Expensed meal programs and stipends can increase employee satisfaction and strengthen corporate culture. Here's why and how your business should consider the benefits of a corporate meal program.
Benefits of a corporate meal allowance for employees
During the busy work day, time is at a premium. While everyone needs to eat, preparing or planning meals is yet another thing on the to-do list, so offering meal benefits that are easy to redeem and offer choice and autonomy is a great job perk. Here are some of the ways an employee meal plan can help your business.
Build corporate culture: Sharing a meal strengthens company culture. Whether it's a team workshop, social gathering, or training session, sharing food encourages a team mentality.
Team building and loyalty initiatives: Getting your team together to share a company-funded meal creates bonds between employees and encourages engagement. Employees are more likely to stay in jobs where they feel appreciated by their employers.
Engage remote employees: Meal programs are something all employees can take part in, no matter where they're working from. Offering inclusive meal perks shows that your business cares for all team members.
Include consultants: Treating consultants to a meal benefit increases their loyalty and appreciation for your business, making them feel part of the team.
Employee appreciation: Meal delivery makes employees feel appreciated. This company culture is good for employee recruitment and retention while increasing employee satisfaction.
Types of employee meal programs
Meal credits can be flexible to fit your business. Allocate meal benefits by employee, team, day, time, location, or event using various types of meal programs.
Per diem: A per diem is a daily allowance offered to employees to cover meals and incidental costs while on a business trip or away from the office.
Travel allowance: Like a per diem, a travel meal allowance provides an amount to cover the cost of meals and snacks while an employee is traveling away from home for business.
Client or internal meetings: Make it easy for your team to host clients or their team with a meal during work hours by offering a meal stipend through DoorDash for Business.
Celebrate special occasions or milestones: Whether it's a monthly lunch-and-learn or an annual office milestone, treat your team to a celebratory meal by ordering a group meal.
Employee perks: Offering all employees — including remote workers — a meal program to use at their discretion is a valued employee benefit. Allowing employees to have a meal of their choice delivered and reimbursed makes them feel valued, promoting productivity.
Setting up a meal stipend with DoorDash for Business
Getting your team set up with DoorDash for Business is simple for both employees and administrative staff. DoorDash for Business offers expensed meals with the following benefits:
Automated reimbursement: Employees enjoy subsidized meals without needing to submit receipts. Orders are automatically expensed to the company DoorDash for Business expense account.
Customized budgeting: Employers can set limits on when, where, how much employees can spend, and how often. For example, to promote a return-to-office, a company can restrict expensed meal delivery to only deliver to a designated workplace address.
Flexibility: With a meal program, team members order what they want according to their individual preferences, tastes, health, and dietary needs.
Same-day setup: Create an account, invite team members, and set a meal budget, adding meal credits for employees to use right away.
Scalable flexibility: No matter the size of your team, on any given day, DoorDash for Business fits. Employers can schedule group orders and manage meal expenses for large — and growing — teams.
Everyone on your team appreciates employee meal programs
Meal programs are an inclusive job perk to provide your team. Fueling your staff with meal benefits is a great way to show appreciation to the whole team, no matter what your office set up. Here are some of the reasons your team members will thank you.
Variety: DoorDash is home to more than 500,000 merchant partners, so employees can order whatever suits their tastes.
Easy for admins: Food ordering budgets are automatic, and receipts are sent directly to the expense reporting tool. There's no paperwork to collect.
Paperless meal reimbursement: Employee food orders are automatically expensed to the company account without needing to submit a meal receipt. No expense reports are required.
Inclusive benefits: Expensed meals are an employee benefit for in-office, remote, and hybrid teams equally.
Privacy: Employees can choose restaurants and meals that work for their health and dietary needs without the need for an explanation.
Expensed meals and snacks: Corporate teams can use DoorDash to buy snacks from convenience or grocery stores for workshops or training sessions, or to order company meals.
Meals on the go: For workers who travel, DoorDash for Business offers a wide variety of meal options, providing delivery wherever an employee may be working.
More than 9 to 5: DoorDash operates around the clock, even when your team is working late.
Empower team leaders: Offer leaders, HR executives, or culture managers their own allowance to treat their corporate teams to an expensed meal, which offers flexibility and empowers employees at all levels.
Meal programs and reimbursements are meaningful employee benefits.
Subsidized meal programs attract talent and foster company culture and productivity. Expensed meals show employee appreciation, strengthening all sectors of your business. Learn more about DoorDash for Business and the benefits of offering expensed meals to your corporate team.
