A "Lunch with the CEO" program is designed to improve communication between a company CEO and an important group of stakeholders, the company's employees. The program has a side effect of improving employee morale. Once a month, an employee who would not normally have an opportunity to talk to the CEO directly is invited to lunch with the CEO.
The lunch can be at a near-by restaurant, in the company cafeteria, or in the CEO's office. It can be one-on-one, or it can be a small group. The employee gets to ask the CEO about anything work related. The CEO answers questions and asks his or her own questions. This dialog lets the CEO know what is important to the employees, gives the CEO an opportunity to discuss ideas with someone whose perspective is very different from the CEOs direct reports, and gives the employee an opportunity to ask about company issues beyond the usual "sound-bite" level.
The CEO leaves the meeting having done his or her job a little better by including another important group of stakeholders. The employee goes away feeling much better about the company and its leadership and in a mood to share that positive feeling with those around him or her.
The lunch can be at a near-by restaurant, in the company cafeteria, or in the CEO's office. It can be one-on-one, or it can be a small group. The employee gets to ask the CEO about anything work related. The CEO answers questions and asks his or her own questions. This dialog lets the CEO know what is important to the employees, gives the CEO an opportunity to discuss ideas with someone whose perspective is very different from the CEOs direct reports, and gives the employee an opportunity to ask about company issues beyond the usual "sound-bite" level.
The CEO leaves the meeting having done his or her job a little better by including another important group of stakeholders. The employee goes away feeling much better about the company and its leadership and in a mood to share that positive feeling with those around him or her.