Maximizing Employee Satisfaction through Corporate Gifts

Corporate gifts can be a highly effective means of strengthening the employer/employee relationship. Indeed, such business gift programs can prove integral in increasing employee satisfaction, thereby enhancing staff productivity, retention, loyalty and goodwill toward the organization in kind.

A Time to Give

The best and most memorable corporate gifts are those that have a purpose, program or occasion in mind. Here are some opportune times for a business to render a staff gift:

• Reward and Recognition Programs: These offer a way to reinforce appreciation of performance and achievement of strategic goals and objectives.
• Special Contests and Incentives: Making the workplace fun while instilling a sense of healthy competition can greatly benefit a business. Contest and incentive programs with handsome rewards will duly motivate, whether the goal is to increase sales, reduce expenses, maximize productivity or generate new ideas.
• Employment Anniversaries:  This is the perfect time for employers to recognize the importance and value of an employee’s commitment to the business. With increased competition to keep talent in-house, employment anniversaries are more important than ever for gifting.
• Holidays: This is an ideal time to say “thank you” for employee efforts on behalf of the company and highlight personal achievements for the year.
• Birthdays: This provides an opportunity to make a personal connection with staff and let them know they are appreciated at an individual level.

Gift Ideas and Messages

Beyond discerning when to give corporate gifts, it is also important to match the right gift with the right occasion. Consider this:

• Keep the gift relevant, practical, and personal. When possible, focus on picking items each employee will like and are suited to their tastes, rather than what the company can buy in bulk.
• Include the company logo and, when feasible, personalize the item with the employee’s name, date, and special message. This will always remind the employee that their employer appreciates them and took the time and expense to have the gift personalized.
• Match the item to the occasion. While smaller, inexpensive items are good to boost company morale and other such endeavors, staff efforts that have made a notable business impact – on the bottom line or otherwise – would necessitate a larger ticket item to duly convey the company’s level of appreciation for the contribution being recognized. With contest programs, it can be expected that effort will be commensurate with the winner gift(s) and reward(s) offered.   

In Summary

It is possible to enhance employee satisfaction through corporate gifting, but remember this:

• Make the gift purposeful and in line with corporate image with respect to values and operating philosophy.
• Peg gifting to special occasions rather than just gifting with no particular purpose in mind. Consistency is the key to assure all employees receive equal recognition for birthday, anniversary and other such gift-worthy events.
• Focus on the individual tastes of each gift recipient. This shows employees that their employer is interested in them as a person rather than just a general staffer.
• Be creative and have fun with the gift process. Employees will feel that their employers genuinely enjoy making them happy, instead of just going through the motions as a means to an end.