Employee Gifting is a tricky area, bet it onboarding packages or staff recognition. Make sure you get it right.
- Staff who feel valued have lower turnover and significantly higher engagement.
- Personalise gifts and make them genuinely useful, so they are not left in a bottom drawer.
- Package gifts well; branded, thoughtful presentation shows effort and deepens brand connection.
- Don't ignore remote workers, send them something physical rather than just vouchers.
- Avoid cheap or inappropriate gifts, which can do more harm than good to your brand.
Rewarding staff for the work they do is critical to an organisations success. Indicators show that companies whose staff feel valued have a deeper connection with their employer leading to reduced turnover, increased organisational success and significantly higher employee engagement.
However, as you start contemplating some good gift ideas to reward staff with, it's important to remember that there are some very important do’s and don’ts of employee gifting to make sure you’re doing the right thing by all of your employees collectively. This blog post aims to help you understand some of these -
Do: Make it personal
Make sure your gifts have an impact, whatever the reason you're sending them. Personalisation can either be individual or to the circumstances you're sending them for but this will ensure they have the desired impact. If it's to build an employee brand, make sure they embody your brand, if they’re to onboard new staff ensure they’re useful gifts for someone starting their journey with you.
Do: Ensure it's worthwhile
Only give gifts that people will appreciate. Too often we’ve all received something that ends up in the bottom drawer. Make sure your gifts are thoughtful and can be put to good use.
Do: Make it relevant
Gifts that help drive continued brand connection help companies connect with their employer and therefore drive deeper engagement.
Do: Give thoughtful gifts
Give meaningful gifts that demonstrate how much your employees mean to your organisation. They’ve invested in you as a manager, make sure you recognise and appreciate that accordingly.
Do: Make sure its well packaged
Delivering a brand experience that is as good as the one your customer gets is critical. By giving a branded, packaged gift, it demonstrates effort and attention to detail which will be greatly appreciated, and continues to drive brand connection.
Don't: Give inappropriate gifts
Send gifts that are appropriate for certain circumstances. Sending the wrong gift at the wrong time can have huge implications for both the individual and the company.
Don't: Ignore remote workers
Too often employees in the office have a life filled with work-perks while remote workers are only treated to 'gift vouchers' and virtual gifting experiences. Send them something physical so they can create a connection point between their virtual environment and the office.
Don't: Send cheap gifts
Always consider if the gift you’re giving is something you would like to receive. If it's cheap or worthless, it's likely to do more harm than good to your brand and reputation.
Don't: Make it impersonal
People want to feel valued by their employer and you do this by demonstrating that you care. Do this by creating individualised gifts for certain circumstances.
Summary
Done right, employee gifting can have a huge impact on an organisation's employee appreciation and enables you to reward / welcome / encourage staff on an individual level, in turn creating a deeper connection point and an organisational brand that people want to work for.
About Impressm
Impressm is an Australian corporate merch and gifting partner that makes branded welcome packs simple — from free designs within 24 hours to warehousing and send-on-demand delivery anywhere in Australia, using 100% carbon-offset couriers.
