In the case of employee gifts, "meaningful" is more about fulfillment than about personalization.
Every company works hard to attract great talent, but the question of how to retain key talent outside of salary raises is a continued topic of discussion in leadership. Creating an environment where team members feel appreciated, challenged, and valued enough that they would not want to take that recruiter's call. Or at the least, would heavily weigh their team culture and career fulfillment against any monetary offer they are given.
In a survey of more than 1,470 Americans, respondents said that a holiday reward made a significant difference in workplace motivation and 70% said that getting a holiday gift from their employer was a factor in them wanting to work harder.
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Before sending out branded water bottles and laptop bags–or fruit baskets–to your employees, it's important to understand the underlying value of the gift: employees want to feel valued and appreciated. So when thinking through what gifts will keep them engaged, the key questions to answer are: (1) will this gift be meaningful? and (2) is this gift appropriate for this recipient.
Let's start with number two. If you are sending a gift to your top sales team and opt for a traditional gesture, such as sending a bottle of wine, you need to consider whether you know if each member of the sales team drinks or not. Some may not drink due to religious reasons, others for personal choices. But if you send a nice bottle of wine to each team member, your gift alienates a subsect of the team rather than making them feel valued or appreciated.
The same can be said about food-related gifts–meat for vegans, nuts for those allergic, pork for those that keep kosher–and so on. Sending a gift that is meant to engage your team means showing thoughtfulness in the gesture of gift-giving as well as the gift itself.
Which brings us back to the first key question: will this gift be meaningful? In the case of employee gifts, "meaningful" is more about fulfillment than about personalization. It's about considering what types of gifts will make your employees feel valued and thought of, creating an opportunity for year-round gifting rather than just holiday gifting.
Here are 5 great opportunities for thoughtful employee gifting to increase engagement.
1. Mission-driven gifts
A great out-of-the-blue gift moment is when you gift team members with something that aligns with the mission of the company. Does your company have a commitment to sustainability? Find a startup that is in the sustainability space and buy surprise company gifts from them. It allows you to support a small business and promote your company's brand mission. Is your company a big supporter of the arts? Take the team out to a museum, local theater company, or buy out a movie theater and watch a movie together. Use this gifting opportunity to rally your employees around your mission.
2. Employee recognition gifts
The easiest opportunity to give a thoughtful gift is by setting recognition milestones. Reward team members when they hit a sales goal, a productivity goal, or a culture-based goal. Use the opportunity to go beyond sending an email saying "well done" to adding on a gift, regardless of dollar value, that shows you went the extra step to thank someone for working hard for the company. When you show people their work is seen, they work harder.
3. Remembering employee families
Family birthdays, anniversaries, and more go a long way to engage employees. It's a page out of the client-engagement book: you send a gift for your top client's anniversary or their child's birthday. It shows a level of familiarity and indicates that you know and care about them on a person-to-person basis.
4. Personal celebrations
In past companies, I was never as surprised by the lack of employee-gifting than when a team member had a baby or a wedding. Colleagues would pool money together to buy a team gift, instead of having a budget from the company to cover a small, thoughtful gift for a major life occasion. In one of my previous teams, we instituted a $50 budget for team gifts and we were the envy of other departments at the company. Something as small as $50 per year, per employee – if that – went a long way. Birthdays, work anniversaries, baby showers, weddings: having your company recognize these personal life moments reminds employees that they are valued as people, not just as resources.
5. Team milestones
There's a theme here: it's celebrations. Celebrate your team's milestones with thoughtful gifts, whether it's lunch for all (obviously, with dietary restrictions in mind) or gifts commemorating the moment. If they launched a major feature, closed a big deal, or landed major press – celebrate them as a team and not just as individuals. Rarely is anything achieved only by the efforts of one person, and when you celebrate the team you show them that they are part of a larger collective. It reinforces team culture and camaraderie.
Thoughtful gifting goes a long way in employee engagement. The more you reward and celebrate your team, the more likely they are to feel fulfilled, valued, and recognized. In turn, they will be more committed, engaged, and will be more likely to stay longer with the company.