A Guide to Corporate Gift Giving

Corporate gifting is a serious business. 👩 💼 The B2B world is well-versed in spoiling clients with all things luxe, but what about something special for the employees? 

💭 Gifting your employees with the right things should take even more thought and consideration. They’re the main reason your clients stick with you (although those all-expenses-paid trips to Vegas do help). 

Read our handy corporate gift ideas guide below to learn more about giving to your employees. 

Determine the best times to give 

Gift-giving doesn’t have to be associated with the winter holidays. Workplaces are full of diversity, and holidays like Christmas have a religious connotation that not everyone celebrates or relates to. 

At Confetti, we have two major gift days - a person’s work anniversary and birthday and then little ones sprinkled throughout the year. 🎁 These dates allow for individual recognition of our team members, while corporate holiday gifts (although appreciated) just feel less personal. 

Determining your company’s giving days and the perfect corporate gift is entirely up to the business! But we recommend finding days exclusively for each individual, as it provides a personal touch. 

Knowing what to give

Even as a fearless company leader, you may not know what a team member wants as a gift. 😲 That’s okay! Chances are, someone else can help determine the perfect present. 

Confetti likes to go to a person’s closest coworker for gift ideas. We’d much rather get a gift a person genuinely wants than give for the sake of giving. We’ll have this friend pass along the suggestion to our People Ops team, who then sources it. 

Enlisting help guarantees we’re getting something great. 👯 If you’d like even more advice in this area, check out our guide on finding the perfect present. 

Of course, this doesn’t have to be your exact system. We’ve just found it to be the most organized for us so far. You can have anyone order the gift - managers, HR, coworkers, so long as it works with your company card policy.

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🎁 3 types of corporate gifts

There are three gift categories I like to stick to when doing my shopping: gag gifts, sentimental gifts, and big presents.

Let’s get into the thick of it 👇

1. Small or gag gifts

These are typically small items that remind you of someone. Tchotchkes, t-shirts, and more. Not always funny, but not a serious gift either. These gifts are affordable (so affordable, it’s a gift that may not get used at all). That’s fine by you because the main purpose of this gift is to let someone know you thought of them when you saw this thing.

2. Sentimental gifts‍

These gifts hold a personal value to you others may not see, but your loved one can appreciate. You know, like grandma’s fine china or the baseball from your first MLB game. It’s important that you let the person know why it means so much to you for them to have this thing (that way they won’t accidentally throw it away or exchange it)

3. Big gifts

These bigger gifts are your grander gestures. They’re typically practical and answer a person’s wishes or reflect their identity. Here’s a little more detailed breakdown:

• Practical: No, it’s not a boring gift. It’s the gift someone wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves but really needs or wants. Think of the fancy bag they adore, but never pull the trigger on. Or the new kitchen knife set because they love cooking, but their current cutlery is old and dull. And when it comes to business gifts, thoughtful corporate gift boxes are always a great choice.
• Personal: If someone doesn’t express their desires, then show them you understand who they are. Tap into their core passions. Your best friend may work in the corporate world, but she’s also a talented artist. Consider a nice brush set with a matching sketchpad, a gift box of colorful pens, or an NFT you'll think she'll love.

The category I decide on depends on my relationship with someone and the situation the gift is for. For moments like the holidays, you can have a mix of all, or you can sprinkle each category throughout the year. You can use your best discretion here. But without calling anyone out, I’ll just say I wouldn’t recommend buying a funny t-shirt for your girlfriend’s birthday...👀

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📝 Tips on how to find the best corporate gifts

Now that I’ve covered the types of presents, let’s look at these tips on how to pick one:

     ❣ Actively listen for what a person wants or needs. What do you think is on their wish list? They may not outright tell you, but you pay close attention to when they say they want, need, or wish they had something.

     ❣ If you’re not sure what to get, ask questions, but keep it discreet. If it’s the holiday season for example, call them up and ask how the season is treating them. Or even invite them to go holiday shopping together and pay attention to what they ooh and ah over. Opening yourself to their thoughts is bound to give you ideas of things they wish they had. Are they stressed out? Maybe get them a nice pampering massage or spa day.

     ❣ Think of what will capture a person’s identity. Trust me when I say your tech-savvy employee who is 30 years old will not want a teddy bear. Do they have a major hobby? Get them something revolved around that thing they see themselves as part of.

     ❣ Don’t be overly practical. So yes, practical gifts can be great, but do you really want someone else to buy you socks? Similarly, try to avoid things like clothing unless you’re 100% sure of a person’s taste and size. If they sent you a photo of something saying “love!” that is a good place to start 😊

     ❣ Think about them, and don’t go overboard on creativity. When you get too creative with the idea, your gift can reflect yourself and not the other person. You want your gift to be appreciated (especially if you’re going to drop a good amount of money on it) – which means putting yourself aside and thinking about them first.

     ❣ Make sure your gift makes sense. Don’t give for the sake of giving alone. Your gift should make sense to that person and is meant to be enjoyed. Put the things they want for themselves, first – and the things that you want for them, second.

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🤔 When in doubt...

Listen – gift-giving isn’t easy. If it were, I wouldn’t have made this handy little guide. Even if you know a person, even with all the active listening in the world, there will still be times where you’re uncertain about what gift to get someone. 

When you’re in this situation, there are three solid options to turn to: 

Wait it out ⏳

That’s right. Lightly delay your giving (assuming your relationship dynamic allows it). 

Write a meaningful card to let them know you haven’t forgotten. Tell them you have something in mind, but you want to ensure it’s perfect, so you need a little more time. 

There’s nothing wrong with a light delay! It gives your loved one something to look forward to and gives you the time to get it right. If the idea of holding out makes you nervous, give a placeholder gift for the time being. 

Give an experience 🤸

When we were building Confetti, we dove headfirst into the science of bringing people together. And we found what we thought to be true was! Shared experiences are more memorable than an object. Humans are social creatures above all else, and studies confirm we want to be together. 

If you’re stuck on unique corporate gift ideas, try shifting gears. Create memories with one another instead. Book a weekend getaway, schedule boozy painting lessons, try horseback riding – any experience that speaks to your loved one. You can keep it between the two of you or allow them to invite someone they love along. 

You may find curating a whole lived experience for your loved one much easier than locating the perfect material object. 

If you're looking for client gifts, treat them to an experience from our Get to Know Your Customers Day collection.

Give the green light to return 🔙

As I mentioned, gift giving ain’t easy. If it’s not sentimental, it’s important that you tell your loved one that if they don’t like your gift, they’re welcome to return it. After all, you ultimately want them to have something they love. 💞

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Nail down your internal gifting policies 

Having gift-giving guidelines helps streamline the process and makes preparation so much easier. As mentioned above, we’ve cemented specific gifting dates unique to each team member and a way to guarantee they’ll feel seen. 

Our gifts are also always signed off as The Confetti Team because we want to remind a person that our whole company recognizes them and appreciates their hard work. 

And, of course, we have a budget allocated. One-year anniversaries are celebrated with $1,000 cash 🤑, while birthdays are celebrated with tangible gifts and have a $50 budget. 

We’ve found our current budget presents (pun intended) the opportunity for team members to exchange gifts with one another, too. As a result, we’re building out a $30 per month per employee policy. 

If a team member notices someone needs a pick-me-up or simply wants to say thanks for a job well done, they’ll be able to do so on the company’s dime! If you haven’t noticed, we’re all about camaraderie at Confetti. 🎉

To build out solid gifting policies, work with your HR leaders and People Ops to determine what makes the most sense for your company. But feel free to use our little summary for inspiration. And keep an eye out for future detailed blogs from us on cultural policy building… 👀

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Need more perfect gift ideas?

We’d love to help! Confetti is in the art of creating memorable custom corporate gifts in the form of employee experiences, and we’re eager to do so for your team. Check out our explore page for inspiration, or reach out to [email protected]. We’re so excited to have you.