Every Thursday at one o’clock there is lunch on the long table on the ground floor. It is free, nobody has to come, and about forty people do.
How it started
Badly. In our second month we had nineteen members who did not know each other and a community page nobody posted on. We bought bread, cheese and soup, put a note on the door and waited. Six people came. The next week, eleven.
What it costs
Between £160 and £200 depending on the week. One person spends an hour shopping and half an hour setting up. That is the whole budget. There is no catering contract and no sign-up sheet.
Why it works when other things do not
Three reasons, as far as we can tell.
It is the same time every week, so nobody has to decide. It is food, so there is a reason to be there beyond networking, which almost nobody actually enjoys. And it is a long table rather than small ones, so you sit next to whoever is next, not whoever you already know.
We tried a monthly breakfast as well. It died in four months. The frequency is what makes it a habit; monthly is just an event you forget.
What comes out of it
Nothing you could put on a slide. But three of the eleven teams in the building were introduced across that table, our accountant is a member who sat opposite the right person, and when someone loses a contract we tend to hear about it on a Thursday rather than when they hand in their notice.
If you come for a tour on a Thursday, we will time it for half twelve and you can stay for lunch. That is not a sales tactic, or not only one — it is the most accurate twenty minutes you will get of what the building is actually like.
