People are your business - appropriate employee gifts let them know you care
How we treat our employees influences how they treat our customers.
Keeping good employees with good morale means we get to keep customers coming back for more product. That is a lot cheaper than finding new customers, and new employees.
It starts with people.
The Fifth Best Company Gift
The Recognition Gift Count Down Begins
Select a gift that keeps on giving and keeps reminding giftees of your business.Our number five choice for a meaningful company gift is an Amazon.com gift card. You will make an impression on the recipient when giving, when they consider all the options, when they are ordering, upon receipt, and when used.
That is a lot of good memories that include you. Unlike frozen turkeys, gift certificates are easy to handle. Give them out in person with a personally selected and signed thank you card.
Pictured is what I would value as an employee gift, but I already have a Keurig single cup coffee brewer -- I would use a gift certificate to buy more Emeril's Big Easy Bold k-cups for my favorite, wake me up, k-cup coffee -- BAM! That's personalized giving that won't feel bureaucratic and uncaring. The whole idea of gift certificates is to let your company gift recipient get what they want, not what you can buy in bulk at a cheap price.
Amazon has great prices and selection, let that be part of your gift. I lift this steaming cup from the Big Easy, to you, as a salute.
Procure a sizable quantity of Amazon gift cards. Better yet, buy a box of cards; and when you catch an employee doing something right, the reward is at hand. Give gift cards or gift certificates to reinforce that pat on the back.
Employee gifts are not just for the holidays. Amazon gift cards can also be an important part of rapid recognition for exceptional employees. Recognition that will be remembered with a smile.
Your customers need those smiles.
The Fourth Best Corporate Gift
Make them proud to wear it
Reward your crew with the recognition they deserve. A few celebrations ago we gave BFU brag rags, folks still wear them and share comments they receive. It's nice to have your associates smile when they think of your combined mission.One of our early supporters was given a stein printed with the saying on that baseball-T. He keeps it on his working desk at home. A brilliant entrepreneur, he never finished college as a youth - but he says he loves showing off his award, and it's a favorite with his grandkids.
If your company only hires one of ten they interview, or one of fifty from which they receive resumes - let your employees know.
If your corporate gift is used daily that is good, and if it appears personally appropriate - it shows you care.
"To one of the select few" would be a great label or engraving on that something useful and special.
Have your gifts engraved
or give a custom engraving certificate with each one.
It is time to rethink the gold watch at retirement idea. Why give them a watch when their hope is never to look at one again?
Considering the cost of hiring and training a replacement; a good investment in your current employees might be to give them a gold watch this year. Give them a certificate to have it engraved however they want.
The watches below are just tempting suggestions, click on one to get a look at a much larger selection.
For retirement give a ceremonial hammer to pound a cheap watch into dust
Citizen Women's Eco-Drive Silhouette Swarovski Crystal Accented Watch #EG2204-50D
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: (as of 12/31/2009) 
List Price: $315.00
Seiko Men's Kinetic Watch #SKA192
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: $285.00 (as of 12/31/2009)
List Price: $475.00
Citizen Men's 1000 Meter Professional Diver Automatic Watch #NH6931-06E
On sale at a huge discount for a great watch.
Avg. Customer Rating:
Amazon Price: $1,050.00 (as of 12/31/2009)
List Price: $1,750.00
The Third Best Corporate Gift
up to date, and constantly available
It takes hard work and persistence to develop an innovative idea. It takes even more work to create an innovative product that is easy for clients to understand and use.
An iPod can be a tangible representation of your company's increasingly client-centric attitude.
If an employee already has an iPod, your gift is likely to be an upgrade. Even if they give it away, each time they see one in use they will think of your gift.
And how much you appreciate them.
Small but constantly in use
Innovative and socially attractive, with simplicity of design
Show & tell your employees this is how you want to liberate your business; free to create and improvise, free to discover and exploit new markets.
Everyone wants next year to be a year of elegant solutions.
Apple iPod touch 16 GB (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
Amazon Price: $334.73 (as of 12/31/2009)
Apple iPod classic 80 GB Black (6th Generation) OLD MODEL
Amazon Price: (as of 12/31/2009)
Apple iPod classic 160 GB Silver (6th Generation) OLD MODEL
Amazon Price: $336.87 (as of 12/31/2009)
Apple iPod shuffle 1 GB Silver (2nd Generation) OLD MODEL
Amazon Price: (as of 12/31/2009)
The Next To Best Company Gift
Create great memories
Let your executives tell you who has the best limousine company.Provide an award certificate to every honored employee, and include a certificate for a three or four hour jaunt in a limo whenever and to wherever they want.
If this works out well, consider buying a limo when new models come out. Buy after a major style change and your limousine will look new for many years. Consider letting any employee book the limo occasionally; that will add some employee satisfaction.
You can also create special events using the limousine in conjunction with a ball game, show, or concert as an award or prize. For most of your employees this will be something they will talk about for a very long time.
"streeetch" your budget a bit further and toss in a gift certificate to a swank restaurant, or a debit card they can use as they wish.
Bon Appetite
The suspense
Ah the pleasures of anticipation as we wait for the best ever ...
Will you get on with it?
Okay -- here it is folks
(drum roll please) ...
The Number One Employee Gift
just a simple bag
This is a nice carry on bag, no more. Okay, it does expand to allow the carrying back of souvenirs, but no more.
What's that, an envelope is inside?
Use your own sense of drama, a bag at the front of the room, an occasional mention, keep it building.
In the end either the winners of employee recognition, or everyone at an annual company party, gets a quality piece of luggage, and perhaps a gift certificate for travel.
To really excite your crew, tie the gift to this years success, and tell them it will be topped next year if the growth continues.
Then tell them they have an extra 2 days of paid, mandatory vacation for the holidays.
They do have a life outside your company - let them rediscover it.
Your company will be rewarded.
Rick Steves 21" Roll Aboard
Amazon Price: (as of 12/31/2009)
List Price:
Dependable, high quality, with a bit of flash. Not just your employees, but also their new carry on luggage.
Do you have a better employee gift idea?
What is the goal of your business gifts?
Are you giving because it is expected, to set yourself apart, to recognize superior employee performance, or perhaps to build loyalty?
Maybe you just enjoy sharing and now is as good a time as any.
To all your good reasons we will add one more - to get repeat impressions on those that will directly influence your business success.
A great gift will be noticed more than once.
What great employee recognition gift ideas have you received, used, or do you plan to use?
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Reply
- CCGAL CCGAL Oct 28, 2009 @ 11:02 pm
- I can't recall any memorable gifts from companies I've worked for, save one, which was odd but wonderful. About 7 or 8 years ago I worked as a temp, and one assignment was a receptionist position. I offered to do some extra work while there, honestly because I was bored, and ended up noticing an error (duplicate pages and a section missing) in a big report I was making copies of. Long story short, they offered me a full time job which I declined (I was only wanting part time work) and when I left the assignment, they gave me what I've always called my "lovely parting gifts" - an umbrella, a mug, a keychain, and a cool insulated lunch bag all with the company logo. They were so nice to me, I almost hated to leave them.
I really enjoyed this lens, by the way - 5* and I've joined your fan club.
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Reply
- Ramkitten Ramkitten Oct 28, 2009 @ 1:20 pm
- Now that I work for myself, I get pretty crummy gifts from my boss. :) But back when I had my last "real" job, my boss used to give me lots of clothing at Christmas ... none of which I ever really liked. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to get that message across, even when I asked where the stuff came from so I could make some exchanges ... every year. On the plus side, though, there was always a nice little, padded envelope in one of the pockets. THAT gift I loved!
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- aj2008 aj2008 Oct 28, 2009 @ 6:18 am
- What a great idea for a lens - wish I had thought of it!
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- CherylK CherylK Oct 27, 2009 @ 8:40 pm
- Very good suggestions. Although I even think the old traditional holiday turkey or ham is appreciated by many. It's the way that it's given that counts.
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- Susan52 Susan52 Oct 27, 2009 @ 12:05 pm
- My husband got a paid day off because he had perfect attendance. That was a nice reward!
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- JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Oct 27, 2009 @ 8:01 am
- We always got food gift certificates which we pooled for big buying power. Hubby did though get his special wristwatch for 20 years of service. Too bad the company shut down before the 25th year.
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We hope you found some good ideas
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