Employees First

The old mantra of “Customers come first” never set well with Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group. For years he has been telling whoever would listen (and a lot did) that employees come first. From the Virgin company website, to interviews and his own LinkedIn posts, he has consistently espoused the virtue of treating employees well, and they in turn will treat customers well.

As we see the market place for great employees heating up, companies are evolving from employees as an afterthought to the Richard Branson model of Employees First. Employers are creating better work environments, flexibility and more valuable benefit packages. In addition to these core benefits, employers are also realizing that little things go a long way.

This past holiday season, employers’ spending on employee gifts increase significantly according to the ASI study released last year. With the average increasing per employee at 16%, companies are showing their appreciation with more valuable gifts. Among the top employee gifts, apparel was number four. But it doesn’t have to be a product. Gift cards and cash were also high on the list.

If you want to extend the connection between the employee and the company, providing some inexpensive but nice branded gifts will go a long way. While apparel is the number one promo item, consider the lifestyle of your own employees and consider what items fit best for them outside the office as well as inside. Many companies “kit” a few items together to create an interesting gift basket of fun and useful items.

One of the more telling findings from the ASI study is that companies are spending more on employee gifts than client gifts. This suggest that Sir Richard’s perspective is being shared by more corporate executives.

For some ideas on employee engagement and branded gifts, check out iPromo’s special section here.

In this section of course you will see branded promo items, but you will also get information on a wide range of employee engagement ideas. From keeping remote employees connected to helping employees stay healthier, there are a lot of steps you can take that are not overly expensive nor time consuming.

If you have unique programs for keeping employees engaged, we’d love to hear from you.