Creating a Happier Workforce
You can run any type of business in the world, but if you don’t have happy, productive and talented employees, success is a tough nut to crack. After all, your employees do the hard work of running your business on a day-to-day basis. If they’re not happy, it will show in your bottom line. One of the simplest ways to encourage greater employee engagement and loyalty is to show your workforce that you care through employee gifting. Gifts don’t have to be expensive or high tech to help employees feel more invested in your company. Even the gesture of a small token can boost morale.
Reap Considerable Benefits from Employee Gifting
Gifting is the practice of giving presents or mementos to employees who deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments, on special occasions or just because. Many businesses also engage in gifting around the holidays in an effort to thank their workforce for another year of success. Not all business leaders believe in the idea of employee gifting, but those who do can notice great results from the practice. Giving employees gifts has been found to have a wide range of benefits. Some of the most compelling include:
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Greater employee satisfaction and fewer overall employee complaints
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Increased individual productivity
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Better teamwork among employees
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Better customer relations
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Reductions in employee turnover
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Fewer stress-related illnesses among employees
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Reductions in workplace accidents
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Reduced absenteeism
Choosing the Right Times & Occasions for Gifting
There are generally two types of occasions for which businesses engage in employee gifting. The first reason is to recognize the achievements of individual employees. The second is to recognize employees on holidays, professional holidays and other special occasions. Your business can choose gifting for only one of these reasons or for all. Whatever approach you choose, breaking down your gifting needs according to occasion will make it easier to find appropriate gifts. You can even shop by occasion to find Cane River Pecan gifts that are perfect for your purpose.
Gifting as a Project-Specific Incentive
Businesses that choose to use gifts as an incentive do so to help drive greater productivity or employee performance. Some businesses give cash bonuses to recognize achievements, but it’s also perfectly fine to offer other types of gifts. Keep your industry and the size of your business in mind when it comes to choosing your strategy. After all, cash bonuses can be great, but they might not fit your budget. It’s great to keep things fresh for employees with new gifts too. Whatever type of gift is used as an incentive, though, it’s essential to put the gift in context. Be clear about how the employee you’re recognizing has helped meet the goals of a certain project. Point out the specific behaviors and actions you’re praising whenever possible. This both provides needed recognition for a great employee and can help incentivize other employees to adopt the same positive behaviors.
Gifting for Awesome Performance
There are times when you want to recognize employees for an all-around job well done and not just an accomplishment on a specific project. Some companies also like to recognize an employee of the week, month or quarter. If you plan to recognize employees when they do something truly awesome on the job, be sure that you’ve put good guidelines in place for managers. You might want to list specific actions or behaviors that merit an award. It’s also a good idea to specify the type of gift to be given for each type of accomplishment. Keeping a stash of gifts on hand ensures that you’ll be able to award an amazing employee at a moment’s notice. Add your company’s logo to a customized gift tin and you’ll have a gift that’s ready to go whenever you need, as long as they are stored properly.
Gifting for Employee Celebrations
Of course, gifts are also a good idea when special occasions roll around. In some companies, employees always receive gifts on their birthdays. You can either tailor gifts to the individual or you can choose a standard gift to give to all employees. When you’re recognizing an employee on an important day such as a birthday, try to give the gift as close to that day as possible. If your office has a policy to have one birthday cake or get-together per month, you can still gift your employees shortly after they arrive at work or just before they leave for the day on their actual birthdays. It’s also good practice to recognize employees during professional holidays such as Administrative Professionals’ Day..
Gifting for Holidays
Business leaders often want to give gifts during the holidays but struggle to decide which holidays to recognize and what types of gifts are appropriate. Most companies reserve larger gifts for the pivotal winter holiday season. Remember that it’s a great idea to celebrate the season as a whole, especially in diverse workplaces. You can avoid alienating your employees by offering gifts that aren’t connected to any particular religious tradition.Gift cards, movie passes, cool office decor and snacks like Cane River Pecans are perfectly neutral, peaceful and loved by individuals from all different backgrounds.
How to Set a Budget for Corporate Gifting
One of the chief challenges of corporate gifting is setting a budget. It’s important to be sure that you’re investing the right amount of money in your gifting program so that employees are satisfied with what they’ve received and so that key decisions-makers don’t balk at gift expenses. Of course, there’s no definitive answer to the question of how much to budget for employee gifts. It’s important to evaluate what your company can afford. It’s also a good idea to determine a budget for different types of gifts. If you give gifts that are perceived as either too cheap or too expensive, you’ll put employees in an awkward position. As a rule of thumb, you can afford to go with less expensive gifts for occasions on which all employees are recognized, such as their birthdays. If you want to make an impression when you’re rewarding employees for awesome performance, though, you should spend a little more. Recognizing a significant achievement is also a great time to shop for a gift tailored to that particular employee.
Happy Employees, Successful Companies
Happy, motivated employees are at the heart of any enterprise’s success. If you’re looking for ways to encourage your employees to be more content on the job, a gifting program can make a big difference. After all, everyone loves being recognized for their unique achievements and character. Almost all employees will love receiving gifts too. Of course, to keep the experience positive, it’s important that employees understand that they’re simply being recognized for who they are or what they’ve done for your company. Let them know that there are no strings attached to the gift and that you or your company’s managers don’t expect anything in return. If you’re lucky, though, those awesome employees of yours might offer you a pecan or two when they crack open their carefully packed Cane River Pecan tins.
Want to learn more about effective corporate gifting? Explore the origins and techniques of this southern practice by downloading our complete guide below!
