Featurespace has developed market-leading solutions to prevent fraud and counter money laundering. They’ve also been recognised worldwide for their award-winning technology and first-rate results in fighting enterprise fraud and financial crime. Alongside this lauded reputation, Featurespace believes one of their greatest successes is being talked about as the ‘most brilliant team to work with’, as customers and team members alike have a great experience with the company.
This mindset means that building a great culture and keeping teammates happy are naturally a primary focus for Matt, the CCO of Featurespace, and Rachel, the London Office Manager. We’ve been lucky enough to sit down with Matt and Rachel to discuss how they keep the team motivated and happy.
For Featurespace, a major way to increase employee happiness is through their food offering. “Food is a vital part of our company culture,” said Matt. “It’s long been one of our company values to ensure the fridges and offices are always full. We see eating well together as a natural way to build community and foster connections amongst the team, and ensure people feel appreciated in the workplace.”
Investing in the office environment as a communal space is part of a wider plan that recognises that for many of us, the office is a primary area of socialising and as such can be a very supportive and positive environment.
The Challenge
Finding a food solution that reliably provided the service they needed, and added to the company culture.
Featurespace had worked with a major food delivery company before joining Feedr, and found that without that specialised office catering knowledge, there was often something lacking.
Other companies that offer office catering as an add-on rather than their main offering perhaps hadn’t fully considered the complexities of getting a large order to an office, resulting in mistakes and a service that didn’t fully address their needs. Matt highlighted the difficulty in finding a flexible solution, as early starts meant that when 12 o’clock rolled around, the team was ready to eat. As other providers started lunch orders at 12, it meant that restaurants were struggling to accommodate these larger corporate orders alongside the lunchtime rush, leading to delays in arrival times and hunger pangs in the office.
There were also issues with order labels, difficulties with customising orders, inadequate problem-solving, and communication issues, which damaged the quality of the account management relationship. These seemingly minor issues snowballed into major time-wasters. Issues such as improper labelling meant they had to manually search the order input spreadsheet trying to match dishes to employees, all while the food was left sitting, turning from lukewarm to decidedly cold. Rather than providing a benefit that improved the workplace, Matt felt the delivery service they were using led to unnecessary frustration and admin which prompted Rachel to start searching for an alternative that was reliable, tailored to the office experience and could ensure that the team was kept happy and fed.
The Solution
A responsive, bespoke office catering service that anticipated and served the specific needs of the workforce.
Featurespace was searching for a smaller company where they could enjoy a more bespoke experience. They really wanted someone that understood the specific needs and challenges of catering for an office in the midst of hybridity. Drawn in by our specialised focus and impressed by our professional appearance (thanks!), Featurespace soon signed up with Feedr for a once-a-week Cloud Canteen offering and the occasional group order.
To get lunch delivered, Featurespacers no longer had to manually input orders, or collect them on a spreadsheet. This, allowed the team to focus their time and energy on other issues – customers! The team was immediately able to set up their account and had no problems ordering their first meals, allowing them to enjoy the considerable range of vegetarian and fresh options that fit nicely into a health-conscious lifestyle, as well as something for those slightly more indulgent days. Soon the whole team were enjoying their favourite vendors, with Hop leading the pack as the office favourite and Farmer J’s salads in front for Rachel.
The Outcome
A happier, better-fed team, and a happier, stress-free office manager.
Now Featurespace were using a service built with business in mind that allowed them to provide a satisfying and enjoyable meal for employees without the hassle, the team were open to new possibilities. As one of Featurespaces’ other offices had started to offer lunch twice a week, the London office began to consider doing the same for the sake of parity.
While this hadn’t been workable in the past, due to the various inconveniences and issues with their pre-existing delivery service, Featurespace were now able to expand their food offering for their team as a result of using Feedr’s service.
“We came to a conclusion that we could use Feedr more because it’s actually really easy, nice to use and it’s no real overhead for Rachel, or myself, or anyone else,’’ said Matt.
The food offering at Featurespace was now something that could be relied upon, whether that was through the occasional Gail’s order for a last-minute catered meeting, or through providing the team with the opportunity to connect and communicate over a delicious meal.
