Envision your boss gave you the task of corporate gift-giving for this year. At first, it seems fun, but as time goes on, it starts becoming more difficult.
Have you ever tried to give someone a gift? Not just a small token for a co-worker, but for someone you really care about?
You plan, try to get clues from that person, and finally settle on something that you think will knock their socks off. On the day of the big reveal, you can tell, they don’t really like it.
So do you know what ends up happening to that company gift? You buy the exact same thing that everyone else does. A simple T-shirt, with a logo on it.
And if you have ever been given one of these before, you know exactly where that t-shirt ends up. It is used either in pajamas, a dishrag or in the trash. And what good does it do there?
You start to wonder, why do we even bother?
Why Bother?
Employees are people, we all know this, but what does that really translate to? It means they are more than just a role in a company; they have opinions and are emotionally affected by the things around them.
It’s hard to think of employees as individuals, however, when months may go by before you can interact with everyone. Appreciation and interaction are an important part of a company’s culture.
It not only helps with morale but can lead to happier employees. And that, in turn, can lead to increased productivity and retention.
Increase Productivity
According to a study done by Oxford University, happy employees are an average of 12% more productive. Depending on the size of an organization, that could mean savings in the thousands and a high-quality output.
It can also mean a more positive opinion of the working environment, making monotonous tasks less difficult.
A corporate gift-giving program (like a company swag store) is an easy way to show that each employee is appreciated. We all know the extra boost we get from a meaningful and useful gift.
The anticipation of it arriving, the planning on how we will use it, and the general feeling of gratitude we have towards the person who gave the gift all are parts of getting a good gift.
Corporate gift-giving is a great way to help each employee feel like the company cares about them beyond their work output, they care about them as a person. In other words, people who feel appreciated by their company are happier.
Happier employees are in turn more productive, but there is more we can do than just giving any old gift.
We all feel grateful for a gift, even ones we don’t like, but we may not experience the same excitement that comes from one we want.
And since it is not possible to know all employees on a personal level, why not put the power of choice in their hands, with a company gift store?
Lower Turnover Rate
Based on a study done by Gallup, the average cost of turnover for an organization is around half to two times the annual salary of an employee.
Meaning, that in a 100-person organization, with an average salary of $50,000, turnover can cost up to 2.6 million dollars per year.
That leads to the question, how is it possible to avoid such a large cost? Out of the average 26% of turnover a company faces, around 52% is avoidable, according to Gallup.
When asked after leaving a company most people said they would have stayed had one simple thing been fixed. While many of those things are money-related, about half of them, according to Indeed, are related to the company environment.
Things like feeling uninspired, wanting to feel valued, seeking a better management relationship, wanting a different work environment, wanting a clever company vision, and looking for more recognition are partly solved by marketing a company’s message, throughout the company, by the means of a company gift store
Employee retention isn’t all about raising salaries; It’s about helping employees feel valued and like they are a part of a greater whole.
A corporate gift-giving platform is a simple way to address those needs.
How to Give a Corporate Gift
Gift-giving is an important part of a corporation, but its application can be very difficult. With hundreds or even thousands, of employees, it is nearly impossible to find something that most people would like.
Using spreadsheets and closets filled with t-shirts, corporate gift-giving can be messy as well. One easy solution is to give money or gift cards. This hits a few of the key things employees want but misses out on giving employees a feeling of purpose and a feeling of personalization.
That is why a customizable company store with franchise swag distribution is the most practical way to address all of these issues.
The Need for Personalized Gifts
During a 2009 study, Emerald Insight found that humans have a need for personalization. When faced with a work setting that did not allow for any personalization, people found alternative ways to personalize their workstations.
Personalization is a necessity, not a luxury. So why are we giving everyone the same corporate gift?
It’s because there is no way to find out what everyone wants, using traditional methods. A company store makes that process not only practical but easy.
A company store is simple to set up. You select a few, or a bunch, of items from a large selection of products. You then upload your logos, or any other designs you want, and position them on the products. Lastly, give employees access and that’s it.
All of the selected products are available for employees to order at any time and are fulfilled/shipped with no extra work from you. When your company needs a morale boost, or you just want to show appreciation, put store credit in employees’ accounts.
Then, let them pick something that has meaning, or is useful, for them.
The company store is now fulfilling the need for personalization while giving employees the appreciation they seek, but company stores can do more.
One key aspect that differentiates a company store from other gift-giving programs is its ability to help employees feel a part of a bigger whole.
The Importance of Internal Branding
With any job comes monotonous, or difficult, tasks that can make work tedious. Remembering how that can contribute to a greater cause helps to make it more bearable.
Trying to keep that vision in your head, however, requires frequent reminders. One way to accomplish this is by attaching that vision to a brand and marketing that brand to employees.
Company slideshows, flyers, and other forms of internal advertisement can be effective in communicating your vision to employees, but all of these are temporary. A well-used corporate gift is something that can stick around for years.
With clear messaging linked to a brand, company gifts begin to speak. They speak to the greater whole, a reason to continue when work gets hard. They become more than a shirt, a water bottle, a hat, or a pen, they are a constantly vocal representative of the company. And when that representative was hand-selected by the person using it, it sticks around.
Your company logo, and vision, are not just sloshed around drying dishes but proudly worn by a team member. It becomes a part of their life, a part of their identity, and helps align their beliefs with that of the people they work for.
A personalized gift does more than just add another pen to an employee’s growing collection, it has a purpose, a message. It is a way to remind people why they choose to work for an organization in the first place.
It makes the day-to-day seem like something important, instead of a task needing completion.
Real World Examples
All of these ideas and articles give a great baseline for understanding the importance of a corporate gift-giving platform. They do not, however, showcase how they play out in a real workspace. For that, we would like to talk a bit about one of our real clients, Purple.
From its onset, Purple has tried to express a “quirky and fun” voice. With early commercials featuring comedians, and over-the-top egg crashing, they needed products that could express that message to their employees.
With hundreds of products available all in one place, Purple was able, with the help of our company swag store, to find the items that represent who they were, without having to source from all over.
Their first iteration of corporate gift-giving was through an Excel spreadsheet. After it had passed from employee emails to HR, to customer service, it had gotten messy and time-consuming.
Using a corporate gift-giving program allowed Purple to take the middleman out, save time, and give employees the opportunity to order what they wanted directly from us. They could choose items that expressed who each employee was as a person, and find something that they love. Visit their store here.
In Summary
There are no shortcuts when it comes to showing employee appreciation. It takes a large amount of time and dedication. Using a corporate gift-giving platform, like AXOMO, takes the load off of your shoulders and puts it with us.
Company gift-giving can create a happier work environment, give employees appreciation, and promote a firmer, more consistent, message. All of these benefits can lead to increased productivity and an overall feeling of belonging within a company.
Using a personalized swag management platform as your form of gifting fulfills employees’ needs in more ways than giving a t-shirt ever can. It allows them to express who they are, while standing behind the vision of their organization.
Don’t just give out the same gift every year and expect it to be good enough. We, as a society, are constantly advancing and utilizing new and improved methods to make life better. Bring your gift-giving into the 21st century, with a customized, individualized, swag management platform.
Find out how you can start your own company store by contacting us.