Rapid Mobilization Made Food a Catalyst and Differentiator

As the Covid-19 pandemic began to ease, an Internet company re-opened its offices. Guckenheimer was retained to develop a solution that made on-site food a catalyst for the return to office and a differentiator in recruitment and retention.

Guckenheimer had just four weeks to transition five of the client’s facilities to its food services program. The team marshalled internal and vendor resources to:

• Identify and hire the best talent

• Acquire or transfer equipment, vehicles, foodstuffs and other necessities in a time of supply chain issues

• Obtain licenses and permits

• Find locations for commissary kitchens

• Re-engineer to comply with guidelines on social distancing, hygiene and food preparation and service

To accommodate unpredictable participation and minimize waste, Guckenheimer instituted a service model with more food choices, but less of each. Quality dishes produced higher engagement and lower spend. When paired with client cost-cutting, this efficiency enabled budget management and accommodation of growth.

Guckenheimer turned the client’s food offering from a loss leader to a profit leader. On-site employee participation is close to 100%, with many partaking in more than one meal per day. The introduction of Winnow waste tracker to the headquarters also resulted in a 70% reduction in food waste.

Guckenheimer built relationships with client stakeholders through service excellence, better processes, operational efficiencies and increased employee participation.