How do we show someone that we truly appreciate them? Well, we can tell them, of course. That’s a good place to start. But just as a picture paints a thousand words, a gesture can be worth so much more than just a few appreciative sentences.

This is, of course, true with our friends, family and loved ones. It’s also very much applicable to our work colleagues as well.We can - and should - make time to go out of our way to thank our employees fora job well done.

We can all go one better than a simple ‘thank you’too. That’s where corporate gifts and gift vouchers come in.

Gifts and prizes are being awarded to an organization’s employees almost since the dawn of employment. So, the notion isn’t exactly a new one.

For years, businesses have understood the benefits of recognizing and rewarding those people that work tirelessly for them. But what’s new, is the kind of thing that companies are now gifting their employees.

There has been a recent shift away from regular cash bonuses and ‘standard’ corporate gifts. The trend now is to reward employees with experiences. The reasons behind the new direction are numerous and more than a little convincing.

Experiential corporate gifts - and gift vouchers that offer the chance to choose such experiences - really do seem to be the future of corporate gift giving.

Let’s look at the reasons why shall we delve into what the future calls for.

How things have changed?

In the past, HR professionals brainstorming ideas for corporate gifts would think in terms of physical gratifications. Material objects were the go-to choice. But increasingly, it seems that people are in favour of ‘experiencing’ something over merely ‘having’ something.

Recent research suggests that folks, especially Millennials & Gen-Zers value experiences over things. So, it stands to reason that employers should reflect this in their corporate gifts.

After all, the whole thing should be about rewarding your workforce and not just giving them stuff they neither want or need! Perhaps it’s time to do away with the notion of bouquet of flowers or carriage clock as an employee reward and start embracing the experience.

What are ‘experience’ gifts about?

Gift experiences have been popular among people away from the workplace for a little while now. They usually involve a day out somewhere unusual, doing something exciting and interesting, Something memorable.

Why ‘experience’ gifts and gift vouchers trump money and standard gifts

There are lots of reasons behind the shift. These include:

• People prefer them: Let’s start with a nice and     simple reason. They’re just better! The whole purpose of a gift is to please someone. And people, generally prefer experiences nowadays to physical gifts.
• Experiences help build     relationships: Part     of the reason that going out and actually doing something is so appreciated     by people is because a day out is often a social occasion—a chance to     bond. An opportunity to start, grow or cement relationships with spouses,     partners, family, children, friends or colleagues. And who doesn’t love     that idea?
• Longevity: A bunch of flowers will last     for, well, how long—a week? Chocolates– may be only a night. Even a watch     has a shelf life. Memories last forever though. Not only that, but the     novelty factor of receiving a thing doesn’t last all that long, does it? The     excitement of looking forward to an experience, the actual thing happening,     the memories, and anecdotes after? That definitely lasts long.
• The excitement factor: If you opt to give an     experience gift voucher, you’re opening up an exciting new world of things     for that people to try out—things they may never have had the confidence     to try without a little nudge.
• It stands you out: These kinds of gifts     aren’t all that rare anymore, but they’re still fairly unusual. It’s a     great way of standing out from the crowd and offering something to your     workforce that’s a little different.
• Flexibility: Gift vouchers or an     experience gift with options allows the person a measure of control over     their reward. You don’t get that with a carriage clock, do you?

Some examples of truly valuable ‘experiences’‍

So we’ve looked into what experience gifts are and why they’re increasing in popularity with organizations as reward options. Now it’s time to drill down into some of the specifics of the experiential gift and the gift vouchers that go along with them.

There are many different experiences that a company can treat an employee with. Here are the most common:

• Adventure – rock climbing, skydiving, white-water     rafting, hang gliding, kayaking, parachuting
• Sport - bowling, ice skating,     driving range, a ticket to a sporting event
• Driving – super car test drive,     rallying, classic car race
• Gourmet – wine tasting, cigar     tasting, whiskey tasting
• Fun - comedy night, arcade, mini     golf, escape room, theme park
• Food & drink - cooking lessons, tasting     menu experiences, brewery tour, distillery tour
• Environment – beach clean-ups, whale     watching, Segway city tours, recycling tuition
• Pamper – spa days, treatments,     yoga, Pilates, massages
• Travel – weekend getaways, golf     trips, city breaks
• Music – instrument lessons,     tickets to an opera, karaoke singing

The move towards more activity and experience-based corporate gifts and gift vouchers is, as we’ve seen, a totally understandable one. It doesn’t look to be a fad, either. It’s more of a movement away from the old style of tangible gift giving.

So, don’t shy away from the idea - embrace it. Your workforce will thank you for it.

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