It’s 2023, and the landscape of corporate gifting has changed dramatically since last year! This holiday season, gone are the days when a simple box of chocolates or a basketful of company logos was enough to show appreciation. With many of us still adjusting to the new normal in business and uncertain economic times, it can be hard to think outside the box and figure out what type of thoughtful gift would make your employees feel truly appreciated. A great way to make sure that your gifts are on trend and practical is to use online gift guides. These guides can help you find unique and creative gift options that might have passed you by if you had stuck with the old-fashioned shopping method.
Additionally, our tips below will help you find the perfect employee gift — from creating customized experiences to finding unique items with your specific budget in mind, we’ve got you covered on all fronts. Read on for helpful advice that will ensure you find exactly what your team needs this season.
Consider Why You Are Gifting
The first tip on this list if you want to buy your employees a great gift in 2023 would be to consider why you are gifting them with something, to begin with. This is quite an important tip since the motivation behind gifting makes all the difference in the world.
Are you gifting an employee so that you can appreciate their individual performance? Or is it a special occasion? Are you gifting more than one employee? And is that because of team performance, or because of an annual company performance appreciation day? The reason why you are gifting is very important since it will change the type of gift that you are getting.
Gift Something General in Most Cases
The next tip on this list, if you are looking to buy your employee a great gift, would be to gift something general in most cases. At the end of the day, gifting an employee is a very difficult thing to do since you don’t want to get them something too extravagant that makes the other employees jealous. More importantly, you also don’t want to get a gift that makes them question your relationship with the employee in question.
As such, in most cases, it is a good idea to go with a general type of gift. Some gifts that could be considered general include tote bags or drinkware, key chains, company-branded apparel, or desk accessories. Employees will always value a water bottle, a set of pens, or a new notebook.
Get Gifts That Coincide with Your Values
The next tip on this list is also quite an important one, and that is, if you are going to be gifting your employee with a gift, you should get something that coincides with the values of your company. What does this mean? This means that every company has a brand personality as well as a mission and values.
When you gift an employee, you should try to stick to those values as closely as possible. For example, if your company works within the energy-saving industry, it is safe to assume that you care for the environment. As such, you should try to get a “green” type of gift rather than one that will cause damage to the environment.
Consider That Some Gifts Are Taxable
One thing that you should do when buying your employee a gift in 2023 is to consider that some gifts are taxable. Gifts that are taxable, basically any sort of gift card or cash bonus, need to be reported to the IRS. For example, gifts of this type include a $30 performance bonus, a $20 gift card for your employee to visit a local restaurant, or even season tickets to visit or see a local sports team.
As such, you might want to consider getting a tax gift. A few examples of tax gifts include the occasional meal compensation or a non-cash gift that doesn’t have a very high market value. You could also gift your employees with a business mobile phone or give them an employee of the month parking pass. Tax gifts are gifts that are too trivial to justify with tax considerations or that are small or not expensive.
