Lunch and Learn Program: Ideas and How to Run One

By Nicole Hullihen, former SaaS Chief Operating Officer and Microsoft MVP · Updated October 18, 2026

Small businesses rarely have big training budgets or time for full-day workshops. But teams still need to learn: new tools, better processes, customer skills, safety and how other parts of the business work. A lunch and learn is one of the simplest ways to make learning a habit. Bring people together over a meal, share something useful for 30 minutes and get back to work.

This guide explains how to run a lunch and learn program that people actually look forward to, with 40 topic ideas, a session format, tips for presenters, pay rules for hourly employees and ways to measure whether it's working.

What Is a Lunch and Learn?

A lunch and learn is a short, informal learning session held during a meal break or over lunch provided by the business. Sessions are usually 30 to 60 minutes and cover a practical topic, presented by an employee, manager, vendor or outside expert.

Why Lunch and Learns Work

• Low cost. The main expense is food.
• Knowledge sharing. Employees learn from each other. See how to keep knowledge from walking out the door.
• Cross-team understanding. People learn what other teams do.
• Development. Presenters build speaking and leadership skills.
• Connection. Sharing a meal builds relationships.
• Flexibility. Easy to run monthly or weekly.

40 Lunch and Learn Topic Ideas

Skills and Tools

• Excel or Google Sheets shortcuts everyone should know. See 10 Excel functions every user should know.
• How to use our scheduling or time clock system.
• Writing clear emails.
• Running better meetings.
• Time management and prioritizing work.
• Using AI tools safely at work. See the AI policy template.
• Basic troubleshooting for common equipment.
• Taking good notes. See how to take good notes in meetings.

Customer and Sales

• Handling difficult customers.
• What our best customers love about us.
• How a sale moves from lead to invoice.
• Listening skills for customer calls.
• Turning complaints into repeat business.
• Reading and responding to online reviews.
• Upselling without being pushy.
• Our top five customer questions and the best answers.

How the Business Works

• How our business makes money.
• A day in the life of another department.
• How scheduling and dispatch decisions are made.
• Where our costs go and how small changes add up.
• Our company goals for the year. See the one-page strategic plan.
• Our core values in action. See core values examples.
• How purchasing and inventory work.
• What happens after a job is completed.

Safety and Compliance

• Lifting safely.
• Slips, trips and falls prevention.
• Fire safety and emergency exits.
• Ladder safety.
• Recognizing and reporting hazards.
• Cybersecurity basics and spotting phishing emails.
• Protecting customer information.
• Heat and cold safety for outdoor workers.

Growth and Well-Being

• Personal budgeting basics.
• Understanding your benefits.
• Managing stress.
• Career paths in our company. See career path examples.
• Giving and receiving feedback.
• Healthy habits for shift workers.
• Learning a new skill: what worked for me.
• Book club: one key idea from a business book.

How to Run a Lunch and Learn

Step 1: Pick a Topic

Choose something practical and relevant. Ask employees what they want to learn, and look at recurring problems, questions or mistakes for ideas.

Step 2: Find a Presenter

Employees are often the best presenters because they know the business. Vendors, customers, local experts and other business owners can also present. Give presenters a simple template and plenty of notice.

Step 3: Schedule It

Pick a regular time, such as the second Tuesday of each month. Keep it short: 30 to 45 minutes of content plus time for questions. For shift-based teams, consider running the same session twice or recording it.

Step 4: Provide Lunch

Order food people will enjoy and include options for different diets. A simple, reliable lunch keeps attendance up.

Step 5: Keep It Interactive

Ask questions, use real examples and leave time for discussion. Hands-on demos work better than slides.

Step 6: Share Notes

Send a short summary, slides or a recording afterward, and add key takeaways to your SOPs or knowledge base.

Step 7: Get Feedback

Ask two quick questions: "Was this useful?" and "What should we cover next?"

Sample Lunch and Learn Agenda

Presenter Template

Pay Rules for Hourly Employees

This is important for small businesses with hourly staff. Under federal rules, attendance at lectures, meetings and training programs counts as work time unless all four of these conditions are met:

1. Attendance is outside the employee's regular working hours.
2. Attendance is in fact voluntary.
3. The course, lecture or meeting is not directly related to the employee's job.
4. The employee does not perform any productive work during attendance.

Most lunch and learns about work topics are directly related to the job, so for non-exempt employees they're generally paid work time, even if attendance is voluntary and lunch is provided. And if a lunch and learn takes place during an employee's meal break, the break may no longer be a bona fide unpaid meal period, since the Department of Labor says that for a bona fide meal period, the employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purpose of eating regular meals.

The simplest approach: treat lunch and learns as paid time, have hourly employees clock in and schedule the session in addition to their regular meal break when possible. See are training hours paid and meal and rest break laws.

How to Keep People Engaged

• Keep it short and start on time.
• Make it practical, with something people can use tomorrow.
• Rotate presenters so different voices are heard.
• Use real stories from your business.
• Let employees vote on topics.
• Good food helps.
• Recognize presenters publicly.

Measuring Your Lunch and Learn Program

Common Lunch and Learn Mistakes

• Topics that aren't useful to the audience.
• Long lectures with no discussion.
• Not paying hourly employees for job-related sessions.
• Taking away employees' meal breaks.
• Inconsistent schedule, so the habit never forms.
• No follow-up or notes.
• Always the same presenter.

Lunch and Learn Checklist

Lunch and Learns for Shift and Field Teams

Not every team sits in an office at noon. For restaurants, retail, field service and other shift-based businesses:

• Try a "breakfast and learn" before the morning shift.
• Run the same session twice to reach different shifts.
• Hold short sessions at the shop before crews head out.
• Record sessions and share them for people who couldn't attend.
• Keep them shorter, 15 to 20 minutes, during slower periods.

Whatever the format, hourly employees should be on the clock.

Example: A Lunch and Learn Program in a Small Business

A 25-person HVAC company starts a monthly lunch and learn on the second Thursday. Technicians, office staff and the owner take turns presenting. Early topics include "Five questions customers ask about new systems," "How our scheduling board works" and "Lifting safely in tight spaces."

The company provides lunch, and hourly employees clock in for the session. After six months, office staff better understand field work, technicians know how scheduling decisions are made and two technicians who presented say they feel more confident talking with customers. The owner budgets about $300 a month for food.

Budgeting for Lunch and Learns

Compare the cost with the value of fewer mistakes, faster onboarding and better cross-team understanding.

Helping Employees Become Presenters

Many employees have never presented before. Make it easy:

• Offer the presenter template and a short checklist.
• Let people co-present with a colleague.
• Allow a short demo instead of slides.
• Do a quick practice run together.
• Thank presenters publicly and mention it in their reviews.

Presenting is a great development opportunity. See mentoring programs and employee recognition ideas.

Turning Sessions Into Lasting Knowledge

The value of a lunch and learn grows when you capture it. After each session, save the slides or notes, add key steps to your procedures and build a simple library of past topics. New hires can review past sessions during onboarding, and you'll avoid explaining the same things over and over.

Questions Employees Often Ask

"Do I have to attend?" Your policy should say. Many businesses make them optional but encourage attendance.

"Will I be paid for attending?" If you're an hourly employee and the session is about work, you should be on the clock.

"Can I suggest a topic or present?" Yes. Suggestions and volunteer presenters keep the program fresh.

Building a 12-Month Lunch and Learn Calendar

Planning a year ahead makes it easier to line up presenters and keeps the program from fizzling out. Leave a few open slots for timely topics or employee requests.

Inviting Outside Presenters

Vendors, suppliers, insurance agents, local fire departments and community organizations often present for free. A supplier might demo a new product, your insurance agent might cover safety basics and a local bank might explain personal budgeting. Ask outside presenters to keep it educational rather than a sales pitch, and share your session format so they know what to expect. Customers can be powerful presenters too: hearing directly what they value can change how your team works.

Running Virtual Lunch and Learns

For remote or multi-location teams, video sessions work well. Keep them to 30 minutes, ask people to turn cameras on if they're comfortable, use the chat for questions and record the session. You can send a meal gift card or reimburse lunch so remote employees get the same perk as those in the office.

Getting Leadership Involved

Lunch and learns work best when leaders show up. When the owner or managers attend, ask questions and present occasionally, employees see that learning matters. Leaders can also use sessions to explain decisions, share company goals and answer questions in a relaxed setting. Just keep it a conversation, not a lecture, and make sure leaders listen as much as they talk.

Rotating hosts among managers also spreads the work of organizing sessions, so the program doesn't depend on one person.

Lunch and Learns for New Hires

Lunch and learns are a natural fit for onboarding. Invite new hires to sessions about how the business works, key tools and safety basics. Pair them with a seat next to an experienced employee so they can ask questions and get to know people. Over time, the recorded sessions in your library can become part of every new hire's first month. See the new hire orientation checklist.

Ask new hires what they wish they'd learned sooner. Their answers make great future topics.

Keep a running list of these ideas, and revisit it whenever you plan the next quarter of sessions, so good suggestions never get lost.

Run Lunch and Learns With Updoot

Updoot's meeting agendas keep each session organized, with notes and takeaways saved for the team. The employee time clock records hourly employees' time for paid sessions, and SOP management turns what people learn into documented procedures.

Sources

• eCFR: 29 CFR 785.27, Lectures, Meetings and Training Programs
• U.S. DOL: Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked Under the FLSA
• U.S. DOL: Breaks and Meal Periods

Frequently Asked Questions