Newsletters
Before You Give That Gift…
Kellye Whitney, 11-30-2009
The holiday season can be exceedingly festive. Between the company parties — if your organization is merry and stable enough to have one — and the time away from the office, it seriously can be a time of peace and goodwill toward men. But nothing can sour the holiday mood more quickly than a well meaning but completely inappropriate gift.
Giving something inappropriate seems to imply a lack of thought or care at a time when both are kind of the point of the exercise. New e-book “5 Employee Holiday Gift Mistakes — The New Rules of Giving” by Mark S. Repkin, vice president of The Certif-A-Gift Co., details some of the ways employers can avoid gift-giving gaffes.
“Time is often of the essence, and unwittingly managers tend to think of employees last and customers first when it comes time to do any kind of holiday gift giving,” said John Fox, president of Venture Marketing and spokesman for The Certif-A-Gift Co. “There tends to be a bias toward things the manager may think are cool or fun and may actually fall flat.”
Instead, he said managers should try to think of employees and ask what they would like as a golden rule.
“For example, giving a gift card sounds like a wonderful thing to do, but there’s two problems,” Fox said. “One, you’ve cheapened the value by saying, here’s how much you’re worth to me because it has a dollar figure stamped on it. Second, most gift cards come from a merchant, which says, here is the place I want you to shop. You are essentially putting your personal preferences ahead of your employees.”
Fox said it’s actually more important to do things that are free first — such as taking the time to say thank you to employees — because tangible gifts run the risk of creating false perceptions or being offensive.
“If I give chocolate — not that food gifts aren’t great if you really know the person — but to some people who may be dieting, that’s an affront. That’s like giving alcohol to an alcoholic. You wouldn’t want to do that. Just be careful; you have food and nut allergies, etc.,” Fox said.
In addition to sensitivity around preference, memory value is also important. A gift should create positive, lasting feelings of goodwill. Events, such as dinner as a group, providing there is general consensus, or offering options rather one-size-fits-all gifts often create lasting memories far more effectively than cash, said Fox.
“It’s all about perception — that what I select as the owner of a business or as a manager is good enough for everybody,” he explained. “The more diverse your organization is, the more difficult it is to pull that off successfully. For instance, not everyone has an Internet connection at home or at work. So, giving an Amazon gift card — which I love — you can’t assume everyone uses the Web, especially older folks.”
