Do Us Brits Take Our Holidays For Granted?
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Here in Britain we are slowly returning to work after the extended weekend that comes around every August. The Bank Holiday gives everyone a chance to enjoy a bit of extra time in the summer sun which should get us all ready for the build up to the next break we’ll get at Christmas. In Britain we face the very unusual situation of offices being either depleted or completely empty for much of August and the week over Christmas, but do our holidays make us more motivated at work?
An interesting article on the BBC website explores the freedoms we have with our holidays in Britain compared with the much shorter, and in some cases non existent holidays employees are granted in the USA. It would appear from reading the article that the US is the only country out of the top 21 richest in the world not to impose a legal mandate on employers granting time off. But what does this do to employee motivation? Do us Brits find ourselves more motivated as a result of our holidays or does the time they take up interfere with overall productivity?
There will be many views from many quarters arguing the merits or otherwise of employee holidays, but their effect on motivation should not be ignored. The idea of holiday allowance being awarded on merit or as a result of long service is one that may appeal to some companies as a way of offering an incentive to workers. But rather than motivating junior employees, could this approach just lead to staff resenting those co-workers who have holiday allowances that they don’t?
Burnout is also a factor in employees’ holiday as a well deserved break from work can ease stress levels and allow staff time away from the stresses and strains of work. Although work levels may be hit while employees take holiday, there is surely an argument that productivity levels out when compared with stressed, tired and unmotivated staff who have not been granted holiday.
There is no doubt that employees in Britain are lucky when it comes to their holiday allowance, and changes in the law over the years have made it a much fairer working environment for employees with rights and privileges that have never been seen before.
Employee motivation is now key, with bosses realising that they will get more out of a happy and rewarded workforce than by cracking the whip. Indeed, employee motivation is now big business, with strategies and award schemes being established to offer employees incentives and rewards for improving their work.
This British approach to working practices has done well to survive given the increasing use of American corporate motivation practices by UK firms. It would appear that whatever practices are adopted over here, there’s nothing that will ever stop us from enjoying our holiday.
Use Corporate Gifts For Your End Of Year Celebrations
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010I know I know. It’s still August so what am I doing talking about the end of the year? Time has a habit of flying past once summer is out of the way. Gone are those lazy days in the Sun and pre holiday excitement as the lead up to Christmas which seems to get longer every year rears its head.
The fact is that in business, the lead up to the festivities begins in September, so even though the temperatures are still in the twenties and the clocks have yet to go back, end of year plans are already being drawn up.
So with budgets still tight and cutbacks still being made, how do companies mark the end of the year? Despite the fact that the economy is still on shaky ground it is still important for businesses to mark the holiday period for the sake of staff morale and motivation. Although cash bonuses might well have gone out of the window, there are other ways of marking the holiday period whilst improving staff motivation.
If your company has had a tough year it is even more important that the Christmas period is marked with some sense of ceremony. After all, it is the staff who are working for the companies that are struggling that often face the toughest jobs of all, with worries over job security and future pay. That is why it is important to mark the occasion in order to retain employee motivation.
One way of doing this is by using corporate awards and corporate gifts in an end of year celebration. Corporate gifts can be used to congratulate those who have achieved the most over the year and as well as rewarding their efforts it will also provide and incentive for the year to come.
By using corporate gifts companies can also put on an end of year awards ceremony which will also serve as a unique Christmas party idea. In this way, employees can be rewarded with corporate gifts and corporate awards in a party atmosphere that will effectively show that staff’s efforts are valued.
To get yourself organised for the Christmas period, visit Corporate Awards or The Corporate Gifts Company to start planning for your company’s festive period.
When Is The Best Time For Corporate Gifts?
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Corporate gifts are an effective business tool for marketing, motivation and as a reward for achievement. As we emerge from the back end of summer, many businesses will be turning their attentions towards Christmas, but can corporate gifts be just as effective the rest of the year round?
It is a slightly depressing thought but in the world of business, Christmas is just around the corner. With the nights getting darker and the mornings getting chillier, autumn announces itself just in time for businesses to start concentrating on Christmas. For corporate gifts it is the busiest time of year, with companies looking to celebrate with their staff and reward clients whilst getting the word out about their brand. But can corporate gifts be used throughout the rest of the year to achieve the same results?
The answer is of course yes. Motivation and rewards don’t begin and end with the Christmas festivities and corporate gifts can play an important role within marketing and staff incentives.
Branded corporate gifts are the best way to spread the word about a company as the gift can embody the spirit of the brand. They can be used to spread the word not only about the company but deliver it’s brand values to the end user. If a company are promoting their futuristic ideas and want to be seen as looking forward, this message can be transmitted by giving carbon fibre gifts, for example.
As well as marketing and brand awareness, corporate gifts also play a year round role in boosting motivation. Staff who are rewarded for their efforts will be more enthusiastic about their work, and this can only help productivity. Nothing replicates that feeling of receiving a gift whatever time of the year it is, and if that gift is given as a result of the work somebody has done it can have a profound affect.
In these times of austerity, where achievement cannot always be rewarded with a cash bonus, corporate gifts are a more affordable way for businesses to recognise the hard work of their employees. For companies who have been forced to make cut backs, they can give staff a welcome reminder that their efforts have not gone unnoticed.
With the attention of businesses starting to shift towards Christmas, don’t forget the benefits that giving corporate gifts can provide all year round.
How Businesses Can Retain Their Green Credentials With Corporate Gifts
Monday, August 23rd, 2010The last decade has started to see a real push towards more ethically produced goods. Whether it’s food, clothing or corporate gifts, commerce has been more driven to produce items that are organic, Fairtrade and environmentally friendly.
Unfortunately these goods still come at a premium, with extra costs needed to adhere to ethical and environmentally sound working practices. With the economy still reeling from one of the biggest recessions in history, cost has become more important to consumers and as a result, sales of organic food in 2010 are down by 12.9% when compared to last year.
With consumers priorities seemingly changing, can we put the recent eco-craze down to a fad, or is there more to it than that? And just how eco-friendly are many of the products that are advertised in such a way? Given the disposable nature of many corporate gifts, can there ever be such a thing as an eco-friendly corporate gift?
Many have argued that the craze for all things environmentally friendly was indeed a craze, with many choosing to paint themselves as eco friendly as a fashion statement. The recession has certainly had a hit on the revenue of such products, but to write the ethical movement off would be a mistake. Sooner or later, all companies are going to have to look at the way they produce their products and although the sales of organic produce are down, there is no doubt that the movement left a big impression on the conscience of the world.
So just how accurate are a company’s green credentials? Although many products can be marketed as being eco friendly, do they fulfil these criteria in the real world?
This question is especially important when we talk about corporate gifts and promotional products. By their very nature, corporate gifts and promotional products are disposable items. Promotional pens only have a limited shelf life due to the fact that they will inevitably run out, promotional clothing will outlive it’s use when the specific promotion is over, and many corporate gifts may well be simply tossed in the trash. So although these promotional products may have been produced ethically, is there an argument that they are just destined to clog up disposal sites, polluting the planet even more?
This problem is not exclusive to corporate gifts and promotional products. Many items that people use every day and are important for businesses are disposable in nature, and as a result bring their green credentials into question. So what’s the answer?
As with many things, it is a matter of common sense. If green credentials are important to a company, they should encourage staff to buy corporate gifts and promotional products that are made in an ethical way, but also be sensible with the quantity ordered and ensure they are buying the most appropriate product for the occasion. In the case of promotional products, order size should reflect the size of the event and the relevance of the item to the promotion. When promotional items are personalised in this way, they are more relevant to the people who will receive them, meaning there is less chance of them being tossed into the bin.
It is the same with corporate gifts. Make sure you buy a corporate gift that is ethically sourced and make sure it is right for the recipient. A personalised corporate gift will make sure it is relevant to the recipient and will make for a well received gift. Generic corporate gifts that are bought on mass and with no personalisation stand a much better chance of being thrown straight in the bin, meaning a waste of money for the company, a wasted promotion and a real dent in the green credentials of a company.
In many cases financial constraints will govern this anyway, but it is important to consider the environmental effect of your promotional products even after they have left the factory.
The theme of the green movement is to avoid waste, be it products or energy and the same is true with eco corporate gifts and promotional products. Only order what you need and make the products are relevant to the recipient. In this way you will avoid waste and improve the success of your promotion.
The Corporate Gifts Company have a range of eco corporate gifts that will add to the green credentials of your company. You can also use our sister site The Promotional Gifts Company for their range of eco promotional gifts.
Have Brands Gone Too Far In Their Quest For “Corporate Language”?
Friday, August 20th, 2010The amusing story this week of the English Professor who claims she was thrown out of Starbucks for refusing to use their corporate language has been one of those stories that everyone feels strongly about. The professor’s apparent distaste for corporate language seems to have resonated with many of us who object to being told how to use language by a company.
It’s easy to feel slightly stupid ordering coffee from an American store in Italian, then there is the added confusion of just what the names of those coffees actually mean. It’s not only this particular chain of coffee establishments that practice this form of marketing speak however, and now you feel like you should go armed with a phrase book whenever you enter a different coffee chain. Evolution takes place in every language, but have we seen the dawn of linguistic evolution started by corporations?
With stories like this it is easy to have a short memory and think that only modern companies are trying to get us to talk their language. There’s no doubt that it has become a legitimate marketing technique to use specific words, phrases and music to remind us of an individual brand. Starbucks use the terms tall, grande and venti to sell their different sizes of coffee, a practice that riles many people. There is an argument however that given the aura of exclusivity that goes with coffee drinkers in Britain and the US that pretentious language is part and parcel of the experience. After all, Starbucks haven’t done too badly at all out of the practice.
As I mentioned it would be misleading to believe that marketing terms entering everyday language is a new thing. How many people continue to “Hoover” the carpet, even though that particular term refers to a manufacturer and not a practice. We also make announcements over a “Tannoy” and “Google” a query online, yet these do not appear to provoke the same ire as the language used by a coffee establishment.
The real issue would appear to be the motives used by companies when this marketing terminology becomes part of language. The more accepted marketing and brand terms that are used appear to have naturally entered modern language without an obvious attempt by a marketing department to force feed us their language. In places where you are forced to order a product in the language given to you by a company, resentment can happen (has anyone else been tempted to tell the staff of a popular fast food chain to Mc off?!).
So what can the world of marketing and corporate gifts learn from this? Well, that there is no doubt associating language with your company is an effective way of promoting your business, but it’s the way you do it that counts. Come up with something snappy and inventive and if you’re lucky it might go viral. But don’t force people into accepting your brand language as you could very soon see people starting to avoid your company as a result.
And if you get lucky with your slogan and people love it, visit The Corporate Gifts Company and get it engraved on your next set of corporate gifts!
Use Corporate Gifts To Mark Company Milestones
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010With a shaky economic climate and stories of doom and gloom dominating the news, it’s important to bring some cheer into the workplace every so often just to keep everyone sane!
It’s easy for staff to become unmotivated when news is grim, so company milestones can be an ideal time to celebrate and break the bad news cycle. Whether it’s a landmark anniversary, securing a new contract or even hiring new staff, good news should be celebrated just as emphatically as bad news is mourned.
Corporate gifts can bring a sense of occasion to any company landmark, and provide a gesture of thanks when financial bonuses can’t always be afforded. Nothing matches the feeling of receiving a gift, and personalised corporate gifts are a fun way of celebrating a landmark and showing staff that their efforts are appreciated.
There are corporate gifts to suit all styles and tastes, whether it’s golf gifts, stylish engraved photo frames or snazzy flash drives, there are corporate gifts available for everyone.
Whether you want to reward staff for hitting their targets or celebrate a company milestone then use corporate gifts to add a real sense of occasion to your celebration.
3 Ways Of Using Your Brand To Your Advantage
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010There are many benefits to having a strong brand in business, and more than ever brand values are being used as a way for customers to find their way around an increasingly saturated marketplace.
Whether you’re an online business, a high street retailer, even a political party, brand identity is becoming an important way of getting a company noticed and enabling it to speak with one clear voice.
Once a business has decided to enhance their brand it can be difficult to know how to use it to their advantage. Companies may have invested a great deal of time and money into developing their brand, only for it to stagnate as they have difficulty in realising it’s potential.
The Corporate Gifts Company have come up with a guide to getting the most out of your brand to make sure a company’s efforts don’t go to waste.
1. Make sure it gets noticed
Many businesses choose to rebrand in order to better communicate their brand values and create an identity in the market place. In order to do this, your brand needs to be thrust under the noses of the people who will take notice, whether that’s potential customers, existing customers, suppliers or shareholders.
Promotional products can help to do this. Promotional stationery and promotional items can help with this, as it puts your brand in a prominent position in the workplace or the home. Whether it’s promotional pens, promotional t-shirts or promotional calendars, items such as these can help companies spread the word about their brand, their business and their product, getting themselves noticed by the people that matter.
2. Use your brand to motivate staff
The right brand used correctly has the ability to inspire and galvanise a workforce. It can be used to transmit the core message of the business throughout the company, ensuring everyone is pulling in the same direction. It is important that everyone working for the company is made aware of the brand and taught how to use it correctly to make sure the message is kept consistent.
Use a brand launch to make a special event out of the occasion. Rather than just replace old stationery and logos with new ones, give the event a real sense of occasion to get staff excited about the brand and it’s message. This will not only encourage staff to accept it but also provide an important occasion to educate them on the message and how to use it correctly. Promotional banners and branded corporate gifts can be used to give the event a special feel, as well as corporate awards to encourage staff to be an ambassador for the brand and raise awareness.
3. Be Prepared
The strongest brands are those that have prepared in advance. Before launching your brand, consider what message you want to portray and what voice you want to transmit. It can be easy to get carried away with colour schemes and logo designs, so think carefully about what you want your company to say before deciding on a brand image. This is especially important if you are a charity or an organisation that gives opinion and advice. If there are tricky or controversial issues that your company gives advice on, it is important to decide on your position before your brand launches. This can save answering tricky questions when it’s too late to change.
Once you have launched your brand effectively, don’t be shy about it! Use promotional gifts and promotional products to show off your brand to anyone who will listen!
Charities Can Use Corporate Gifts To Say Thank You
Monday, August 9th, 2010Unlike other business sectors, charities depend on donations and hard, often unpaid work to raise the funds they need to be able to make a difference. Whether it’s voluntary workers in a charity shop, regular donors or someone with a high profile giving their time to increase the charity’s popularity, they often owe a great deal of gratitude to people making the effort on their behalf.
People often don’t expect to be rewarded or thanked for the work they do for charity as the effort they make is often for a cause that means a lot, so merely participating is enough. But charities, like every other business sector, need to maintain a motivated and inspired team in order to make sure their targets are met, and sometimes incentives and awards can help charities to improve even further.
Using corporate gifts and corporate awards to reward voluntary staff and principal donors can be an effective way of keeping charity supporters motivated and willing to continue to support the charity.
Corporate Gifts To Incentivise Staff
Whether staff are paid or voluntary they need to be motivated to perform to the best of their ability. When volunteering their time to help out charities they will often be driven by their support for the work the charity does, but once the reality of the work involved sets in it can be a challenge to maintain that level of motivation. By using corporate gifts to reward staff for their efforts it can help them to continue to feel motivated to work hard for the charity. Items such as branded
cufflinks and photo
frames can provide a wonderful keepsake that people will be proud to display, which will have the joint effect of motivating the staff and raising the profile of the charity. By rewarding volunteer staff with branded corporate gifts there will be more people showing off the logo of the charity and displaying their name, giving valuable visibility for the cause concerned.
Corporate Awards To Recognise Achievement
In every business sector there will always be individuals who exceed expectations. By hosting an awards ceremony or even handing out a trophy in the office, hard working individuals can be rewarded for their achievements. Corporate awards can be especially useful for charities as the amount of good work undertaken for the charity opens up a huge amount of possibilities for award categories, with staff, volunteers and even users of the charity eligible for a corporate award. An awards event can also bring with it much press interest, giving the charity concerned valuable exposure.
If you would like to use corporate gifts or corporate awards to reward your staff, visit http://www.corporate-gifts-co.com or http://www.corporate-awards.net for more information. If you are from a charity you can receive a 10% discount on your order.
Struggling To Find Inspiration For Your Corporate Jewellery?
Friday, August 6th, 2010When shopping for anything, customers want to have choice. Whether it’s baked beans in a supermarket or a brand new car, consumers are increasingly facing an ever growing choice of products designed to appeal to their needs.
While this move towards consumer personalisation opens up a whole new world of choice, all these decisions can make life more complicated. When offered a whole world of choice, where do you even start knowing what you want?
When you are promoting your business through corporate jewellery it is important that your exact needs are met. That is why Corporate Jewellery offer a bespoke product service that will design corporate jewellery to your specific requirements. But this can open up the same consumer dilemmas that we face in everyday life. Once you’ve decided on which product to choose, you then need to think about size, shape, colour and a whole other range of decisions. When faced with so many options, it can be difficult to come to a decision.
That is why Corporate Jewellery will offer you a personal service that is designed to help you through every step of the process. Once you have requested a quote and mockup, you will receive a personal service from one of our experienced sales team who will talk you through your options to ensure you receive the corporate jewellery that meets your requirements.
Even if you aren’t sure exactly what you want, Contact Us to discuss your corporate jewellery needs.
Corporate Awards For Schools, Colleges and Universities
Friday, August 6th, 2010With teachers and lecturers now enjoying a well deserved summer break, it seems fairly mean spirited to start thinking about the new school year to come. But much in the same way that supermarkets have begun their “Back to School” push, it is also a good time for teachers to be thinking about how they will run their schools and classes in the year to come.
The school experience can be an extremely pressurised one for both staff and students, and so keeping motivation high is important to hit the highest standards. Introducing incentives and rewards can help to motivate the brightest students to hit their potential and also give those who are struggling something to aim for. Equally, they can be used to keep staff motivated, rewarding the efforts of those who go that extra mile.
Corporate awards can provide an exciting way of rewarding outstanding effort. Introducing an awards evening into the school year will give everyone something to look forward to and a goal to work towards. Subject awards will introduce some healthy competition between students which will help them to improve their work with the aim of a prize at the end of the year. Corporate awards can also be given out to the most improved student, giving those who are struggling a reward for their efforts.
Corporate awards can also be given to teachers to recognise the hard work they put in. They do fantastic work under difficult circumstances, so a teacher’s awards evening would provide a fantastic opportunity to reward their efforts.
Consider using corporate awards in the teaching profession, and visit http://www.corporate-awards.net for some inspitation.
