It doesn’t matter how long you all get along or how successful your team is – work gets hard. Sometimes for days, sometimes for months, the drudgery of the mundane, or even the hardships, can start to weigh you and your team down. So, every chance you get to let everyone have a little break and celebrate their effort and success, you really should. There’s nothing wrong with making a big deal out of the little things – you can’t Google the subject without stumbling across countless surveys that show regular recognition awards and events are a huge factor in employee morale and production. Not to mention that having these personal-professional moments relieve employee stress and help bring your team together.
So, we know the obvious types of success recognition at the office, such as perpetual plaque for employee of the month, crystal plaque awards for accomplishments, and trophy awards for won competitions or surpassed goals. But what should we be celebrating besides top sales achievements or years-of-service awards? Here’s some other great reasons to get your employees some executive gifts and take a moment to appreciate each other and chill out.
5 Times You Should make a Big Deal with Small Corporate Gifts
- National Have Fun at Work Day
Be a fun boss; take advantage of this January-28th holiday that asks us all to lighten up a bit at the office. Make it even more fun with custom crystal champagne flutes for the entire team, or key rings and matching engraved pens with each of their business contact information on them.
- National Employee Appreciation Day
This is the second one you didn’t even have to come up with – the government did it for you! National Employee Appreciation Day is every March 4th. It’s widely agreed that it’s a good business strategy for workplace culture as well as your bottom line to show your employees you appreciate them. Consider matching desk accessories like brass nameplates and business card holders. It makes everyone feel special but also brings the team together.
- National Chocolate Chip Day
Everybody loves potlucks, and it’s literally just wrong not to like cookies. Have everyone make their own version of chocolate chip cookies, including things like chocolate-free, gluten-free and vegan… they really don’t have to be chocolate chip at all, we say the more variety the better, but… Have a little office competition over an extended lunch break and gift the winner an engraved glass gift tray to present their delicious creations on.
- National Disability Employment Awareness Month
This holiday lasts the whole month of October. It’s a great opportunity to take an hour or two each Friday afternoon to learn about famous inventors and executives who live with disabilities. Mark each meeting with a small token for the event, like pen holders and tablet folios.
- National Sandwich Day
November 3rd is officially our favorite day of the year. Enough said. Get lunch catered or have people bring in their favorite ingredients for sandwiches. And maybe take a minute after lunch for a food coma. Mark the event with branded or engraved beer mugs and make it an annual thing. Or a monthly thing – sandwiches are awesome.
And you might be asking yourself, Well, okay, but where do I find the money in the budget for this? But we’ve got options for all kinds of budgets and customizations. Plus, those surveys on businesses that show employee recognition is quantitatively good for business? They also say that 85% of companies reported that an investment of just 1% of payroll got them great results in improving employee retention and satisfaction.
Understanding which Professional Gifts are Best for Which Type of Recipient
Okay, but corporate gifts and awards aren’t always for employees and cohorts. You might need a personal years-of-service award like a crystal vase for a senior employee, a luxury executive gift like a personalized clock for a senior board member, or elegant gifts engraved with company branding for clients and investors. One big factor, like we said, is the size of the group you’re gifting or awarding an item to. It’s expected that recognition awards for a large group are going to be smaller tokens than choosing a custom corporate award for just one executive. But that doesn’t mean they can’t stay personal – you’ve got choices of engraved pens, paperweights, bookends, and more.
Another huge factor is the person’s culture and background. What will they appreciate? What might they use? Never forget to research polite business customs when doing international business, or you might mess up an entire merger with a professional gift you thought was thoughtful but came across as rude.
Also, think about the person themselves. Is there any way you can customize your professional gift to be personal to them? Trophies and plaques aren’t your only option for recognition awards. Try luxury boardroom-ware like engraved glass gifts of plates, trays and barware for that executive who’s always in the boardroom after-hours. Consider a crystal candy bowl as a recognition award for someone who always keeps candy on their desk for office visitors. A little thoughtfulness goes a long way.
