Favorite Summertime Employee Thank You Gifts

Employees appreciate your gratitude year-round, and summertime presents opportunities galore for thoughtful employee thank you gifts.

Why Are Thank You Gifts Important?

Everyone instinctively wants to feel valued, and that includes in the workplace too.  Christine M. Riordan, provost and professor of management at the University of Kentucky, writes in Harvard Business Review that leaders of teams—and team members themselves—should work to foster a culture of value and appreciation.

She notes in her article, “Foster a Culture of Gratitude:”

“Research on gratitude and appreciation demonstrates that when employees feel valued, they have high job satisfaction, are willing to work longer hours, engage in productive relationships with co-workers and supervisors, are motivated to do their best and work towards achieving the company’s goals,” 

Riordan suggests helping employees develop professionally, involving them in decision-making and problem-solving, and supporting workplace camaraderie as effective strategies for creating a culture of gratitude.

A sincere thank you and a meaningful gift can help bolster that culture, and what’s more fun in summertime than a gift that fits the season?

Best Summertime Gifts

Here are some gift ideas that will help your employees enjoy summer and think of your business while they do. Consider hosting employee thank you events that foster fun, engagement and communicate your appreciation.  Hint: think outdoors if you have been indoors all winter!

• Free passes to a community summer festival.
• Tickets to a water park, miniature golf facility or amusement park, or better yet, a company outing to one for employees—and their families if it’s feasible.
• Host a company picnic, with food and beverages provided and planned entertainment, such as softball, volleyball, music—along with small gifts such as tote bags, insulated cold-drink mugs, even something silly, like inexpensive super soakers to liven up the day.
• Host an all-company outdoor movie screening and serve popcorn, movie snacks and drinks.
• Give local farm CSA’s or offer cooking classes for light and healthy summertime meals.
• Hand out company branded Frisbees and team bandanas then knock-off work early for a fun team-building Frisbee golf tournament.
• Distribute company branded grilling aprons along with a gThankYou! Grilling Gift Certificate for a BBQ themed thank you.
• Host an ice cream social and/or distribute gThankYou! Certificates of Gratitude for Ice Cream or Pie to share with families.
• Crowd-source among employees for what they would like best!

Anytime Gift-Giving Tips

Jean Scheid, contributing editor and senior writer at Bright Hub, offers tips for giving employee thank you gifts, summertime or anytime, in her article “Employee Gifts and Rewards for the Company Picnic!”

Be Fair. Try and keep your gifts fair as far as cost, especially if everyone is pretty much equal in their job duties. Giving one person an expensive gift and another employee an inexpensive gift is a sure way to lose respect.

Gender Specific. Stay away from gender specific gifts such as football or baseball tickets for the guys and necklaces for the gals. The office is not the place for gender specific gifts.

Don’t Overspend. Consider your employee gifts as an expense and budget for that expense.

Do It Yourself. As a small business owner, don’t assign all the employee gift buying to one of your employees. Do it yourself or ask a friend, associate or relative to help you.

Include Your Note of Thanks.  A handwritten, sincere note of thanks is worth more than any gift.  Add it to a thoughtful gift and employees will be grateful for your attention and appreciation.

Lottery Tickets. Steer clear of lottery tickets as gifts. It will appear that you put no effort into your gift-giving.

Employees Do Talk. Even if you request everyone open their gifts later, they will talk and compare gifts. When gift-seeking, keep this tip especially in mind.

Foster your culture of fun and gratitude this summer, with gifts and opportunities to engage that make your employees feel special and know you care.

To learn more about the art of workplace gifts, click the image below to download our Free Ultimate Guide to Employee Gift-Giving today!

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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