Every day, the success of your business depends upon your valued employees, from entry-level to executives, doing their jobs well. Research shows that employees who feel appreciated are generally more productive, engaged, and more likely to stay with the same employer—which is of primary importance in these current times, when recruiting and retaining good people has never been so challenging.
Therefore, it is important to acknowledge your workers and managers year-round, through both recognition and rewards. Regardless of if your business has a formal recognition program, the holidays make an especially good time to share your gratitude with thoughtfully selected gifts (in addition to cash bonuses, which are always welcome).
Eagle Print Dynamics has decades of expertise in assisting our clients to research, locate, brand, and deliver employee holiday gifts that are sure to be appreciated and treasured. With this employee gifting guide, we provide the basic steps to make your 2022 gifting process a fast, fun, and gratifying experience!
Start Right Now
October is here and the holidays are just around the corner. You are probably aware that persistent supply-chain issues continue to result in shortages and delayed deliveries across every industry, particularly when ordering from overseas.
So, if you haven’t already, NOW is the time to begin choosing, customizing, and ordering your employee holiday gifts! The earlier you begin, the better your selection of trending and popular options.
You’ll also want to ensure you receive your branded gift items in time to wrap and distribute this December. Keep in mind you may limit your options to local or domestic suppliers depending on how early or late you place your order.
Looking ahead to next year, you should ideally begin your employee holiday gift research in July or August for the least stressful process from start to finish.
Set Your Budget
The holiday gift planning process for your workforce (as well as clients and vendors), should start with determining your overall gift-giving budget. Remember to factor in any costs beyond the actual gift items, such as printing or other customization, shipping, gift bags and packaging, distribution, sales tax, etc.
If your company is a large or medium-sized enterprise, you can even divide your employee gift budget into categories, based on department or tier, as many of our clients do. Once you set your budget, be sure to stick to it!
Research Your Options
This is typically the most time-intensive stage and can be overwhelming to do on your own. There are millions of branded products in the global marketplace, from apparel to technology to food items, and beyond! What’s more, not all items are of equal quality or reputation…and there is an increasing prevalence of counterfeit or knockoff products.
If you are segmenting your gift budget as suggested above, your research should account for the kinds of products that would be well-received by the employees at each level. For instance, warehouse workers may appreciate a durable lunch cooler, while managers would prefer a leather desk set for their offices. You also need to work within any corporate guidelines such as those that may prohibit giving alcoholic items, such as wine, to employees.
So how do you navigate this minefield to select the best options? Eagle’s expertise can help you streamline this process and make it as simple as possible for your team. We know exactly where to find the highest quality products and can advise you on the most current trending gifts and brands for each of your tiers or departments.
Trending Custom Employee Gifts for 2022
To inspire gift selections that your employees will cherish, here are a few of the hottest brandable stock products trending this season, from drinkware, coolers, and food items to backpacks, jackets, and technology:
Gift Ordering & Delivery
When you are ready to place your order with one or more suppliers, either online or by phone, you will need to know certain details such as quantities, colors (if applicable) and size distributions (when giving apparel), not to mention shipping and delivery details if your company has multiple locations.
You may also need to coordinate gift bags or wrapping and decide whether gifts will be hand-delivered to employees at the office or mailed to their homes (which means addressing and shipping individually). As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider.
But don’t fret! The Eagle team can recommend the most relevant gifts for your employees at every tier and manage the ordering, printing, packing, fulfillment, shipping, and other details.
Holiday Gifting, the Eagle Way
We are here to make the entire holiday gifting process a breeze for your business, on both the employee and client side! Simply contact Eagle Print Dynamics for a free consultation to get started and let us take this off your plate. Make an appointment online or call 714-978-2200.
For Client Gift-Giving suggestions, read Custom and Trending Gift Sets Perfect for the Holidays.
