How Much To Spend On Employee Gifts
An integral part of a human resource manager’s job involves hiring new employees, ensuring their smooth onboarding, and addressing employee retention.
They are expected to plan a top-notch corporate gifting strategy that aligns with the company policies and budget and meaningfully increases employee engagement at the workplace.
If you are just starting as a HR, it is common to feel confused about how much you should spend on employee gifts.
Broadly speaking, there are two different verticals to this:
- Gifting employees occasionally throughout the year
- Gifting during the holidays
Both scenarios are equally significant when planning a corporate gifting budget for the company.
So, here’s covering approximately how much organizations can or should spend per employee every year to meet their employee engagement and retention goals.
π Learn about why corporate gifting is important for your company.
Key factors that influence the corporate gifting budget per employee
Corporate gifting is one of the main waysΒ organizationsΒ show employees the appreciation they deserve. As an HR manager, here are the key factors to be aware of while deciding the corporate gifting budget per employee:
1. The gifting occasion
Is the corporate gift an invite to an event?
Are you gifting them to appease and hopefully retain them?
Are you gifting your employees for some festive occasion, or are you simply rewarding your top performer who achieved a target?
Is it a wellness kit for a remote employee or a welcome kit for a recruit?
These are some of the questions that need to be addressed to determine the corporate gifting budget per employee.
π Explore the ultimate list of unique corporate gift ideas for employees and customers.Β
2. Taste in gifts
Although this may not always be the case, it is important to know or connect with your employees personally to learn about their personality and preferences in order to give them an appropriate corporate gift. Showing dedication and appreciation towards employees plays a key role in positively impacting business progress.
For example, if they are a tech lover, then they would love to receive tech-related gadgets. If the employee is working remotely, then personalized stationery of them and their pet would be a fantastic gift.
This act of devoting time and effort to procuring an apt corporate present for your employees demonstrates to them that you are a thoughtful and committed business partner.
A meaningful and personal corporate gift is sure to result in a positive reciprocation from the employee.
3. Personalized corporate gifts
Personalizing corporate gifts for employees can give them a genuine feel, putting you at the forefront of their thoughts.
For example, engraving their names on a fountain pen or gifting them a customized laptop bag with their name on it can be very meaningful for them. It would bring them closer to the company and help secure their loyalty.Β
Get best deal on unique corporate gifts for employees and clients.
4. Branding and packing of the gift
Your employees will always appreciate brilliant packaging designs. You have the opportunity to distinguish your brand from other competitors by embracing best-in-class corporate gifting solutions.
Packaging makes your brand stand out and conveys that you’ve put thought into the present.
Whatβs more, if the gift is branded with your organizationβs name and logo, it will always be something the employees will remember.
How much should a company spend on corporate gifts?
There is no fixed amount here as it depends on various factors, starting with, “What is the occasion to give gifts to the employee(s)?”
- If it is an annual individual event: The most common gifting occasions for employees are their birthdays and anniversaries. Since they happen only once a year per employee, make sure each of them receives the attention and recognition they deserve. You might take your employee out for lunch, but then all your employees will expect the same. So, it can end up being a costly affair. Corporate gifts make a lot more sense in this scenario.
- If it is an individual incident: These can be in the form of individual celebrations or fundraisers. HR managers have the opportunity to discuss this beforehand with the team before planning something major.
- Gifts for employee appreciation and retention: Companies are becoming increasingly conscious of the value of expressing gratitude to employees to retain them. It cannot be overstated how rewarding the hard work of employees increases morale and engagement. It motivates them to work better and achieve their organization’s goals.
Keeping the gifting occasion in mind, consider the number of employees you’d need to send gifts, the frequency of gifting, and the type of gift to determine your corporate gifting budget.
Offineeds’ standard gifting range lies between INR 278 to INR 3500 ($3.71 to $46.67) per employee. The pricing per employee may change depending on the budget of the organization, the festival, etc.
π Learn about why corporate gifting is important for your company.
How much to spend on holiday gifts for employees and staff?
There are various festivals during which organizations can give corporate gifts to their employees and staff.
For example, Diwali, Eid, Christmas, etc. Other occasions could include new year celebrations, new joinee initiations, and retirement gifts for senior employees.
- New joinee gift budgets can be in the range of INR 500 to 2000 ($6.67 to $26.68) as they could be given kits, including a laptop bag, stationery, etc.
- Festive gifts for Christmas, Diwali, Eid could have a price range of INR 500 to 3000 ($6.67 to $40.03) as there are plenty of gift options to choose from.
- Retirement gifts can include care packages in the price range of INR 1000 to 3000 ($13.34 to $40.03) or more depending on the seniority of the team member.
- Holiday gifts can be in the price range of INR 125 to 1795 ($1.67 to $23.95) which can include a variety of gourmet gifts or accessories for the staff.
When planning a corporate gifting budget, it boils down to the budget and the size of the team in the organization.
What gifts do employees value most?
1. Personalized gifts
Creating strong team bonds and a sense of belonging among the employees by giving customized corporate gifts is easy.
With numerous choices available that represent your employees’ professional interests, hobbies, and causes, there will always be something that they fancy.
Team apparel, charitable donations, and experiential gifts based on their hobbies may all make your employees feel genuinely appreciated and cherished by the company.
2. Gourmet food and beverages
Corporate gifts in the form of gourmet food and beverages are something every employee will always appreciate. This could be due to the fact that they love the exotic feel of it, or they just love good food.
Employees would appreciate exotic teas from top brands like ChaiOm in Melange, Correl, Bee Hive, Earth Bag, Drink Health varieties. Coffee lovers would enjoy Blue Tokai coffee in flavours such as Dhak Blend, Vienna Roast, French Roast, Cascara Coffee Cherry Tea, etc. Snack lovers can gorge on a variety of cookies, desserts, dry fruits, gourmet popcorn, etc.
All the gourmet food and beverages come in different price ranges, which becomes affordable for organizations to afford if they have huge teams.
3. Branded water bottles and sippers
Branded water bottles and sippers are gifts that every employee appreciates. It saves them time from having to walk to the cooler every time they are thirsty. Not only is it useful in the workplace, it also helps them during traveling and at home to store water.
There are a variety of branded water bottles. They can be stainless steel bottles, or made from bamboo (for eco-friendly employees).
Tech lovers who love being healthy would love BIOFI water bottles which come with the latest technology to eliminate microorganisms from water.
4. Gift cards
Gift cards are a perfect gift for employees when organizations do not want to invest time and effort in personalizing gifts for each recipient. They are an employee favourite as they love being recognized for their perseverance at their workplace.
Gift cards can be personalized too. It can be gifted digitally or mailed to the employeeβs address in an envelope.
Employees love gift cards from Offineeds because the cards come with a lifetime validity; they can be encashed anytime in the future. Offneeds offers gift cards in various price ranges and from the top retail brands such as Amazon, Myntra, Nykaa, etc.
5. Branded apparel
Gifting the employees branded apparel from Offineeds is among the top ways for organizations to reward their employees working in the office and remotely. Some of the most popular apparel for employees include T-shirts, shirts, caps, jackets, and hoodies.
All the apparel is from the top brands in the country, and comfort is guaranteed. Branded apparel can also be customized with the company name and logo along with the employeeβs name.
This will give them a sense of belonging, trust, and create a strong team bond.
6. Desk items
If you want to instil a feeling of joy and fun in the workplace, quirky desk items such as board games, stress balls, salt lamps and fidget spinners are a perfect distraction from monotonous tasks.
These will help the employees catch a break and relax momentarily.
7. Premium Headphones
Tech lovers who appreciate their music love receiving wired and wireless headphones from brands such as Duke, Jabra and JBL.
Some of these headphones also act as noise-cancelling devices, allowing users to concentrate on their tasks while listening to some ambient music.
These premium headphones can be customized in a variety of colors and the company logo. Employees would highly appreciate this gift no matter what the occasion is.
Happy corporate gifting
Offineeds provides a wide range of corporate gifting solutions across different price ranges. There is something for every employee and organization at Offineeds.
Once you have your budget in place, go ahead and start placing orders on our site to deliver heartfelt, personalized gifts to your employees.Β
If you have any queries regarding corporate gifting, feel free to get in touch with us on +91 8088 009 009 or [email protected]
I am Srikanth Acharya, CEO at TheHomeOffice.in & OffiNeeds.com. TheHomeOffice helps professionals work more efficiently from their homes and at Offineeds, we help companies create #BrandAmbassadors through #CorporateGifts.