How can catering firms build resilience to survive and thrive during times of uncertainty?
UK contract catering firms are facing one of the toughest, and most volatile times in our history. From sky-high energy bills, to coping with food shortages and a lack of people, it is clear that there will be no return to the ‘old normal’.
Now, more than ever, businesses need to stay on the front foot adapting to the unpredictable challenges we face. Success, however, will require aptitude and resilience to help navigate this uncertainty and change.
In a recent independent survey of the contract catering industry*, almost all respondents (99%), made up of head chefs, general and operations managers, stated outdated manual processes are making them more inefficient and key aspects of day-to-day operations are worsening. The survey also raises further concerns as many firms are still failing to make the connection between legacy processes and the major operational concerns raised by their people .
At a time when innovation and efficiency is paramount to secure survival and growth, a number of UK chefs have admitted they don’t have enough time in their working day to be creative with menus, despite 65% saying they would spend invest more time being innovative and creative with cooking if they did have more time. People attrition and low morale are endemic in our sector, and this comes at a time when our focus should be on business priorities like retention, development and improvement of customer service.
But how can we all ensure we survive these turbulent times? How can we ensure growth when simply surviving is a challenge? How can we even think about creativity and innovation when there aren’t enough people, let alone hours in the day? These are some of the questions Zupa will be asking in its upcoming webinar on 4 October 2022.
Attendance to the webinar is FREE – simply click here to register your place. All registrants will also receive a copy of the survey report.
*Censuswide surveyed 250 Head chefs, executive chefs, general/operations managers – all working in contract catering companies between13.05.2022 – 17.05.2022. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.
