Global consulting firm Stax is no stranger to finding innovative solutions for complex problems. So, when the company was faced with the challenge of turning its hybrid workforce’s mandatory office days into eagerly anticipated nine-to-fives, they turned to food as a creative way to keep their teams engaged and excited to come in.

In their New York City location, the promise of an office lunch entices teams into the office every Tuesday. “We provide food, so people know it’s a special day — it’s a community day,” says Natalie Rosenthal, an Executive Assistant at the Stax NYC office. While Tuesdays are designated as in-person days under their hybrid model, the team actually looks forward to it. “It makes it easier to get people excited about coming in,” she continues.

While the concept was working well, using separate vendors to coordinate meals across their NYC, Boston, and Chicago locations presented some logistical challenges and made it difficult to monitor food spend. As the process became more complex, the finance and procurement teams began to look for a more unified approach. They found their solution with ezCater.

The challenges of coordinating workplace meals

Ordering lunch once a week seems like a simple idea, but anyone charged with this task knows there’s more to it than one might think. Not only were food orderers challenged by a lack of efficiency and a need for more menu variety, but the finance department also ran into problems managing food spend across multiple locations.

Managing spend across multiple locations

Each of the three U.S. offices had its own set of vendors and ordering methods, making it nearly impossible to have a comprehensive view of company-wide food spend. This lack of visibility hindered budgeting and impaired the team’s ability to make cost-effective decisions.

Paying for each order with a credit card further complicated the situation, leaving the financing department looking for a way to bring everything together under one monthly bill instead.

Feeding up to 25 hungry teammates each week

Ordering food for up to 25 people every week is no small task. Browsing menus, communicating with vendors, and selecting meals that satisfy everyone’s palates and dietary needs requires a significant amount of time and coordination. 

In the NYC location alone, Rosenthal was spending up to eight hours a month planning and executing the Tuesday lunches. When food-centric DEI holidays rolled around, she spent even more time searching for diverse caterers or restaurants owned by members of underrepresented groups. As other tasks began to pile up, the need for a more efficient solution quickly became clear.  

Keeping meals interesting

Keeping the menu fresh and exciting was another hurdle at Stax. “I have to figure out lunch for everybody every week,” says Rosenthal. “I hate to bother the consultants, because they’re always busy, so a lot of thought has to go into it.”

In addition, to accommodate kosher dietary needs, she frequently ordered from a select group of restaurants that could easily fulfill this requirement. However, the limited variety soon became a challenge for the team. While the Tuesday lunches were meant to drive engagement, the reality of seeing the same dishes time and again began to dampen the excitement.

Why ezCater just works better

Stax turned to ezCater for a comprehensive solution that could bring order and efficiency to their multi-city operations. The ezCater platform made it easy to consolidate the entire food ordering process into a single, user-friendly system that provided clear visibility over spending and simplified the administrative workload.

This transition was a game-changer for managing food spend across all three of the U.S. offices, and it opened up a broader selection of catering options employees could truly feel enthusiastic about. Most importantly, the move enabled Stax to step away from its fragmented ordering process and replace it with a streamlined approach that offered the flexibility and customization each location needs.

After switching to ezCater, Stax saw immediate and significant improvements. Not only did the new system enhance visibility into food spend, but it also brought unexpected benefits. The change positively impacted their operations and team morale, proving that the right tools can boost more than just the bottom line. 

One centralized platform for managing food spend

With a centralized platform, the finance team at Stax is able to monitor food spend at each location in real-time, providing a clear and unified view of costs. ezCater also allows for per-person spending caps, making it simple to keep orders in line with company budgets.

There’s also no longer a need to deal with scattered credit card receipts. Instead, everything is consolidated into one monthly invoice. This reduces administrative overhead and minimizes errors and discrepancies that often occur when managing multiple billing systems.  

Valuable time saved each week

By allowing employees to order their own meals from a rotating list of local restaurants, Relish by ezCater takes a lot of the work off Rosenthal’s plate. “I used to spend so much time on the phone or browsing through menus,” she says. “With ezCater, I’m saving about two hours a week.”

The time savings extends to the rest of the team, too. Without the need to leave the office and fight NYC crowds at lunchtime, they save about 30 minutes — time they can spend relaxing and socializing with each other. 

“People have this break in the day where they’re happy to see each other, they’re happy to eat, and they’re happy to get this great food,” Rosenthal says. “When lunch is over, they leave feeling good about the experience, and that spills over into the afternoon.”

More food options (and more excitement)

With over 100,000 participating restaurants across the U.S., ezCater’s platform puts a huge selection of food options at Rosenthal’s fingertips. Now, keeping company lunch orders fresh and exciting is virtually effortless. “ezCater has so many good restaurants that people haven’t heard of,” she says. “And it’s easy to bring in food from restaurants outside our neighborhood.”

The intuitive filters further streamline the process, allowing her to search for various multicultural foods, which were ideal for workplace celebrations. It’s also easier to support restaurants owned by underrepresented groups, aligning perfectly with Stax’s goals for diversity and inclusion. 

Improve your workplace food program with ezCater

By partnering with ezCater, Stax solved a range of workplace food challenges, from streamlining the ordering process to diversifying meal options. This collaboration has reduced administrative burdens while also improving the company culture and boosting employee morale.

Choosing the right partner can make a huge difference in the success of a workplace meal program. If your company is facing similar challenges, now is an excellent time to explore how ezCater’s corporate catering solutions can provide a more efficient and satisfying experience.