Cuff Links and More: Top 5 Gifts to Give Employees This Holiday

The season for gift giving, and more importantly gift purchasing, is in full swing. Once most people have found the perfect gifts for their children, their spouses and their family members, one segment of the population is still unaccounted for: employees.

Purchasing gifts for employees comes with unique challenges: you want to show them that you appreciate them, but you want to stay within budget. You want to get them something unique, but you don’t want to cross the line into something too personal or possibly offensive.

Here are five employee gift options you can’t go wrong with this holiday season.

• Cuff links. Although cuff links are a gift that makes sense only for employees of the male persuasion, if you have a large number of male employees, it could be a good gift option. Cuff links also top the list of “Top 10 Men’s Christmas Gifts” according to an article put out by Wales Online. If your work has a professional type dress code, or if your employees tend to suit up for important business meetings, keep cuff links in mind. They’re classy, affordable, and very business appropriate. Cuff links for everyone!
• Continuing education or training. This might seem contrary to a good gift idea, but continued training is the gift that keeps on giving. A representative for the employee training company CRM Learning agreed by saying, “Not only does continued education help you reduce employee turnover, but it also shows employees you’re willing to invest in them beyond just a menial gift. It shows you view them as a valued team member.”
• Food gifts. This one speaks for itself. Who doesn’t like a gift basket full of delicious cookies, or cheese and crackers? Research shows that food gifts are among the favorite types of gifts employees (and everyone else) likes to receive during the holiday season, since eating food evokes an emotional experience for the recipient. Any time you can give a gift that evokes a positive emotional response from the recipient, you’re in a winning situation.
• Experiences. With the rise in popularity of sites like Groupon, treating someone to an experience or activity is easier than ever. Cheap gifts can be thrown away but experiences last a lifetime. Whether it’s something simple like movie tickets, or something lavish like treating your employees to a holiday getaway, footing the bill for your employees to have an experience is a gift that can never be regifted or forgotten.
• Gift cards. Sure they’re impersonal, but there’s a reason they’re so popular. Gift cards are an especially good option if you’re putting on a holiday party for your employees, since you’ve already gone to the trouble of creating a holiday memory for them. Giving them a gift card to their favorite restaurant, retail store or anywhere else is icing on the cake and a very straightforward display of appreciation. It’s also very hard for anyone to be offended by a gift card, so it’s considered one of the safer options for holiday gift giving.

Whether you decide to treat your employees to cuff links or a simple gift card this holiday season, remember the two golden rules; keep it appropriate and let them know you appreciate them. At a time when employee turnover is high and loyalty is low, a little appreciation any time of the year really goes a long way in keeping happy, motivated employees.

[Photo credit: Wikipedia & Getty Images]