Friday Lunch

So, for a change of pace on my blogs I thought I would share with you something we do at DYMO Endicia that’s really a big part of our culture. Friday lunch! Yes, I know everyone gets a lunch, but at DYMO Endicia we’ve always bought lunch for the team on Fridays. It’s a chance for us to come together as a company and as individuals to chat. I believe that some of our best ideas and innovations have come from this kind of regular, informal get-together and that’s why I think it’s so important.

We started this in the 80’s when we numbered less than 10 people. On Fridays, one of us would order pizza and we’d gather in the lobby of our small building to eat lunch together. At some point, one person got assigned (or volunteered, or was “volunteered”) and they would order the pizza for everyone. As our numbers grew and tastes got pickier it became harder to choose, so we came up with a menu and we figured it out. Eventually we decided to rotate who ordered the pizza so everyone got a chance and no one person got burdened. We have a posted calendar in which everyone participates – and you better not forget when it’s your turn because many mouths are waiting. At some point, Pizza Friday expanded its scope and we now have a very diverse variety of types of food on Friday and try to accommodate everyone’s choices. As we’ve grown we’ve also had to figure out how to keep the phones manned while lunch goes on. So our Support team now eats in shifts so they can make sure our customers are taken care of and still share in at least part of the meal.

Even though this sounds like it’s all about food, really it’s about getting together on Fridays to wrap up the week, share stories, have some laughs, discuss work or quietly get a hold of someone you wanted to talk to about something. It’s basically a nice change of pace with a purpose. Many times you’ll see a handful of folks drawing up the next idea, solving a customer request or figuring out some initiative with others’ participation. Other times, it’s just about quietly eating lunch before running back to work. When it’s sunny out, some folks will wander outside. Others may run back to their desk to finish up some deadline. But most of us eat and talk in our large conference room.

We still call our Friday lunch “Pizza Friday” even though we only have pizza about once a month. If you’re ever in town on a Friday and are in our neighborhood, please stop by for Pizza Friday! You’ll never know what you’ll eat but there will definitely be some good conversation! If you’ve never tried a similar type of event at your business, I urge you to give it a try. I think you’ll be surprised at the amount of camaraderie and good ideas that can come from something as simple as lunch.