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With the rise of digital marketing and mobile technology, the concept of digital gifting has grown significantly. Digital gifting is an excellent way for businesses to incentivize employees and show appreciation for their hard work.
In this day and age, employees value recognition almost as much as their salaries. Mckinsey and Company’s research study titled “Motivating people: Getting beyond money” suggests that organizations with good employee recognition practices are 12 times more likely to generate strong business outcomes.
Another study conducted by Bersin by Deloitte titled “The State of Employee Recognition,” suggests that companies with recognition programs aimed at improving employee engagement have 31% lower voluntary turnover (voluntary turnover is when employees willingly choose to leave their positions). Acknowledging a job well done is vital for retaining employees and keeping them happy! A happy employee is a more productive employee, after all. How exactly does one go about gifting digitally?
Read on to know more about digital gift ideas.
Prasad Dhamdhere
Digital Gift Vouchers
A digital gift voucher is usually in the form of a discount code of a fixed monetary value or percentage discount that can be applied while shopping for a particular product or service. For example, a specific restaurant gift voucher could offer a 10% discount on total bill value or could offer a buy-one-get-one-free deal on a particular range of items. The options are aplenty. Vouchers are a great gifting option for brands to send to their target audience of new or old customers. This serves two purposes:
One, it brings old customers back and incentivizes them to make a purchase. It also helps bring in new customers and encourages them to try the product or service on offer. Two, it encourages customers to spend more than they normally would. Say, for example, a customer has a 30% discount voucher with him - human nature would drive him to spend a higher value, thereby experiencing a higher ‘notional’ savings than ‘waste’ the voucher on a low-value bill.
Digital Gift Cards
Also known as ‘e-gift cards’ or ‘electronic gift cards’, they contain a fixed monetary value as assigned by the sender. A versatile and convenient gifting option, e-gift cards can instantly be sent to anyone across the world via the click of a button. Brands across the spectrum - from large brands like Amazon, Flipkart, and Croma to smaller boutique stores and websites like Crossword and Bombay Shirt Company offer gift cards that recipients can use to purchase items of their choice.
Gift cards offer a lot more flexibility than gift vouchers. While discount vouchers are usually dependent on the user spending his own money, gift cards can be used by the recipient to fund the purchase entirely without having to spend anything over and above the assigned value. Even though gift cards and vouchers are the most popular forms of digital gifting out there, they often feel very transactional and lack the personal touch that a gift should have. We suggest trying these brilliant gifting alternates that rank high on thoughtfulness and are guaranteed to bring a smile to the recipient’s face -
Experiences
Gift experiences can range from adventure sports and virtual reality tours to DIY kits and personalized tours. For example, if you’re picking a gift for an employee who has really worked hard the past quarter, consider sending across an experience for a luxury spa with an accompanying message saying, “Hey, you’ve worked really hard this quarter and we truly appreciate it! This is for you to take some time off, kick back, and relax”!
Rani Joseph
There are a wide variety of gift experience ideas that you can explore — an art workshop, a bartending course, or a chocolate factory tour perhaps? Xoxoday has an extensive variety of exciting experiences you can pick and choose from:
Experience Gift Ideas to give your Employees
1. Travel & Hospitality Experiences
Gift your employees experiences that they will remember for a lifetime. Whether it is a customized dining experience, exploring a new city via a personalized cycling tour, or local experiences like art workshops and heritage tours, find a gift that suits your employees' personality and matches the occasion.
2. High Adrenaline Experiences
Be it scuba diving or tandem skydives, thrilling bungee jumps, or supercar track days, reward your employees with experiences that will let them explore their adventurous side and indulge their passions. All you need to do is choose your desired experience from Xoxoday's extensive catalog. Additionally, Xoxoday’s booking concierge service can take over the mundane task of making reservations and travel bookings for you!
Experiences are a great way to give your employees a change of environment and some time off to relax. Additionally, such experiences also help boost employee motivation and strengthen work-life balance. Not only will the recipients really enjoy these gifts, but the memories created from these gifts will be priceless!
Cool Out of the Box Digital Gifting Ideas
3. Learning Courses
No gift is quite as meaningful as the gift of Learning. In today’s dynamic environment where every profession requires mastery of different skill sets. Gifting your employee's online courses from major e-learning platforms to help them hone their skills or pick up new ones is a very thoughtful idea. Visit Xoxoday and check out a variety of subscriptions and gift cards from major e-learning platforms like Udemy and Whizlabs. Of course, online courses shouldn’t only be work-related. For an employee who is a budding guitarist, a subscription to an online guitar course is the perfect example of a gift that would be highly appreciated and cherished.
4. Insurance
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare has become the primary point of concern for many. In uncertain times like these, the best way to say “Thank you!” to your employees is by covering them under a good health insurance plan. Alternatively, you could also top up their existing insurance plans. This is an essential gift that goes a long way in communicating to your employees that you care!
5. Online Consultation and Pharmacy Discounts
With lockdowns, travel restrictions, and the fear of contracting COVID-19, most people are unwilling to step out of their homes to go to hospitals or clinics for regular check-ups. Online consultation tie-ups with doctors and hospitals are one of the more thoughtful gifts you could give your employees in these trying times. You can use Xoxoday to choose from a variety of healthcare gifting options including online consultation and pharmacy discount vouchers from healthcare providers like Apollo Pharmacy.
6. Mental Wellness
2020 has been stressful for most of us. Consider picking a gift for your employees that allows them to let some steam off and relax. Organizing a stand-up comedy session for your employees over Zoom or Google Meet is an excellent way to lighten the mood and spread some joy. Not only would it put a smile on their faces, a fun and light-hearted interaction would also help counter the work-from-home blues.
If a stand-up comedy session appears to be too complicated for you to organize, consider looking at other simple gifting options. For example, a subscription to mental health & wellness podcasts and e-books, a hamper of self-care products, or an art class membership could go a long way in helping your employees relax and deal with stress positively.
7. Fitness
While gyms and fitness centers have opened their doors, many people still prefer working out at home to avoid the risk of infection. Fitness is a hard lifestyle to follow, requiring tremendous discipline and consistent dedication. Finding or creating an effective workout regimen is not exactly easy. Therefore, a yoga class or live gym membership from brands like cure.fit could be an excellent gifting option for your employees. Getting fitness tips and training from experts will help them stay motivated, healthy, and charged up about life and work!
8. Time Off
Working from home has resulted in people dedicating a lot more time to their work, often working day-in and day-out to achieve their targets and overturn profits. In today’s challenging work culture, it’s vital to give employees some time off to rejuvenate themselves both mentally and physically. A holiday or two in the form of a staycation at a city hotel is the perfect way to do this and is sure to be extremely well received by your employees. They are certain to return to their jobs with more enthusiasm and productivity!
Perks & Offers
9. Mobile Recharge
In an always-connected world, mobile recharges are a necessity we all cannot do without. Moreover, many people who don’t have access to a good broadband connection use their mobile data hotspots for office work. Offering to top up your employees’ data plans is a simple and sweet gesture that will surely be appreciated!
10 Food Coupons
Who doesn’t love a good discount on food? For the days when one is too tired to cook and just wants to order out, food coupons are an amazing gift. Click here to choose from the many restaurants and food delivery coupons that Xoxoday has to offer!
11. Corporate Branded Swag Bag
No, we aren’t talking about quirky and eccentric bags (although that’s not a bad option). Swag here is an acronym for “Stuff We All Get.” Swag bags are essentially the adult equivalent of the goodie bags you used to get at birthday parties as a child. You could put in different products like custom water bottles, headphones, attractive clothing, product samples in it. Corporate branded Swag Bags are a great way of saying, “Hey, you’re one of us and we’re happy to have you in our family”! However, it is important to ensure that you use minimal branding and avoid presenting heavily printed over-the-top collateral. Keep simplicity and usability in mind when selecting items for the bag.
12. Electronics and Technology Discounts
Office spaces are equipped with high-tech products and are specifically designed to boost employee productivity. Now that most people are working from home, it is crucial for them to set up dedicated workspaces to ensure the same (or similar) levels of productivity. One might need to upgrade employees’ laptops, get them a new modem and router, or invest in a good-quality webcam for those important Zoom meetings and Google Meet sessions.
Your employees would also greatly appreciate discounts on electronics and tech products. You could use Xoxoday to send your employees a wide variety of gift cards from Croma, Tata Cliq, and Amazon Pay, etc. which they can then use to equip themselves better. Additionally, you can also offer reimbursements for office supplies and essentials that they purchase when working from home.
With gift vouchers being a thing of the past, the Xoxoday catalog offers you the chance to step away from the mainstream and choose from a huge selection of exciting and personalized experiential, thoughtful and relevant gifting options. From tourism & fine dining experiences to skill development and wellness — there’s something for everyone!
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