Corporate gifts – creating company culture of employee appreciation

Every company has its own company culture which consists of shared values, goals, practices and traditions. These days in the process of looking for a new job, employees take company culture into consideration as much as any other aspect. It so happens that corporate gifts play a huge role in almost any company culture out there because it improves employee appreciation.

In this article let’s discuss the true meaning of company culture, employee appreciation and take a look at some useful and fun corporate gifts to give your employees.

Topics discussed in this article are what follows:

• Employee recognition and appreciation in company culture
• Corporate gift traditions – research example from Latvia
• Pros of well thought out corporate gifts for employees
• Top challenges of corporate gifts
• Corporate gifts ideas 

Employee recognition and appreciation in company culture

Employee appreciation and recognition lets businesses improve their company cultures. The very act of gratitude and appreciation fosters connections between coworkers and leaders, gives employees a sense of purpose, and helps them reach their peak performance. These factors combine to create an organizational culture that both motivates employees and supports their success.

To create flourishing company cultures, it is essential to recognize and appreciate employees. 

Expressing gratitude helps the six key components of a positive workplace culture:

• Purpose
• Opportunity
• Success
• Appreciation
• Wellbeing
• Leadership

Purpose, opportunity, success, appreciation, wellbeing, and leadership are the six aspects of business culture that impact an employee’s decision to join, participate with, and stay at an organization. 

According to global research, rewarding employees for their excellent work and efforts truly enhances and elevates all six of these KPIs for corporate culture. And one of the most common ways of appreciating employees and their efforts, are corporate gifts.

Corporate gift traditions in Latvia – research example

We came upon a research survey done on corporate gifts traditions in Latvia. Said research was done by gift card company FromMe.lv. They are in charge of offering a huge variety of gift card options not only for your friends and family, but colleagues and employees. Therefore they peaked our interest in finding out what are the corporate gifting traditions in Latvia.

The aim of the ‘’Traditions of corporate gifting in Latvia’’ survey was to collect birthday traditions for colleagues and employees within companies and to find out how satisfied employees are with them. 

Here are our main takeaways that we found interesting.

Most common birthday gift value is up to 30 EUR

The most common value of a birthday present is €20 – 25% of the companies surveyed give presents of this value. This is the most popular gift value both in companies where the gift is provided by the employees together and where the gift is given by the company. The next most chosen gift value is EUR 30. 

Many respondents pointed out that larger gifts are given for major anniversaries or other celebrations, but these are not included in these statistics.

Most often colleagues are the ones to buy gifts to each other

In the majority (62%) of work teams, the purchase of gifts for a colleague is made by the employees themselves. AHowever a large portion (34%) of companies have taken this responsibility on themselves.

It is interesting to see that not every company shows appreciation for their employees through gifts. We can only assume that gifting is not an impressive part of their company culture.

One of the biggest challenges is picking the right gift

Most often, the employee who is responsible for greeting employees is also the one who has to think of what to give -– this is the case in 35% of companies that have a team greeting. In 18% of cases, all employees are involved in choosing the gift, and in 11% of cases, those who know the employee best are involved.

This is why we think companies should be assigned to include corporate gifts in their company culture. Then everything can be planned starting from the budget all the way to the gift itself. Everything is fair and nobody gets forgotten with an organized corporate gifting system. 

Employee satisfaction rate comes out to 63%

The survey not only asked about the existing traditions of rewarding colleagues and employees, but also how satisfied employees are with them. 

It should be noted that many of the survey respondents were company managers and responsible for arranging gifts, so the assessment is not straightforward. But overall, 63% (32% satisfied, 31% very satisfied) of respondents are satisfied with the system in place. 

In conclusion

From this survey data we can see that corporate gifts are most often given by the participation of employees themselves. Since they spend so much time working together every day, it is only understandable that relationships get closer. And then you, of course, want to make your coworkers happy on their birthdays and other anniversaries.

A bigger overview of the survey can be found in the article Gifting culture in Latvian corporate world.

This survey is a great example of proving that corporate gifts are valued amongst employees. If the company hasn’t taken care of it, employees do it themselves. 

Pros of well thought out corporate gifts for employees

There is no doubt that corporate gifts have many pros that affect not only employees, but also the whole company and its culture. If employee appreciation is not enough, then here are 5 more pros of corporate gifts for your employees.

1. Increased productivity

Corporate giving is a commonly used approach to encourage employees to increase their productivity at work. Gifts offer workers the impression that their effort and hard work are valued and acknowledged, and 70% of workers are more productive when they are appreciated.

If you want your company to be more productive, provide your team members access to resources that will help them be more imaginative, efficient, and focused in their work.

2. Enriched coworker relationship

We have established the fact that providing bonuses, recognition, and a gifting system to your coworkers is one of the best ways to express your gratitude. Employees are more likely to feel happy and interact with coworkers and senior professionals better when they receive gifts from them.

It not only motivates your team members but also fosters a cooperative workplace environment that improves connections among coworkers.

3. Personal gifts make employees happy

A gift’s worth goes beyond its monetary value. A thoughtful and personalized gift demonstrates the provider cares enough about you to select a present you’ll enjoy. It gives employees the impression that the provider values you. It would not have the same impact if they merely gave you the gift’s cash equivalent. Put differently, receiving a corporate gift makes you feel more valued and close to the company.

In contrast, money cannot be customized. The above-mentioned added value may only be communicated through a non-cash gift.

4. Reduced turnover

You would be gravely mistaken to believe that your employees are only concerned about money. Any work can earn money for employees. However, feeling valued by one’s workplace is a rare treasure that few occupations offer. Giving corporate gifts to your employees makes you stand out as a more appreciative employer than most others they might work for. 

Employees who feel appreciated are much less likely to quit for a position paying the same or slightly more. Giving presents to your staff members has other benefits than preventing turnover. It also works on brand-new workers.

If your new hires frequently leave, start giving them presents before they would normally leave. For instance, if the majority of your new employees tend to leave after two months, start giving them bonuses after that time. Maybe they only intended to work for a few months in the first place. However, a company that expresses gratitude right away can be worth continuing with.

5. Improved employee engagement

And last but certainly not least, employee engagement is one of our favorite pros that come from corporate gifts. When employees feel valued, they start feeling a bigger connection and sense of purpose within the company. That means working more efficiently, giving necessary feedback and increased effort.

Engaged employees means a positive work environment with motivated individuals that look forward to going to work. More cooperation, innovation, productivity, and, of course, profitability result from this. The more engaged employees are at work, the more productive they will be. Additionally, the reputation and recognition of your business will increase the better the culture.

Top challenges of corporate gifts

Corporate gifts are crucial not only for employee recognition and appreciation, but also for communication and marketing goals. They improve connections with clients, employee members, and business partners. 

Giving gifts is an essential component of any business, so it’s critical to pick one that’s acceptable and timely. Such nuances can make gift-giving difficult and provide a number of challenges. Here are some of the most common ones.

1. Practical considerations – When picking a gift, try finding the right balance between original and practical, gifts have to serve a purpose and be with practical use
2. Impersonal gifts – go for gift personalization which will be extra special in a bigger company, customize them with personal cards, wishes or employee name tags.
3. Gifts have to be inclusive – keep in mind ethical and cross-cultural issues when picking the appropriate corporate gifts.
4. Keep it professional – pick gifts such as gender-neutral goods that professionally reflect your considerate intentions, such as appropriate literature, food gifts, or other gender-neutral items.
5. Preparing gifts ahead of time – the bigger the company, the sooner gifts have to be ordered therefore it is crucial to make sure they are delivered by the right time.

It’s crucial to create a gift giving tradition that aligns with your business’s values, goals, and culture, and, most significantly, one that all employees can take part in and enjoy. Easier said than done, we are aware. Therefore find some useful ideas down below in our corporate gift guide.

Corporate gifts ideas 

Here are some of our favorite corporate gift ideas that can be easily implemented in your gifting company culture with the possibility to make these gifts creative and personalized.

Useful gadgets

One of the most popular corporate gift ideas amongst offices used to be office supplies. However this gift gets old pretty fast, therefore a new and more modern approach is giving your employees practical gadgets.

Tech items are a huge part of many companies today. Pick such gifts as noise canceling headphones, mouse pads, wireless mouses, USB docking stations, office chair cushions, hard drives and so on. There are so many useful and fun gadgets that your employees will not only be excited about but also will use daily.

Gifts cards

Gift cards are becoming more and more popular when it comes to gift giving. They are easy to buy, easy to use, eco friendly and the possibilities are nearly endless. Here are our top gift card categories to choose.

Gift experience is one of the most popular gifts these days. It could be anything from going to a restaurant or escape room all the way to riding cross motorcycles or wakeboarding. These gifts are original, memorable and won’t waste space on your employee’s desk or shelf.

Practical gifts is the second option that can also be chosen as a great corporate gift for employees. Those can be gift cards in stores for clothing, accessories, hobbies, sports etc. 

FromMe.lv gift card experts offer a wide range of gift cards. They promise to find the most suitable gift, gift presentation and delivery method for your company’s needs and wishes. 

Sustainable water bottles

Hydration is a big topic of the modern world. We are not only trying to save the world by consuming less plastic, but also take into account our health. Therefore a perfect mashup solution has been made – a reusable water bottle that can serve as a great corporate gift for your employees.

To add a special value to your chosen water bottles, customize them to add a personal touch. You can choose to print your company’s logo on it however we do not recommend going overboard with it. Gifts will be more valued if they have something more creative printed on them. 

Personalized mugs with fun prints

If your office is more known for drinking tea and coffee, then water bottles can be replaced by mugs. Make sure to create fun and custom prints that your employees will enjoy. One fun mug of coffee a day can keep sadness away!

To switch things up, opt for mugs that keep your drink warm for hours. One of the most practical business presents we can recommend is a cup warmer. As your employees will sip tea or coffee throughout the day, the mug keeps the temperature warm.

Corporate gifts for employees are a way to improve the company’s internal culture. 

Once the gift system is set up and ironed out, it will become a natural part of the company that will only bring benefits. And for both the employees and the company itself.

See our other articles on employee well-being such as 5 Tips on Fostering Positive Company Culture in WFH/Remote Work Conditions and Why are Rewards and Recognition so Important for Employees: Scientific Explanation.