Connecting with your employees is an integral part of being in a leadership role, and the holiday season offers an excellent opportunity for building that bridge with your staff members. This is when you can recognize their hard work through the year and show your appreciation with a thoughtful holiday gift.
However, employee holiday gift-giving isn’t just a nice sentiment—data shows that 6 in 10 employees are more likely to remain at a company if they feel valued and recognized with a meaningful gift.
However, choosing the best employee appreciation gifts isn’t easy, especially if you don’t know the recipients very well. Additionally, buying everyone an individual gift can be expensive and time-consuming. On the other hand, picking one gift for the whole office can feel cheap and impersonal.
If navigating these gift-giving complexities stresses you out, there’s a better alternative available. This year, make the holidays more memorable for yourself and your employees with this simple guide to corporate gift-giving.
Why Gifts for Employees Matter
The holidays are a great time to show your employees that you appreciate them. But gift-giving isn’t just about showing appreciation—it’s also about building better relationships with your team and strengthening your company culture.
Employee gift-giving has been shown to have several positive benefits, including motivation, appreciation, relationship-building, and increasing brand value.
Giving your employees a little something extra is a fantastic motivator and morale booster. It’s an easy way to spread goodwill and say “thank you” to individuals—or entire teams—who deserve some extra recognition.
Employee gifts are the gift that keeps on giving. Having loyal employees leads to greater productivity and less turnover. When you show your employees that they’re valued, it encourages them to work harder at their jobs and stay with your company for longer.
Your employees will appreciate the personal touch of a thoughtful gift: a nice bottle of Grenache for staff members who love wine or a gardening subscription box for someone with a green thumb. Personal touches make an impact on people—far more than generic gifts like holiday cards or cheap gift baskets ever could.
Your employees will know that you took the time to think about them and pick out a gift that’s actually useful and meaningful.
There is one caveat to bear in mind: fairness. Unbalanced giving can have the opposite effect on company culture because it creates a sense of favoritism. It can damage morale and cause some employees to feel left out.
To avoid this, you should give gifts to all of your employees and not just a few. Giving all employees the same excellent gift-quality shows that you value them equally, making everyone feel like part of one team.
However, giving everyone the same gift might seem like a giveaway, so let’s make a distinction between cheap giveaways and more appropriate employee gifts for the holidays.
What’s the Difference Between a Gift and a Giveaway?
Giveaways sound like a nice perk, but they’re not suitable for your employees’ holiday gifts—and confusing giveaways with quality gifts is an easy way to waste money on something nobody wants.
A giveaway is an item that has been custom-printed with your company’s logo and information for promotional purposes. Giveaways can include nearly any product, from office supplies to flash drives to a funny coffee mug. They’re often given out during tradeshows, networking events, and customer promotions.
There’s nothing wrong with giveaways when you use them for the right purpose. But they should never be mistaken for holiday gifts, which are given out of appreciation and thoughtfulness, not as a way to promote your company.
Your employees work for you, and they’re the last people who need to hear your marketing messages—they know them better than anyone else. Furthermore, their holiday gift is supposed to honor their hard work, not serve as a promotion for your business.
A real gift, on the other hand, is a present given from one person to another with no strings attached. Holiday gifts are a way to show gratitude during the holidays. Employee gifts don’t need to be intimately personal, but they should have a thoughtful touch—a gift that the recipient can use is always best.
They come in different forms, including cards, trinkets, gift boxes, mementos, or even services. A personalized gift can be as simple as a handmade card or as luxurious as a custom Rolex watch.
But bespoke jewelry is expensive and impractical, and handmade cards simply take too much time to write out—especially for busy executives.
How to Find the Best Corporate Gifts for Your Employees
When it comes to finding the perfect gift for your employees, there are a few questions you can answer to narrow down your options. Here’s what to think about:
Does the Gift Benefit Singles and Families Alike?
The more employees you have, the more complex your gift-giving dilemma becomes. You want to find a gift that everyone can enjoy, but that’s not always easy to do.
One way to make sure all of your employees feel appreciated is to choose a gift that can be enjoyed by both singles and families. Options like gift cards, vouchers, and experience gifts are perfect for everyone in the office.
Gift cards and vouchers are especially popular because they allow employees to pick their own present—and what’s more personal than that?
Can I Afford a Different Gift for Everyone?
Giving every employee a unique gift is an easy way to go over budget and an even easier way to disappoint some people. It’s also time-consuming, and as the holiday season gets busier, it becomes more difficult to find individualized gifts that fit everyone’s interests.
You can solve this problem by using gift cards as holiday gifts. Gift cards give you the flexibility to give everyone a quality present, but they also allow employees to choose what they want. You decide exactly how much you want to spend on each gift card since they’re available in different amounts.
Is There a Place for People to Use the Gift?
Gift certificates are usually the way to go when you have a large team, but they’re only viable if your employees can spend them on whatever they want.
If some of your staff live in a small community or are loyal customers at nearby stores, you can’t necessarily give gift cards to national retailers or chains. And if you’re giving to remote employees, you might not have access to the stores in their area.
In this case, think about gift vouchers that can be used at any location. For example, you can redeem PFR Gift Certificates at most grocery stores, and they allow the user to purchase the specific cut of meat they need for their family dinner.
Does the Gift Feel Special or Luxurious?
Some companies like to give their employees high-end gifts that feel luxurious. This can be a nice way to show your staff that you appreciate them.
But extravagant gifts can also backfire. They might make some employees feel uncomfortable, or they may simply be too expensive for your company to afford. If you want to give your team a luxurious gift box, try to pick something that everyone can enjoy, like yummy treats or premium produce.
The Best Times of Year to Give Corporate Gifts
While the holidays continue to be the best time to give corporate gifts, there are a few other occasions when communicating gratitude through gifts is appropriate.
If you’re giving out gifts to commemorate an event or to say thanks for a job well done, try to do it as soon as possible after the event. This will show your employees that you appreciate their hard work and you’re already looking forward to future successes.
Another good time to give gifts is during employee appreciation week. You can express gratitude for all of their hard work throughout the year by giving them a token of appreciation.
However, no matter when you decide to give gifts throughout the year, they’re expected—and therefore, most appropriate—during the winter holiday season.
Corporate Gifts for Thanksgiving
Giving corporate gifts for Thanksgiving is a little bit less common than giving them during the December holidays, but that means they can be a special surprise for your employees. If you’re feeling generous, try to choose a gift that will help your team prepare for their big dinner.
Of course, Thanksgiving holidays and a holiday turkey go hand-in-hand. Delight your employees with PFR Turkey Gift Certificates to help them cook a festive holiday dinner.
The certificates are good for any brand, including national brands and private labels. You don’t need to worry about finding the right store—they’re accepted by nearly all supermarkets in the USA. The only exceptions are those that do not accept any coupons at all, such as Costco, Sam’s, and Aldi.
Corporate Gifts for the Holidays
Mid-winter is the time of year when most people expect to receive corporate gifts. If you’re looking for a gift that will show your employees how much you appreciate them, try to choose something unique and memorable.
This holiday season, take your holiday season gift-giving to the next level with PFR Gift Certificates for turkey, ham, and beef. The balance on these gift certificates also allows employees to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables to go with their main course, so you’re treating them to an entire dinner—not just the turkey.
Our corporate Christmas gifts offer more flexibility for your giftees to choose exactly the type of meat they want. For example, your lead accountant might have a taste for honey-baked Christmas ham, but the same dish is outright unwelcome on the Hanukkah table.
Instead, your Jewish employees can purchase a properly-prepared Kosher turkey with the very same gift certificate. This way, everyone can get a memorably delicious holiday dinner that’s just right for their family.
Benefits of Giving Gift Certificates
Giving a holiday turkey or ham for the holidays is a long-standing tradition, but doing it the old-fashioned way comes with some headaches. There are a few good reasons to go with a gift certificate instead of pre-purchasing an expensive gift directly.
Benefit #1. Gift Certificates Let the Giftee Plan for Themselves
If you’re going to buy someone dinner, you need to know the weight of the turkey or ham you’re buying, and then you have to do all the calculations for how much stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and other fixings your guests will want. Frankly, there’s no reliable way to do this and get it right for everybody.
Gift certificates allow your employees to make their holiday meal exactly what they want it to be. They can choose their preferred main course (turkey, ham, or beef) and make sure that each serving is of the right size.
Benefit #2. Gift Certificates Eliminate Storage & Handling Concerns
What’s more challenging is trying to safely handle and transport a frozen turkey or ham for the holidays. Let’s say you only have eight employees—can your office refrigerator fit eight whole turkeys on delivery day?
Now imagine that half of them don’t take home their turkeys for a week. You’re in charge of keeping their food safe. That’s not a responsibility you want to take on.
Gift certificates ensure everyone gets what they need for a happy holiday. Your employees can choose the cuts they want, pay for them, and then pick up their gift certificate at your designated pick-up time. They will come in already knowing how much money is left on the gift certificate—no unpleasant surprises.
Benefit #3. Gift Certificates Are Flexible and Easy to Use
Finally, gift certificates are very flexible and convenient. If your employees don’t have time to go grocery shopping for a day or two, there’s no problem. They can just put the gift certificate in their wallet and use it later—even on another holiday.
If you give someone a big turkey, there’s pressure for them to cook and eat it right away. With a gift certificate, they can decide to cook that same big turkey a month later or whenever it will be a treat for their family.
Conclusion
Giving gift certificates is a great way to spice up the old holiday routine without changing any of the traditions. As a company, you might have a tradition of giving your employees a turkey or ham for the holidays. If so, switch over to PFR Gift Certificates and get rid of all the hassle.
Giving a PFR Gift Certificate for a festive holiday dinner is the perfect way to show your employees how much you appreciate them. They can use it to buy turkey, ham, or beef at their favorite grocery store, and they’ll also have the balance left over to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.
Our gift certificates ship fast, and it’s not too late to order one for your holiday celebration. Brighten the season for your staff—order your employee gifts today.