By Nigel Arnett, ‘The Butler Service’ Concierge Manager at Cartwright & Butler

With Christmas just around the corner, companies of all sizes are beginning to consider their plans for the season. With 95% of businesses choosing to invest in corporate gifting, it’s without doubt a vital part of relationship building, enhancing not only a company’s connections with clients, but also with their staff.

Our research shows gifts for employees are an investment in developing a strong and positive workforce – with 35% of HR professionals agreeing they help retain staff, and a further 60% using them as a key way of showing appreciation.

Selecting gifts for either a small or large workforce can be taxing, with considerations of age demographic, taste, and personal interest often being stressful for employers. But getting it right doesn’t need to be as hard as you might think.

Opting for quality over quantity

Our research shows that 20% of HR professionals gift sporadically throughout the year and that quality is the most important factor when it comes to presents, followed closely by price and personalisation.

When it comes to showing gratitude to your workforce or to clients, it’s important to strike the right balance. For example, while workers enjoy a luxurious gift and research confirms quality is important to them, there is a fine line between a thank you present, and what could be seen as an empty financial gesture.

The all-year-round gifting budget

Companies are advised to allocate a corporate gifting budget that doesn’t just include a pot for Christmas. As employees and clients are likely to appreciate a spontaneous gift mid-year, perhaps even more-so than at key gifting seasons, having a few pots of budget throughout the year can ensure money is invested in the best way possible.

According to our research, during the festive period businesses spend less on staff gifts compared to client gifts. 57% of companies spend up to £150 on a client gift, while 43% spend under £50 per member of staff – suggesting some businesses don’t fully appreciate the positive impact on staff retention and motivation levels that gifting your workforce creates.

As every role is key to a company’s success – it’s also advised for employers to ensure they include all levels of staff when gifting – including those on parental leave, temporary staff, or those who work remotely.

Impress with personalisation

Latest stats show 95% of staff are overwhelmingly impressed when a gift is personalised, and 58% of HR managers agreeing it’s the key to selecting the right gifts for a workforce. For businesses with a smaller workforce, this may be quite simple to do, while organisations with hundreds of employees may find this a little daunting.

But personalisation doesn’t have to cost too much time, effort, or budget. Many corporate gifting companies can leave a space within cards or gift tags for individual line managers to add their own, handwritten note, which will help to give the gift a personal touch.  We offer a number of personalisation options with our products including, branded or initialled wood plaques or printed card wraps for hampers, special message tags or wraps for individual gift tins, expertly designed personalised gift cards and curated contents within hampers and gift boxes.

Food for thought

• When looking for a gift that sits within your budget, has a touch of luxury, and allows room for personalisation – food and beverage products are an ideal choice.
• Our research shows that 51% of HR managers buy luxury food items, while 54% buy gift vouchers, and 30% buy stationary.
• Across businesses as a whole – food and drink gift hampers were the most sought after gift, with almost a half (49%) of workers hoping to receive extra special food and drink items.
• At Cartwright & Butler we pride ourselves in creating bespoke corporate gifts that provide a personal touch, meet an organisation’s ethos, budget, and also ‘wow’ employees and clients.