Giving corporate gifts to employees can help motivate them to work harder because they know that their efforts are recognized. Corporate gifts may also help improve your company culture, employees’ retention rates, and quality of services rendered.
For the purposes of donors, foundation and corporate gifts are included. Donor walls, plaques, and donor signage can be costly and time-consuming. Be inventive, especially when it comes to your donors.
That said, they may greatly affect your business’s finances and image, which is why you need to be keen on how you select, design, and give them. You don’t want your corporate gifts to put your business in a bad light, right?
Spoil your employees and ensure that your business benefits from corporate gifts by following these tips and tricks:
Plan Ahead
The maxim, ‘It’s the thought that counts,’ remains true to this very day. Yet giving unarranged, last-minute gifts to your employees will likely draw negative feedback. This can adversely affect your employees’ morale and your branding.
If you want to make your employees happy through corporate gifts, plan ahead of time. Regardless of the number of the recipients and the kind of gift you’ll give to them, planning is crucial because of the following reasons:
- If you’re giving corporate gifts at the end of the year, remember that shipping will likely take longer because of the bulk of products being ordered and delivered. So, when you plan to order online, make sure that you do so in advance. Otherwise, the products may arrive beyond your expected date.
- The influx of orders during the holiday season can result in inventory shortages. This may pose problems if you plan to give out corporate gifts to hundreds or thousands of employees. With planning, you could purchase them months before and not worry about the stock shortage.
- Some manufacturers of corporate gifts might increase their prices during the holidays. Buying gifts at higher prices can hurt your business’s finances. This is especially true if your business is still small or new.
Choose Gifts Related To Your Business
Instead of merely choosing gifts for the sake of having something to give, pick ones that relate to your business. Giving corporate gifts that tell a story about your business will make the gesture more memorable.
When you order gift items from online platforms, MeowPrint corporate gifts, for instance, think about your goal. This may be thinking about the story you want to tell and the types of gifts or products you could associate with it. Once you have these pieces of information, it’ll be easier for you to pick the right corporate gifts to give to your employees.
For example, if your business supports small and local businesses, you can probably order corporate gifts from minority-owned businesses. If you want your corporate gifts to showcase your business’s 10th anniversary, you can curate a box filled with different items, such as succulents and framed flowers, and then label it with “thank you for growing with us.”
Provide Options To Your Employees
Just as how diverse your employees’ skillsets are, they will also want to receive different things from their corporate gifts. For instance, your human resources officer might like plants, while your accounting staff might expect apparel, like shirts and caps.
To ensure that everyone will love what they receive, prepare more than one type of corporate gift. MeowPrint.sg and other companies now offer a wide variety of gift items, which means that you don’t have to find a handful of suppliers just to order different corporate gifts.
One rule of thumb to follow when giving corporate gifts to employees is to offer one but not more than four options for every 200 recipients. Giving out too many options will likely overwhelm and stress your employees—the complete opposite of what you want them to feel as you hand out their corporate gifts!
Don’t Overbrand
One of the reasons you’ll likely invest in corporate gifts is because you want to improve or create a brand. This goal could motivate you to design corporate gifts with a huge company logo or name printed in big letters or bold colors.
However, adding several or massive company logos or names in your corporate gifts will only have adverse effects on your branding. If your employees find the design too tacky due to logo and name overuse, they may be unlikely to wear or use any of your gifts.
For your corporate gifts to be memorable (for all the right reasons), don’t overbrand and use one design element only. For example, when giving out t-shirts, decide whether you’re going to print your logo or business name on the front or back, never both.
Prioritize Quality Over Originality
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to find corporate gifts never given before to make a mark. It’s perfectly acceptable to give out common gifts to your employees. Instead of focusing more on originality, think about the quality of the corporate gifts you’ll be giving. This will help your business stand out and create a positive impression.
For example, if you’re planning to include a mug on your corporate gifts, don’t settle for mugs made from substandard materials. If your budget allows it, invest in mugs made from stainless steel as these maintain the temperature of hot drinks or ceramic. Also, these don’t retain any smells or flavors. Mugs made from bone china and porcelain are also excellent options as these are sturdy materials.
Include A Thoughtful Note
Regardless of how busy you are, you should never skip including a personal and thoughtful note on your corporate gifts. A small note saying ‘thank you’ can go a long way in connecting with your employees and making them feel valuable assets to the business.
Inserting a handwritten note to your corporate gifts is one of the best ways to show how you appreciate your employees’ good service. However, if you have too many employees, consider using a QR code to link to a video message of you saying thanks to your employees. You can also use the video to explain to your employees the story behind your choices of corporate gifts.
Handwritten notes or QR codes are a great way of creating a brand without compromising the integrity of the design of the gifts. You can basically add a note or QR code to any corporate gifts!
Think About Your Employees
It’ll be challenging for your business to thrive in the ever-competitive world of business without your employees, so make sure to spoil them with corporate gifts. Gift-giving conveys how you appreciate and recognize your employees on a personal level, which can motivate them to work harder and stay longer with your business!
