Some 84 per cent of workers have received a “terrible” gift from their employer, showing many companies are “clueless” about Christmas gift-giving, says RedBalloon Corporate’s Matt Geraghty.Employees have worked harder this year than they have in a long time so they do not need mixed messages, he says. “A gift at the end of the year represents a great opportunity for managers to reinforce their relationships with their teams, to honour their contribution, to notice what they do.”RedBalloon’s recent survey of more than 3000 employees found their gifts had ranged from the strange, mundane, predictable, awkwardly tacky and obvious freebies to receiving nothing at all.
Geraghty says “a gift can either enhance a relationship or detract from it, and it is no different in business. The act of giving a personalised gift to an employee when it is attached to praise about positive behaviour or achievement is a powerful way to make a lasting impression on that person – if you get it right.”
Common corporate gift-giving mistakes include:
- “What the?” gifts – survey responses included a “defecating reindeer” and a gold spoon. “Unless you know the person very well these kinds of gifts can have the effect of being a little too ‘left field’ to be meaningful for the recipient. “
- Effort versus reward imbalanced gifts – one employee received “a company-branded watch for five years of service, and a letter misspelling my name”.”Consider the balance between effort or performance and the perceived value/fit of the gift,” Geraghty says. “Make it relevant for the recipient, and, with your budget in mind, something that is of worth to them.”
- Company-branded merchandise – these are useful corporate marketing tools, but when given on their own to employees they can appear to be non-personalised, and focused on the company rather than the individual and what they contribute.
- No gift, no acknowledgement, no nuthin’ – one employee summed up the disappointment felt by employees when they receive nothing. “Nothing for doing exceptional work beyond expectations, a little disappointing when so much time and effort was put into the task/project.”"People will work harder if they think they are recognised for doing so,” Geraghty says. “It comes back to how important people feel their contribution is, are they noticed?”
- Gifts that clearly demonstrate they don’t know the person – like Christmas ham for a vegetarian or a box of chocolates for a diabetic.
