An interesting survey done recently discovered quite a few deep laid facts which any company Financial Director should ignore at his/her peril. A key finding was that an average of Three employee days per year is lost by way of workers getting their way out of the office for a coffee. A shocking 13% of these in actual fact left the office since they were in pursuit of a "specialty" coffee, and an unbelievable 26% said that they went out to procure a good enough quality cup of coffee, something which clearly was not handy at the workplace.
Intriguingly, 62% said that they went for a coffee purely as an excuse to buy out of the office, even though 50% said that they would stay inside if there was a better option of brew at the workplace.
The survey was carried out in London in two separate locations and involved in about 100 respondents.
The survey revealed that fewer than one in five or 20% of offices have a dedicated canteen or coffee area where workers can buy free or paid for cups of coffee. Such offices normally relied on vending machines, kettles or filter pots, which in the long run normally resulted in poor quality coffee. This was the radical reason why very many of the respondents made for the exit in research of a decent quality coffee beverage rather than be content with such meager offerings.
Thus, the rationale to keeping staff on the premises is to guarantee that particular quality coffee-making facilities are available at all times. Nevertheless, the survey also revealed that staff have become more and more clear-headed in their tastes, and insist on specialty coffees, and the ability to base the changes according to their state of mind and taste on the day. Even such things as supplying original brands of coffee, or bigger cups as offered by the major coffee chains, would go a long way to persuading staff to remain at their desks rather than lose company time.
The survey confirmed the typically held opinion that small businesses and small volume work sites have shied away from giving standard quality or even urbanized promising coffee making machines. These are seen as an high priced luxury, difficult to handle and difficult to maintain. So the best such companies can do is supply instant coffee from vending machines, a kettle and spoon, or even nothing at all.
Notwithstanding, with the increasing bandwagon to leave the office and spend up to 9 minutes at a time away from their desks, worker behavior patterns are forcing a re-think on the actual costs of coffee in the workplace, and an increase in inquiries for versatile, quality coffee-making machines.
