Team Fooditude set off to the impressively historic Royal Horseguard Hotel for The 2024 Office Management Group Spring Show on the 24th April. This was our chance to connect with like-minded people who care about making office experiences exceptional.
All credit goes to Hana Gray and her team at The Office Management Group, who masterfully brought together office managers with relevant suppliers and service providers (like us). Bravo!
This event was a must-attend for anyone tasked with office management. We were struck by the open exchange of ideas, suggestions, and solutions, which fostered a sense of collaboration and learning.
The Royal Horseguard Hotel: an extravagant experience and a top-notch event venue
In the Exhibition Space
The exhibition spaces continued to bustle from opening until the end of the day. The Fooditude Team had the pleasure of chatting with office managers and learning the challenges they currently face with food service.
As the day progressed, we discovered a shared thread weaving through the narratives. Office managers were using food to motivate employees to work from the office. However, a common challenge emerged: the unreliability of food aggregators in delivering to workplaces. Some of the reasons given were the complexity of dealing with too many individual orders, late or incorrect deliveries, and overall difficulties in managing the process.
When it came to on-site food service, the office managers we spoke to valued variety above all else. They wanted menus that would stir up excitement within their team. Based on the feedback we received, office managers wanted their office catering to be tempting enough to entice workers to brave the commute and collaborate.
Incidentally, the conversations from the day correlated with our most recent report, 'The Role of Food in the Workplace,' in which most participants were members of the Office Management Group. We were pleasantly surprised with the correlations between the two, giving us further confidence in the report findings, which you can download for free here.
The Fooditude Team were dishing out our notorious home-baked triple chocolate brownies, as well as talking all things 'office catering' with office managers attending the event.
At the Event Talks
Throughout the day, expertly hosted sessions took place, each offering unique insights and practical strategies. Shannon, our Marketing Executive at Fooditude, shares her highlights:
Confident Communication with Laura Hanna, Co-founder of The Pitch Process
Laura Hanna is a professional wellbeing coach born in London, co-founded The Pitch Process in 2016 and provides 1:1 and group coaching sessions in communications and presentation skills.
Laura gave the low down on practical strategies for confident communication with a hands-on session. It was fascinating to discover the significance of both verbal and nonverbal elements of communicating well, which contribute to the holistic nature of interaction. The interactive exercises were particularly engaging, including one that explored the impact of different tones of voice based on volume, pace, articulation.
Sustainable Facilities Management by Jacqui Thornton, Head of Facilities Management Services
With over 20 years experience as a Facilities professional Jacqui currently works along development in the facilities management sector in her role at Active Workplace Solutions.
Jacqui Thornton's presentation on Sustainable Facilities Management offered valuable insights into creating environmentally conscious workplaces where employee wellbeing is prioritised. Jacqui outlines practical ways in which companies could take action: from technological solutions, waste minimisation initiatives to implementing better sustainability policies (without greenwashing).
One key learning from Jacqui's talk was how sustainability, employee satisfaction and corporate responsibility all interconnect. If these elements are balanced well, office managers can foster a thriving workplace environment.
It’s a wrap!
The Office Management Group Spring Show at the Royal Horseguard Hotel left us inspired. The office management professionals we met were all so committed to their employees' wellness and environment. As the modern workplace redefines itself, office managers are undoubtedly leading the positive changes. As office caterers, we look forward to playing our part in supporting office management and shaping a new era of wellness and sustainability in the workplace.
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