How to increase employee engagement and motivation with the help of gifts

Employees, like clients, play an important part in the success of your company. Employee gifting is an excellent method to demonstrate your appreciation for all of your team’s efforts. The importance of gifts to help to increase employee engagement is huge, therefore it’s worth an investment.

Each organization works hard to acquire outstanding talent, but how to keep key employees outside of salary increases is a recurring topic of conversation in leadership. It is about creating an environment in which team members feel appreciated, challenged, and respected enough that they would decline a call from a recruiter.

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So in this article let’s see how you can increase employee engagement and motivation with the help of gifts.

Employee engagement and gifts – important connection

Giving gifts is a sign of a positive company culture. There are many benefits of doing so that strongly correlate with employee engagement and motivation.

Improved morale

A thoughtful present at the right time can make someone’s day. A thoughtful employee present can help boost team morale. It can increase employee engagement in amazing ways.

It is especially crucial now since after the pandemic many of us are working remotely and are away from our other coworkers.

Efficiency in performance

Meaningful presents make employees feel respected, appreciated, and valued, and they can also promote teamwork, brainstorming, and a sense of pride in the company.

Furthermore, rewarding employees for their achievements raises the possibility that they will strive for similar achievements in the future.

Increased loyalty

Employee gifting can also aid in the development of loyalty. Giving your employees a gift not only makes them feel cherished, but it also increases their likelihood of sticking with your company for a longer period of time.

Higher motivation

Sending a gift to your staff will help inspire them. Employees frequently believe that company presents drive them to meet or exceed their performance goals.

TOP reasons to give gifts to employees

In terms of how to increase employee engagement, thoughtful gifting goes a long way. The more you recognize and reward your staff, the more likely they will feel fulfilled, appreciated, and recognized. As a result, they will be more devoted, engaged, and likely to stay with the organization for a longer period of time.

Here are our top reasons to reward your employees and lead by example.

Gifts driven by mission

An amazing out-of-the-blue present occasion is when you give something to a team member that is related to the company’s goals. Is your company committed to sustainability? Find a startup in the sustainability field and give them surprise company presents.

It allows you to help a small business while also promoting your company’s brand goal. Is your company a great fan of the arts? Take the team to a museum, a local theater, or a movie theater and see a movie together. Take advantage of this gifting opportunity to unite your employees around your mission.

Individual recognition gifts

Setting recognition milestones is the simplest way to provide a personalized present. Reward team members when they achieve a sales, productivity, or culture-based goal.

Use the chance to go beyond simply saying “well done” in an email by including a present, regardless of monetary worth. That demonstrates you went above and beyond to congratulate someone for their hard work for your company. When you show people that their efforts are being noticed, they work even harder.

Personal celebrations

It is critical to honor personal successes of employees, such as weddings, birthdays, and baby showers. And the gift does not have to be expensive; the idea is to cover a small, thoughtful gift for a significant life event without forgetting to acknowledge it.

For example, your organization could set aside $50 for team presents. Something as simple as $50 per employee per year, if that, will undoubtedly go a long way. Birthdays, work anniversaries, baby showers, and weddings: recognizing these personal life events shows employees that they are appreciated as individuals, not just resources.

Family birthdays, anniversaries, and other events help to engage employees too. It’s not exactly something you will learn from the client-engagement playbook, but it works. Send a present to your top client on their anniversary or their child’s birthday. It demonstrates a level of familiarity and indicates that you know and care about them on a personal level.

Employee team milestones

There’s an ongoing theme here: celebrations. Celebrate your team’s achievements with thoughtful gifts, such as lunch for everybody (with dietary needs, of course) or gifts remembering the occasion.

Celebrate them as a team, not just as individuals if they released a key feature, closed a huge deal, or received major headlines. Rarely is anything accomplished just via the efforts of one person. And by celebrating the team, you demonstrate to them that they are a member of a greater collective. It helps to strengthen team culture and togetherness.

Employee gift ideas for different sized companies

Before you give branded water bottles, laptop bags, or fruit baskets to your staff, consider the underlying value of the gift: people want to feel valued and appreciated.

For inspiration as well as insight you can read our article about Gifting culture in Latvian corporate world. There is a great summary of the way gifting culture is in some of the Latvia based companies.

When considering what gifts will increase employee engagement, the essential things to consider are:

Will this gift be meaningful?
Is this gift suitable for this recipient?

Let’s start with the second question. Is this gift suitable for this recipient? Let’s see. If you send a present to your top sales team and choose a conventional gesture, such as sending a bottle of wine, you must examine whether or not each member of the sales team drinks.

Some may abstain from alcohol for religious reasons, while others may abstain for personal reasons. However, in the end sending a good bottle of wine to each team member alienates a portion of the team rather than making them feel valued or appreciated.

This brings us back to the first and most important question: will this gift be meaningful? “Meaningful” in the context of employee presents refers to fulfillment rather than personalisation. It’s about thinking about what kinds of gifts will make your staff feel valued and appreciated, allowing for year-round gifting rather than simply Christmas gifting.

Gift ideas for achievements and milestones

The smaller the company the easier it is to get a personalized gift. There are less employees so the chances are you know everybody very well.

So some employee gifts in a small company could be:

A personalized gift, such as a monogrammed tote bag or desk accessory,
A gift card to a local restaurant or store,
A small piece of jewelry, such as a bracelet or necklace,
A customized trophy or award to commemorate the achievement.

A medium or average sized company is not small but not too large either. It usually means that there is still some chance for personalization, however branding might slowly start to get included. Also, the budget might be a tad bigger.

So some employee gifts in a medium sized company could be:

A gift card to a popular retailer or online store,
A technology gadget, such as a tablet or smartwatch,
A company-branded gift, such as a jacket or backpack,
A plaque or certificate of achievement to hang in the employee’s workspace.

And finally, in a large company it takes a lot of planning and doing in order to congratulate each and every employee. It should be an important part of a company culture. That being said, at times the gift will vary based on the volume of the achievements.

So some employee gifts in a large company could be:

A company-wide email or message congratulating the employee on their achievement,
A small gift, such as a keychain or pen, with the company logo,
A voucher for a free lunch or dinner at a local restaurant,
A charitable donation made in the employee’s name to a cause they care about.

Gift ideas for personal celebrations

Another reason to give employees gifts are personal celebrations such as birthdays, family events etc. Giving gifts to employees on their celebrations can be a great way to show appreciation.

In a small company, it’s often easier to personalize birthday gifts for employees. Since there are fewer employees, you may be able to afford to spend a bit more on each gift, and you may have a better sense of each employee’s interests.

Good gift ideas for small companies might include:

A personalized gift, such as a monogrammed notebook or mug,
A gift card to a local restaurant or coffee shop,
A small plant or succulent for their workspace,
A subscription to a service they might enjoy, such as a book or music club.

In a medium-sized company, it may be a bit more challenging to personalize birthday gifts for employees. However, you can still make the gifts feel special by putting some thought into the selection process.

Some good gift ideas for medium-sized companies might include:

A gift card to a popular retailer or online store,
A technology gadget that can be used for work or personal use,
A company-branded gift, such as a T-shirt or coffee mug,
A gift basket filled with snacks, sweets, and other treats.

In a large company, it can be difficult to give every employee a personalized gift, especially if there are hundreds or thousands of employees. In this case, it may be more appropriate to give a more general gift, such as a small token of appreciation.

Some good gift ideas for large companies might include:

A company-wide email or message wishing the employee a happy birthday, for example,
A small cake or cupcake delivered to the employee’s workspace,
A personalized card signed by the employee’s team or department,
A small gift, such as a keychain or pen, with the company logo.

All in all, giving gifts to employees can be a great way to increase employee engagement and show appreciation. But it’s important to do it in a way that is appropriate for the workplace and consistent for everyone.

Whether you work for a small, medium, or large company, there are plenty of gift ideas that can help make employees feel valued on their special day.