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To help us better serve our corporate clients with their employee gifting strategy, we conducted a thorough investigation of the latest research done on what makes a great gift for your employees and how gifts play a key role in retention and overall job satisfaction.
A companies’ most important assets are its people and the findings are consistent. Turnover is expensive for businesses. An article from Zen Workspace estimates that to replace an entry-level employee, it costs 40 percent of that employee’s annual salary. The cost to replace a mid-level employee is even higher at 150 percent of their annual salary.
Using this formula, we see that if three mid-level employees with an average of an $80,000 salary left a company and it took 150 percent of their annual salary to replace them, it would cost a business $360,000. Determine your employee turnover cost with this simple calculator.
Businesses have known this for a long time, which is why it is estimated that this year, $40B will be spent on employee gifts, not including many other incentives to decrease employee turnover and increase overall job satisfaction.
Most businesses will use gifting as a tool to boost employee loyalty and retention. But how do you make sure that you will get a good ROI on your gifting efforts and deepen the impact of employee gifting? The following tips on how to have an effective employee gifting strategy are based on survey results from 700 corporate gift recipients:
1. Memorable and personal gifts win.
Out of all participants surveyed, 72% stated that receiving a personal or memorable gift made them feel connected to their employer and that they are more likely to be loyal and stay longer with that company.
What makes a gift memorable and personal? Gifts featuring useful items and curated to align with company values, along with a personal written gift note scored the highest marks among those who were surveyed. Recipients of these thoughtful gifts felt appreciated and more connected to their employer.
2. Branded company swag is NOT a gift.
Company branded swag is not a gift that builds loyalty. Of those surveyed, 82% reported feeling disappointed with company branded generic swag gifts. Gifts with logos are 60% less likely to be considered memorable than non-branded useful gift items and are more likely to be re-gifted or simply stashed away in a junk drawer. Employees know that swag gifts are marketing tools that build company awareness, as opposed to recognizing individual contributions to the company. Our solution? Logo on the box, not on the gift.
3. Gifting entry-level and mid-level employees pays dividends.
Whereas C-level Executives, Directors, and Managers reported to be the most satisfied with their gifts and considered them memorable and personal, entry and mid-level employees were the most disappointed and dissatisfied with their gifts. Incidentally, they were also the group with the highest turnover rate. Consider investing in a gifting strategy for your entry and mid-level staff. From welcome to the team gifts to showing appreciation for a job well done, employees feel valued and connected to the company when gifts are given with gratitude over obligation or sheer necessity.
4. Don’t forget the gift message.
A whopping 81% reported receiving gifts without a gift message attached. To avoid making gift giving feel transactional, make sure to take the time to write individual notes even if giving the same gift to multiple recipients. Let them know why you selected this gift for them and how their contribution to your company is valued and recognized. This is a sure way to maximize your gift’s impact.
Armed with this knowledge, you can now strategically invest in a meaningful employee gifting strategy. Reach out to our expert gifting team and we’ll work with you to curate your own custom employee gifts that reflect your company values, while helping you build a strong team that feels valued for its contributions.
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