It seems like just as we were all ramping up to take on busy season, the COVID-19 pandemic came along and forced us all to go home and pick up where we left off. For most, this is easier said than done — emails and social media are simple enough, but we’re left wondering how to oversee a catering team from a distance.

While you may be a strong leader in face-to-face context, turning that experience into a virtual interface can be challenging for many. Trust and communication become essential, since you don’t have the privilege of walking to a team member’s space and checking in.

We spoke with our catering experts to see how they’re faring and they had some helpful insight to share with caterers everywhere as we face these difficult circumstances.

Marcia Selden Catering & Event Planning has done just that with their efforts to give back to their community and offering flexible options to continue serving their customers. We sat down with Robin Selden, Managing Partner and Executive Chef for a Q&A to discuss planning for the future, how they’re pivoting their business, and more.

When operating a business, your team is your most valuable asset. You could have a warehouse stocked of items, a bank account full of zeros, and a never-ending client roster, but you’d still be nowhere without a great team to support you. Strong employer-employee relationships are essential for success, but almost more important is the team dynamic within your employees.

While you may be busy with brand development, business travel, networking, and other leadership responsibilities, your team is on the ground working on client work — and they’re often working together. If they don’t get along, this can quickly become an issue that has a negative impact on your bottom line. Poor morale is devastating to the client experience and will eventually lead to a high turnover rate.

In order to combat this, it’s important to develop team-building exercises for your employees to hone their collaboration skills and nurture their internal relationships. Here are a few team-building exercises to consider.

As we enter an era where cost savings are more important than ever, it’s a great time to open up the discussion of resources for caterers where they can cut back on spending. If you’re an industry pro, you’ve likely heard of rebate programs or GPOs. A common misconception, however, is that the two are created equally. In reality, there are a number of differentiating factors that sets GPOs apart from rebate programs (and even factors that set GPOs apart from other GPOs).

Given this, we want to break this down in simpler terms to help caterers make an educated choice for their business.