Corporate gifts are not merely presents; they’re signs of your company’s branding and equity. So, choosing the wrong gift or ordering your gifts late can negatively impact your brand and lead to costly errors. But there are some other mistakes you should avoid making as well. Learn about them in our post.
Corporate gifts are more than just gift items; they’re also signs of goodwill towards and appreciation for your employees.
This holds true worldwide, including in Dubai, where employees consider gifts to be a sign of trust and respect. However, there are some mistakes that some companies make, which create a misunderstanding or a wrong impression.
These include gifting overly personal corporate gifts, gifting too late, and gifting overly promotional gifts.
Read on to learn more and avoid creating unnecessary misunderstandings with your employees.
Corporate Gifting Mistakes to Steer Clear of
You should avoid making the following mistakes when gifting your corporate employees in the UAE:
- Value Mismatch
Your corporate gifts should reflect who you are as a company, as a mismatch can reflect poor taste. Additionally, it can also show that you don’t take yourself or your employees seriously, which could affect your brand equity.
For example, you would not gift leather notebooks as a vegan handbag company. Similarly, if you specialize in traditional Arabic Dallah and Finjan, then steel mugs would be a poor gift. So, you should consider your gifts accordingly.
- Ordering Too Late
Waiting until the last minute is another error, as the order might not arrive on time. Your employees might misunderstand the delay as being left out and naturally feel underappreciated. Ordering late also minimizes the acceptability of the gift.
For example, say you order Eid-special gourmet hampers, and they arrive late. The chocolates would get spoiled, and the event-related euphoria would also have worn away.
So, you should choose a reliable vendor with a robust logistics network to avoid these delays.
- Gifting Generic Gifts
Each of your employees has a different personality, so gifting generic items won’t be helpful. Your employees will be unable to use the items and will feel undervalued.
Additionally, generic or non-personalized corporate gifts in Dubai display a lack of care that could lead to negative word-of-mouth marketing and affect your brand. This is where employee survey forms come in.
You could send each employee forms where they would mention up to three items they would like as a gift. You could then give them one of those gifts on special occasions like their birthday or work anniversary.
- Improper Gift Packaging
The packaging of your gift plays an important role. It boosts your company’s worth and improves your brand image. Choosing custom packaging for your corporate gifts also impacts how your employees feel when they receive the gift.
For example, if you’re a premium coffee brand, but you opt for cellophane wrapping, it will feel cheap. You should also avoid packaging your gifts in black, since it is considered negative.
Another part of packaging is the name tag and how you design it. Simply printing your employees’ names won’t do the trick.
You will have to use a decorative card with the company letterhead and a small message from the brand. These little touches will personalize the corporate gifts in Dubai and make your employees feel appreciated.
- Giving Culturally Inappropriate Gifts
There are some items that are considered culturally inappropriate in the UAE. These include alcohol, pigskin products, certain clothing items, and items with religious symbols.
So, you should instead search for valuable alternatives to these gifts. For instance, you could gift a pack of premium Arabic Qahwa in place of alcohol and leather products. You could also choose sustainable products like bamboo, as they would align with Dubai’s Vision 2030.
- Gifting Cheap or Excessively Expensive Products
You should not choose overly cheap or expensive corporate gifts for your employees. Going for gifts at either end of the spectrum will make them feel undervalued or overwhelmed. It might also create a disparity in the workplace.
For example, say you gifted Egyptian cotton monogrammed shirts to the managers and polyester t-shirts to the interns. The quality difference would look like favoritism and create an unfavourable impression.
It would also lead to performance issues due to the dip in motivation. So, you should purchase quality gifts that everyone will appreciate, such as cotton team t-shirts.
- Choosing An Unreliable Gift Supplier
Finally, choosing an unreliable vendor can lead to unwanted issues with logistics and quality. This is due to the variety of products they have and their logistics network. So, you should research these aspects about the vendors carefully before you make up your mind.
You should also check for customer testimonials, product price ranges, and the quality of their products. All these factors would help you make a balanced decision.
Wrapping Up
Making mistakes when giving corporate gifts to your employees can prove costly for you in the long run. It can lead to negative marketing and poor brand equity. This is why you should be careful and avoid the mistakes mentioned in our blog.
You should also explore some of the other mistakes you should not make when gifting corporate gifts. These include choosing boring gifts and not following up through surveys or feedback forms.
Following up would tell you how to make the experience better, which would help you in the long run.
Ready To Make Your Employees Feel Valued?
Choose a reputable supplier of corporate gifts in Dubai to ensure a harmonious experience and avoid making mistakes with gifting.
