cafeterias. So it’s time that organization wakes up to this new reality and recognize the role that cafeterias play in delivering good experience in employees in their better bonding with each other
10) Share your vision of Evolved corporate cafeterias?
To put it simply, evolved cafeteria is one with the role of safety, is a shared accountability and that by commitment interest. In that process so for in my view a good cafeteria in the post-pandemic world will be the one the food service provider has a digital platform and the client is engaged with the service provider in assessing the safe tools and ensuring there’s clear visibility. In the client's hand, raw material being secured handling the production process with particular emphasis on water and safe handling of both water and finish goods. So I hope more organisation actually realise to provide employee with safer food experience.
