Giving Christmas gifts to employees should not have to be hard. After all, it just happens once a year. Still, it can be a tricky task that may or may not speak about how you care for your employees.
With Christmas just around the corner, many HR professionals now think about what gifts to get for their employees. Gift-giving has been a tradition that companies gladly do every year. Many Filipinos regard gift-giving as one of the most important Filipino Christmas traditions. And what better time to show you appreciate your employees than the most wonderful time of the year, right?
We listed down common mistakes that come with employee gift-giving, so everyone stays happy and relaxed this Christmas.
Mistake #1: Giving False Promises, Then Not Giving Gifts at All
Whatever you’re thinking, stop.
There’s no excuse in giving false promises to your employees just so they’ll stay with you until the end of the holidays. Gift-giving has always been about giving something out of the goodness of your heart. And if you don’t plan on doing it, at least don’t try and make them believe that you will.
Besides, whether it’s Christmas or not, there’s no excuse for you to get your employees’ hopes up on something you know you can’t deliver.
Mistake #2: Giving Your Gifts Too Early or Too Late
Imagine receiving Queso de Bola in the first week of November or getting a Christmas Ham after December 25th. It kinda sucks the fun out of the season, right?
One of the most common mistakes when giving Christmas gifts to employees is when you lose track of the schedule. Timing is a part of the gift-giving process. Your gift will be appreciated more by your employees when they received it in the most relevant time.
Mistake #3: Forgetting About Your Off-Site Employees
Giving Christmas gifts to employees shouldn’t only be limited to those you see every day. Fix your list ahead of time to make sure that you don’t forget anyone.
Ever since President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Telecommuting Act of the Philippines, many Filipino employees opted to work-from-home. And even though you don't get to see them every day, you need to include them in the celebration. One way or another, your on-site and remote workers will have to get together. Unintentionally or not, your on-site employees will be sharing about the Christmas gift your remote employees didn’t receive, leaving them feeling isolated and undervalued.
Mistake #4: Lack of Consideration on Employees Who Don’t Celebrate Christmas
Even though the Philippines has one of the largest Catholic communities in the world, there are still a few people who don’t celebrate Christmas.
The last thing you want to happen during this season is to offend an employee who doesn’t have Christmas in their religion. Be sensitive enough to know about this information. Oftentimes, lack of consideration doesn’t always mean forgetting to remove the word ‘Christmas’ in your holiday greetings. Sometimes, it happens when you make them feel excluded from the celebration.
Mistake #5: Failure To Forecast Administrative Tasks
I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but if you think Christmas gift-giving is too simple, then you have a lot of work to do. There's shopping, gift wrapping, and distribution. That would be easy if you only have 3 employees. But you don't, do you?
You can’t simply put Christmas gifts in a huge table and tell your employees to find the ones for them. Also, don’t take for granted the importance of presentation. Make your gifts unique and memorable. It might be quite a challenge for huge companies. But there are already a lot of gift suppliers that let you purchase in bulk and personalize each item for you.
If you’re a little low on budget and can’t make your gifts personalized, at least do something special for them. Hold a sweet appreciate program. Write hand-written notes, if possible. Just don't give them all-too-common gifts they would probably hate or forget about the next day.
Read: The Best Christmas Gift Ideas for Employees
Mistake #6: Failing to Consider The Hassle of Bringing Your Gifts Home
Assuming that you have given your employees the best Christmas party, it’s such a real let-down if you fail to consider how they’ll bring your gifts home.
If you are thinking about giving Christmas Hams and Christmas Baskets this season, remove the hassle of bringing such bulky items from your employees. Sodexo offers convenient solutions like the Christmas Ham Gift Pass and Christmas Basket Gift Pass that lets your employees redeem these items at the top preferred supermarkets in the country. This way, you also don’t have to worry about distribution. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper compared to actual Christmas hams and baskets.
Mistake #7: Neglecting the Importance of Christmas Gifting
It is needless to say that it’s during Christmas when the spirit of gift-giving is most celebrated. Still, some companies don’t give it much value than it should have. Some see it as just another day. Some just want it to be over as soon as it starts.
If your company claims to be ‘for the employees,’ live by the principle and show your employees the appreciation they deserve. No matter how much budget you’re working on, it is important that you’ve given much thought to the gift you’re about to give. Don’t rush through it as if gift-giving is too much of an inconvenience on your end.
If you want to give #MoreThanJustAChristmasGift to your employees, give them the Sodexo Premium Pass. It is accepted in over 10,000+ merchant stores nationwide, giving your employees unlimited choices based on their own preferences. You may place your orders at www.GCregalo.com now and start your gift shopping!
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