Drinking coffee is often a habitual activity within the workplace, many workers are accustomed to using coffee as a way to “perk up” and give themselves the energy levels they require whether that be to combat a late night, early morning or late afternoon buzz to get them through the last part of the day.
Recent studies indicate that approximately 65% of workers indulge in coffee during their work hours, with the average worker consuming three cups per day. Many express the sentiment that they couldn’t navigate a typical day without coffee. This underscores the significant role coffee plays in the UK economy.
The above scenario is typical across all office sizes and sectors. As workers, we view coffee as an integral part of our daily office experience.
Many workers express positive reactions to their coffee consumption at work, noting improvements in productivity levels, enhanced social interactions with colleagues, and even a higher level of cultural satisfaction within the business. All this from just coffee.
As a leading nationwide provider of commercial coffee machine leasing, hire, and rental services, we have assisted offices of all sizes throughout the UK with their coffee consumption needs. In this guide, we outline parts of our process to equip you, the coffee machine procurement user or business owner, with the necessary details to make informed decisions when purchasing or leasing a commercial coffee machine for your office space.
Quality is indeed crucial when selecting the right coffee machine. However, it’s important to consider other factors beyond just the quality and variety of hot drinks it offers. Consumption matters.
Imagine the frustration as a worker if when making a coffee you run out of beans, constantly face an empty water tank, or run out of cups. Even worse, waiting time resulting in serving cold coffee can lead to dissatisfaction among workers. These issues, along with factors like the bitter taste from burnt beans affecting the coffee taste, can significantly impact morale levels within the office and even create employee dissatisfaction, impacting the company culture.
This blog aims to offer advice on measuring coffee consumption within your workforce while understanding the sophistication of your employees’ coffee preferences. By gauging what drinks they consume, how often, and at what times, you can tailor our suggestions to match your office size and coffee consumption patterns. At Vending Sense, we strive to provide the best machines to ensure a seamless coffee experience for your employees, alleviating the headache for the purchaser or hirer.
Here’s a condensed version of the top reasons why office workers consume coffee:
Habit
For many workers, drinking coffee becomes a routine part of their day, starting in the morning, followed by mid-morning, and finally mid-afternoon. This habitual consumption is often linked to productivity levels, with most people using coffee to “wake up” or “stay alert” during these key parts of the day.
Additionally, coffee serves as a way to prepare for larger tasks. Many workers, before undertaking a complex or time-consuming activity, mark the occasion by enjoying a cup of freshly brewed coffee by their side as they embark on their journey.
These habits, or routines, not only contribute to productivity but also create a sense of structure and predictability within a hectic and ever-changing workplace.
Productivity
A recurring theme in office coffee consumption, as mentioned multiple times in this guide, is the perceived enhancement of user productivity.
For many workers, coffee equates to higher levels of productivity. The science behind this lies in the caffeine boost, which, although temporary, provides the focus and energy needed to complete daily tasks effectively.
Over the years there have been multiple studies on the positive effects on cognitive function based on memory, focus and processing information. All of these increase alertness and performance therefore being attributed to higher levels of productivity.
Social Interaction
In the heart of many workplaces, informal conversations happen around the water cooler (also known as the water dispenser in the UK), this similarly applies to office coffee stations. As a result, many companies have dedicated hot and cold beverage areas and offer a great opportunity to catch up with our colleagues personally during dedicated coffee breaks.
Depending on the size of your office, some workers hardly interact and this can be extended to other departments and senior team members. As an informal place to chat with your colleagues, this fosters a stronger connection and strengthens workplace morale from a cultural perspective.
In the capacity of work-based communication, the interaction can be even more rewarding – team members can discuss collaborations, pose questions and brainstorm more naturally than in a meeting room.
Having a worktime break for a coffee is also a great way to cut down your screen time or even address something such as writer’s block.
Survey your office workers
The first step would be to gain a clearer picture of the coffee preferences and habits of staff. This is essential to ensure you choose the right coffee machine for your workforce rather than the machine based on your personal preferences or being guided to from procurement.
Explore which beverages the majority of your staff prefer to drink, whether this be espresso, latte, or mocha and you can even learn more about their milk preferences too. This can be the difference between choosing a machine with a milk feed/heat element or a more basic coffee vending solution. Your internal survey may also help you explore other services you may need, for example, if your staff prefer tea options that you can consider within your coffee solutions to helo you cover all use cases such as new employees and visitors to your office building.
The survey is also a great opportunity to analyse tastes, time expectations and maturity. Some more sophisticated pallets would prefer a bean to cup and are happy to wait, whereas other less experienced looking for short-brew sachet/pod systems.
You also need to think about consumables and accessories you may need outside of the machine. This may include preferences around fresh roasted coffee beans, flavoured syrups, or drink stirrers. Decaffeinated options can also come into play which may require you to have a machine with two bean hoppers.
Monitor usage of coffee facilities
To be able to analyse coffee consumption and usage within an office environment, you can implement two specific methods:
•Automated Tracked
•Observational
For larger offices, with a higher use of the coffee-making facilities with a more robust solution already in place automated tracking through a software program which can provide more accurate data around daily consumption levels.
For smaller offices, you can set up consumption logs and use a template checklist to be filled in by workers when using the facilities over a short period to get an idea of the machine use, time of day most busy and the type of drinks the machine is used for.
You can also use a more observational approach and monitor the machine use that you currently have, looking at peak time queues, end-of-day cup usage and the types of drinks which are being brewed the most. Using this approach will also be a great way to look at your worker’s frustrations and can also be used to validate the survey data.
Considering a machine in larger office spaces, you may need to gain feedback on the location to place your coffee machine and factor whether you should have more than one machine to match the size of your building and coffee-making facilities.
Whether your drinks-making facilities are more of a quick necessity, required for frequent breaks or ensure a positive taste experience, your survey can help you to decipher the type of machine to invest in.
Keeping the feedback simple and quick to submit using multiple choice options will help identify commonalities in the data whilst providing open-ended questions can provide you with more context.
