Tasty Catering Recognized for Promoting Employee Well-Being and Performance

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. - March 10, 2014 - PRLog -- Tasty Catering received the American Psychological Association’s (APA) 2014 Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award (PHWA) for its efforts to create a healthy, high-performing work environment at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 8.  One of four employers from across North America to receive the award this year, Tasty Catering won in the small for-profit category. The company is a previous winner of the Illinois Psychological Association’s state-level Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award, qualifying it to be nominated for the APA award.

Distinguished for its efforts to foster employee involvement, health and safety, employee growth and development, work-life balance and employee recognition, Tom Walter, CEO and Chief Culture Officer at Tasty Catering says, “Our culture-based leadership model and financial transparency implemented through the Great Game of Business are examples of the workplace practices that helped us earn this award.”

Tasty Catering’s psychologically healthy workplace practices have rewarded both the organization and its employees. Staff members know exactly what is expected of them, they enjoy freedom with responsibility related to their jobs and functions, they have flexibility to meet family needs as they arise, and their efforts are regularly rewarded. For Tasty Catering, the benefits of such a culture go well beyond job satisfaction. In addition to high staff morale, last year’s business showed a 14 percent rise in sales and a 117 percent increase in profits, due to playing the Great Game of Business as a team.

“Our first core value is ‘always moral, ethical and legal,’” said Tom Walter, CEO and Chief Culture Officer at Tasty Catering.  “We follow Immanuel Kant’s four principles of ethics.  The third principle is ‘The right not to be injured: physically, emotionally, psychologically or financially.’  Everyone in our company is aware of this statement. We therefore focus on reducing the disruptors that impact staff and on eliminating issues that may lead to an amygdala hijack.  This allows staff to reach self-actualization, which raises self-esteem and allows us all to be psychology healthy.”

Pro-education all the way, Tasty Catering operates its own in-house Tasty Catering University offering five “majors” such as business, English, sales, food science and professional development. In 2013, each employee was required to log 40 hours of company-sponsored courses and workshops such as “How We Do That,” “The Greening of Tasty Catering,” “Generation Integration” and “Finance Basics,” among many others. Moreover, the company pays for all professional certifications, licenses and course work for everyone from drivers and chefs to sales staff, executives and special event planners.

The company supports its philosophy of work-life balance in multiple ways. Tasty Catering’s Logistics Director sees to it that those who wish to worship on Saturday or Sunday mornings can do so without a scheduling conflict. As Tasty Catering’s owners come from a family of 11 children, they know the value of family and have put policies into place to support this. The company acknowledges that family emergencies do occur and, as such, are sufficient reason to leave work early or take time off with no penalty.

“Forward-thinking employers such as Tasty Catering are going beyond the typical wellness program to focus on a broader view of well-being,” says David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA and head of the APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence. “When an employer is truly committed to helping employees thrive, psychologically healthy workplace principles become ingrained in the very norms, values and beliefs that are part of the organization’s culture. In turn, this helps employees perform at their best, on and off the job.”

The APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards are designed to showcase the very best from among the award winners recognized by the APA’s affiliated state, provincial and territorial psychological associations. Nominees are evaluated on their workplace practices in the areas of employee involvement, health and safety, employee growth and development, work-life balance and employee recognition. Awards are given to for-profit and not-for-profit organizations as well as government, military and educational institutions.

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About Tasty Catering:

Tasty Catering is a suburban Chicago-based catering and event planning services company that has been exceeding customers catering needs for more than twenty years.  Services span a large variety of events and occasions, from meetings, conferences, employee appreciation events and outdoor picnics to holiday parties, birthdays, milestone celebrations and weddings.  Tasty Catering’s many satisfied customers include Abbott, American Airlines, Colgate, CDW, Harris Bank, Mortenson Construction, Navistar, Sherman Hospital and the University of Chicago.

Tasty Catering, 2013 Daily Herald’s Readers’ Choice Award for Best Caterer, 2010 Achievement in Catering Excellence (ACE) award winner, 2010 Governor’s Sustainability award winner, and 2009 Better Business Bureau Torch Award Winner for Marketplace Ethics, is the "go-to" caterer for the Chicago-area. The company is part of the elite group Leading Caterers in America (LCA), has received numerous NICE Awards and has been recognized as a 2012 Workforce Chicago Award Winner, 2012 Psychologically Healthy Workplace, a Crain’s Chicago Business Best Place to Work (2010-2013), a Best Place to Work in Illinois for six consecutive years (2007-2012), and is a Best and Brightest Winning Company (2009, 2010, 2012).

Tasty Catering is part of 80-Nine Holdings, which also includes the Great Game of Business Chicago, It’s My Company Too!, nuphoriq, That’s Caring, The Thought Board and Touhy Capital.

Visit http://www.tastycatering.com for more information.

About the American Psychological Association:

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. The APA’s membership includes more than 134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives. More information about the APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Award winners and Best Practices honorees is available at http://www.apaexcellence.org/