Rewarding your employees and coworkers from time to time is essential for many reasons. With recognition and rewards, you can manage to boost productivity and motivation, decrease the overall turnover rate, and improve company culture. This, in turn, can help you achieve better business results and increase profitability.
The question is, how do you choose gifts that will ensure a superb recognition experience for your employees and colleagues and improve their morale? Below, five tips that will help you find the right gift for everyone and show some gratitude in the workplace.
Make it feel personal
When looking for the perfect gifts to give to your coworkers and employees, it could be tempting to reach for the most generic gifts available. They don’t require too much time or effort, and they are easy gifts that everyone loves, right? Well, not exactly. Although basic gift baskets and gift cards can be useful, chances are, your employees and coworkers won’t really remember these.
You want your gifts to stand out, and for that to happen, you need to make them feel personal. Tailor each one of the gifts according to your employees’ personalities, and keep in mind their unique traits. Making your employees feel recognized is a great way to improve your company’s workplace environment and it will help you build stronger relationships with your coworkers and employees.
Remember to add custom touches
Unique gifts are the ones that tell the recipient that you’ve put some time and effort into selecting/making the gift. Whether we are talking about DIY office gifts such as mugs and homemade cards, or creatively wrapped gifts, presents with custom touches are the ones that make employees and coworkers feel valued.
You can also come up with a custom design for totes, backpacks, pens, and other promotional materials that have your company’s logo on it and make them feel more luxe. This is a great gift idea since you get to surprise your employees and coworkers with a personalized gift while having them promote your company wherever they go. If you feel like your presents could use some extra custom touches, consider writing everyone little personalized notes that highlight their best qualities. It’s a surefire way to make them feel appreciated.
Keep it practical
Most people prefer getting gifts they can actually get some use out of over a gift that’s really expensive but not as meaningful. This may not be true for someone who loves trinkets, but most of the time, it’s best to keep things practical and go with gifts that can be used over and over again.
Make sure to keep your employees’ and coworkers’ interests in mind when selecting the gift for each one of them. For instance, a handy outdoor tool such as a high-quality Tekto Gear knife could be a great gift choice for a coworker or employee who is a big fan of the outdoors and often goes fishing or camping. Similarly, a colleague who loves to cook and who often brings their baked goods to the office would certainly benefit from spices, cookbooks, and kitchen gadgets that they can use to prepare more delightful dishes. As long as it’s practical and fits their interests, you can’t go wrong.
Stay on your budget
When it comes to rewarding and retaining your best employees, unexpected gifts and small gestures are perfect for making your employees valued. That said, it’s easy to go overboard and start overspending on gifts in order to show your employees how much you appreciate them.
Instead of doing that, consider creating a budget you can stick to. There are tons of affordable gift ideas that you can use for inspiration and surprise your employees. Gift-giving is about being thoughtful, not about competing who’s going to give the most expensive gifts. What’s more, your employees and coworkers don’t expect you to get them something too expensive like a massage chair, and if you do, it’ll only make them feel bad about giving you the $10 Starbucks card they got for you.
Consider buying in bulk
Speaking of staying on a budget, purchasing presents in bulk is a great way to save some money along the way. Gift-giving can get really expensive and costs can add up pretty quickly, especially if you have a long list of employees and coworkers to get presents for. Now, buying in bulk can come in especially handy if you’re planning on getting promotional items for everyone in the office.
Other than being a great way to get your gifts at a lower price, buying in bulk means you’ll be able to give out the gifts exactly when you planned to since your entire order will be delivered at the same time. Make sure you include everyone on the list and you should have no trouble keeping your workplace motivated.
Wrapping up
Gift-giving can be a challenging and time-consuming process, even more so when we are talking about corporate gifts. From celebrating milestones such as employee anniversaries and personal achievements to completing complex projects, there are a number of opportunities where you can show appreciation in the workplace by coming up with a perfect present. With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to thank your coworkers and employees for their loyalty and their hard work in a way that’s thoughtful, meaningful, and personal.
