Necessary Steps
- Identify the relevant stakeholder groups important for the creation of the canteen commission, and invite potential participants as representatives of their organisations and competences.
- Together, create a concept for the canteen commission to be shared with the management of the organisation. The concept should aim to answer the following questions:
- What are the aims for the commission (e.g. improved transparency, more customers, more sustainability, etc.)?
- What are the tasks at hand; what needs to be done (e.g. communication on canteen matters, changes in the operation, customer survey, educational events, etc.)?
- Who else does the group need to achieve its goals (e.g. contracting authority, caterer, procurer, customer representative, etc.)?
- How often and under which circumstances does the canteen commission meet (e.g. twice per year for about 2 hours)?
- How are the meetings organized (e.g. clarify who chairs the meetings, how decisions are made, how meeting minutes are kept, and who receives the minutes)?
- Decide on a chair person to lead the canteen commission.
- Clarify what power(s) the canteen commission’s decisions have; are they only empowered to give recommendations, or can they make implementable decisions?
- Agree on the communication structures for the canteen commission.
More Issues To Consider
- The canteen commission is an ideal forum to look for solutions to all kinds of issues arising between customers and the providers of catering services.
- Minutes from meetings are an important record of what has been agreed upon.
- Define deadlines for decisions; no reply means agreement.
