Easy Employee Thank You Gifts for Distributed Workforces

For a geographically scattered workforce, make sure employee thank you gifts still have a personal touch. (Photo via Marc Levin, Flickr)

Employee thank you gifts always benefit from a personal touch. That’s doubly true when you’re recognizing a distributed workforce — whether these employees work in satellite offices, from home, on the road or in warehouses or other facilities located away from company headquarters.
But how do you find that personal touch that means so much to gift recipients? Employee recognition for a distributed workforce can be a major challenge in logistics, not to mention tone and style. You’re tasked with organizing and managing gift-giving in a way that assures quality, consistency and fairness. And when you rarely have the opportunity to see distributed employees face-to-face or get to know them individually, meaningful gift-giving can feel anonymous and ineffective.

Still, studies consistently show that rewarding employees is vital toward building highly motivated, happy work groups that perform well. The better your recognition program, the better your results.
Make things easy on yourself with these helpful tips for sharing employee thank you gifts that delight and engage, even in a distributed-workforce setting.
1) Give frequently.
Don’t wait for annual milestones or holidays. Rewards and recognition that closely follow the achievement or activity being recognized are most effective.
This is especially true for employees who don’t interact every day with corporate headquarters or company leadership. Each time an employee participates and interacts with company rewards, gift-giving is tied to company values and messages. That’s an invaluable reminder to employees everywhere of what your company stands for and what it strives to achieve. Make it happen often.
2) Be fair.
Keep track of where, when and how your recognition program works. Employee thank you gifts that fall through the cracks or go undocumented work against the efficacy of your program.
Look for recognition opportunities that capitalize on personal achievement and milestones. For example, a gThankYou! Ice Cream Gift Certificate is easy to include with payroll close to an employee’s birthday or as a reward for a specific personal success. Employee thank you gifts that are tied to individual achievements and milestones send a message that, regardless of location, each employee matters to the company.
One reason gThankYou! gift certificates become so valuable with a distributed workforce is how simple they are to personalize, keep track of and share with employees. gThankYou! gift certificates allow easy, flexible and frequent recognition with personalized cards to coordinate any level of recognition program you may have, from basic to strategic.
3) Empower local managers.
Empower local managers to have some control over gift-giving. Your supervisors in various locations know their employees best and can provide insights into individual performance, the personality of each team and favorite local holidays. With the right guidance, they can make the company’s employee thank you gifts more personable, intelligent and focused.
One easy way to empower local managers is gThankYou’s large-company order system. We call it SLOOP (System for Large Order Online Processing). SLOOP makes it easy for managers to plan, purchase and present employee thank you gifts quickly and cost-effectively.
We’re proud of this unique web-based order-entry system, which we customize based on your company needs. It enables gThankYou! customers to offer a pre-determined assortment of products and customized “thank you” cards to location managers, along with your negotiated pricing and location-specific order summaries. Orders ship directly and can be timed for a company-wide delivery date or shipped immediately.
SLOOP is a major productivity enhancement for organizations juggling the challenges of a distributed workforce and wanting a simple, no-cost process for location managers to place orders. Call us at 888-484-1658 to learn more about our large company online ordering system today!
Distributed But Not Forgotten
Remote employees can “feel isolated, undervalued and out of touch with what matters most at Corporate,” according to an interview with Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick, authors of The Orange Revolution: How One Great Team Can Transform an Entire Organization. But “for managers who get this right there are tremendous benefits for both sides: retaining and getting the most out of talented employees who work in diverse parts of the country or world.”
Make every employee count by making sure your distributed employees are included in your company recognition program. Sharing employee thank you gifts in a way that’s meaningful and spreads company gratitude should be a regular and celebrated aspect of your company, no matter where it takes place.
Employee thank you gifts are a cornerstone of a company culture that celebrates gratitude, success and engagement. For a step-by-step guide with practical tips to get you started on building a vibrant culture of gratitude, download our FREE e-book, “Transform Your Workplace with Gratitude.”
About gThankYou, LLC

Turkey Gift Certificates and Turkey Or Ham Gift Certificates by gThankYou! are two of America’s favorite employee gifts and can be redeemed for any Brand (Turkey or Turkey Or Ham), at virtually any Grocery Store in the U.S.
gThankYou, LLC provides company leaders with a variety of easy, meaningful and affordable ways to recognize and reward employees, holiday time or anytime. gThankYou! Certificates of Gratitude and our free Enclosure Cards are personalizable including incorporating your company logo. And, nearly all orders ship same day.
gThankYou, LLC (www.gthankyou.com) is based in Madison, Wisconsin. Contact: Rick Kiley, Chief ThankYou! Officer, gThankYou, LLC at info@gthankyou.com or 888-484-1658.
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“G” logo and “Certificates of Gratitude” are trademarks and “gThankYou” is a registered trademark of gThankYou, LLC.