Holiday gifts are a great way to promote team building and brand awareness.
It’s the end of another long paving season and now it’s time to give your employees, associates and yourself a gift. There’s an art to giving a gift that it not too personal or too obtrusive (too bright, too tacky or too complicated to use).
Here are some things that I gave away prior to selling my paving company almost 5 years ago.
Socks @ $15.00 to $20.00 (this one sounds a little strange, but its not) – I gave my crew 3 pairs each of Smartwool Light hiking socks. If you’ve never worn good socks, you have to try them. You may never want to wear tube socks again. They allow your feet to breathe as well as stay up on your leg, and if your crew has happy feet, they will be more productive.
Flashlights @ $10.00 to $30.00 – Who doesn’t need a good flashlight? No cheap plastic stuff and remember the batteries.
Insulated lunch cooler bags @ $25.00 to $40.00 – As an executive you may not carry lunch, but you want your crew to bring their lunch so they’re not driving around looking for lunch while on the clock. A good soft sided insulated cooler bag with your company logo silk screened on it is a great gift. I gave these away one year and 4 to 5 years later, I still had employees asking me if I had any more.
Quality Jacket with an embroidered logo @ $50.00 to $100.00 or more – I liked to give away a nice jacket that my associates and I will proudly wear. It’s a good time to introduce a special occasion like an anniversary year or a product launch. Don’t get too carried away and make it look like a billboard, those tend not to get worn.
For those of you that do winter work, Carhartt or similar Bib Overalls @ $50.00 to $80.00 – these can be logoed or left plain but your crew will love them for those cold mornings or long nights of snow plowing.
Point and shoot cameras @ $ 80.00 to $150.00 – the fun part about giving a camera to your crew is to have a computer set up where photos can be downloaded to an employee album and once a month have a give away for the best company related photo. It’s a great way to build a company photo album.
GPS units @ $100.00 to $250.00 – a great gift that employees may want to use for work as well. Just be careful that your truck drivers don’t always follow the GPS directions and end up on a weight limited street or a no truck route.
A Distance Measuring Device @ $400.00 to $800.00 for your sales people, foreman or superintendents – this is a great gift that saves a ton of time and makes them more productive, while you look like a hero giving it to them. The FastMeasure unit works great, it’s cost effective and simple to use.
Netbook Computers or iPads @$ 400.00 and up – these are great for the staff to take home for the family. If your employees have family or kids in school, someone will always make good use of these.
A few things to keep in mind – be equal – I always like to find things that the office staff, sales people or the shovel man will all enjoy and all be happy with. Don’t get gifts by class or employee level – remember you would be nothing without the employees in the trenches doing the dirty work. This is a good time to build team unity.
