Archive for June, 2010
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Even though we are officially out of recession, times are still hard for many businesses and public sector workers. With huge public sector cuts announced in a bid to reduce the budget deficit, it seems inevitable that redundancies are going to be a recurring event in the immediate future.
It can be difficult to know what to do to soften the blow. Redundancies come in many shapes and sizes, so what is appropriate for some will certainly not be appropriate for all. In some situations it might be appropriate to give a redundancy gift. Where redundancies are voluntary for example, it might be appropriate to give a farewell gift as the chances are the employee won’t be too upset about leaving their job.
For managers who are close to a team who are about to be made redundant, it could also be appropriate to give a gift as a souvinier of their time working togather. In this case it is more a gift of friendship, which might help to soften the impact.
Where redundancies are likely to cause bitterness and resentment, a gift is often not advisable as this could serve to make matters worse. Being made redundant is an upsetting time for everyone involved, so any decision on whether to get a gift should be carefully considered.
If you decide to go ahead and get people a gift, there are a few pointers it is advisable to stick to in order to avoid an adverse reaction.
- You obviously don’t want to get something that looks cheap, but also be careful that your gift doesn’t seem too showy. To be told you are losing your job to help the company survive, only to be given a lavish gift, will make people resentful, and in the circumstances they would probably have preferred the cash.
- Consider personalising the gift. This shows that some thought has gone into it and the company hasn’t just churned out the same thing for everyone. Think about having it engraved with a name or message, or even the company logo if it’s not going to cause too much upset.
- Choose your timing carefully. Giving someone a gift right after being told the bad news is probably not the best time. If redundancies are being announced days or weeks before the employees leave, it would be a nice gesture to award the gifts on their last day.
Any decision to award redundancy gifts should be carefully considered. Corporate gifts, such as clocks or photo frames, can make excellent gift ideas, and they can be branded to your requirements. For a range of redundancy gifts that will be gratefully received, see our websites www.engravedgiftideas.com for individual gifts, or www.corporate-gifts-co.com for volume gifts.
Tags: corporate gift, corporate gifts, redundancy gift, redundancy gifts
Posted in Corporate Gift Range, Corporate Gifts Photo Frames | No Comments »
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Ok, so maybe they wouldn’t have helped. Last week I blogged on the positive affect that a good World Cup run could have on the British economy. With a gloomy budget and negative headlines everywhere you look, a good World Cup run, beginning with a win over Slovenia, could have been the pick-me-up the nation needed.
So much for that. Who would have a predicted a sneaky win against the smallest nation in the tournament, followed by a thorough thrashing by our good friends from Germany? Let’s just hope that beating the Aussies in the cricket followed by a good Wimbledon for Andy Murray makes up for the disappointment of a shocking World Cup.
Anyway, with that rant over with, let’s try and make sure we don’t all make the same mistakes in the workplace that Fabio Capello made with the England squad. Much has been made of his hard, disciplinarian approach, and for years business gurus have argued the benefits and drawbacks of the carrot or stick method of motivation.
It is fairly obvious which side of the fence Mr Capello favours, with strict discipline and a culture of fear the preferred method of motivation chosen by “The Squadfather”. There were certainly signs of his icy exterior melting towards the end of the tournament, when he offered the squad beer the night before their sole victory against Slovenia. But while it wasn’t the beer that lead to the victory (although you never know…) having a break from the strict regime and being given a reward certainly goes a long way towards improving morale.
It is the same in business. A motivated workforce who feel that their efforts are being rewarded will always produce more results than one that lives in an atmosphere of negativity. Although there will always be the argument that discipline has to be enforced, especially with a camp of multi-millionaire playboy footballers, in the real world employees respond better to incentives and rewards. With a motivated workforce being driven by positive management, discipline takes care of itself.
Corporate gifts and awards can provide fantastic motivational tools, and their affect on motivating a workforce cannot be ignored. Whether corporate gifts are used as sales incentives or as rewards for good performance, corporate gifts can improve team morale and lead to a happy and efficient workforce. In these slightly chastened financial times, when awarding big bonuses isn’t always an option, corporate gifts can provide an affordable way of keeping hard working staff motivated.
To see what corporate gifts can do for you, visit www.corporate-gifts-co.com. It might be too late for Fabio Capello, but don’t make the same mistakes that he made.
Tags: corporate gift, corporate gifts
Posted in Corporate Gift Awards, Corporate Gift Range | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
As the business and economic worlds try to find stability after a long global recession, the aims and strategies of marketing are in a state of flux. With many companies not surviving the downturn and marketing budgets cut across every sector, business bosses are having to come up with more innovative, meaningful ways of promoting their business to potential customers.
Rather than marketing to a large, general population, businesses now need to focus on how to appeal to a more specific target audience who will offer a much higher return on investment. It is important to make a connection to this audience in a personal way, and one technique that can be used to achieve this is promotional gifts. It is a powerful area of marketing which stands out amongst its peers for being able to offer a unique brand experience that cannot exist with any other form of marketing.
There is nothing that can rival the experience of receiving a gift. Most major holidays revolve around the theme of gift giving, and as a marketing tool promotional gifts can evoke an emotional response like no other. In order to achieve this response, promotional gifts have to follow some guidelines.
When a promotional gift is personalised, it becomes the embodiment of the company’s brand, and as a result people will associate that product with the company who gave it. To that end, it pays to give a durable, practical and novel promotional gift that will convey the message of the brand and of the company. If a gift breaks or isn’t fit for purpose, the disappointment of the customer in the promotional gift will be transferred onto the company that gave it. That means it becomes vital for a businesses to ensure the quality of the item they will put their brand onto. After all, it makes no sense to spend time and effort on perfecting a brand image only to let a promotional gift let it down.
As well as durability, businesses also have to think about the sustainability of the product and the ethical connotations attached to how the gift is produced. In today’s world of organic, fair trade produce, companies not only have to conduct their business in an ethical way, but also consider the business practices of the companies they choose to supply their products. With the values of the brand embodied in a promotional gift, companies have a responsibility to ensure their gift is produced in a way that reflects the ethical commitments they pursue themselves.
There will always be a cost consideration when it comes to sourcing ethical produce, but as more emphasis is placed on the importance of responsible trading by governments and businesses, it can become more costly not to conduct business in an ethical way. A company’s reputation can hinge on their business practices and with consumers more aware of where their goods come from, giving an ethically sound promotional gift can have a positive impact on that reputation.
With a new dawn emerging for marketing, quality promotional gifts can play an important role in securing a prosperous future.
Tags: promotional gift, Promotional Gifts, promotional product, promotional products
Posted in Promotional Gifts | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Gadgets and gizmos make for extremely popular business gifts. They have a high perceived value and make a fantastic impression when branded with a company logo. It is flash drives however that seem to be the most popular business gifts, and it seems that offices around the country are being given them as the business gift of choice. But what is it that makes promotional usb drives such popular business gifts?
Promotional flash drives have many benefits. They are relatively cheap, come in a wide range of different designs that makes them extremely customisable to a brand, and they have a practical use, meaning they will be used a lot in and out of the workplace. This is important when giving a business gift, as practical, stylish items that are often used stand more chance of being seen by more people, giving more prominence to a brand.
There are further brand benefits too. As I discussed, they are extremely adaptable when it comes to shape and colour, meaning they can be customised to suit the image of any brand. In this way it is not just the logo that is being shown with a business gift, but the brand values of a company as well.
They are important from a security point of view too. Many companies are struggling to cope with the amount of viruses infecting computer systems as a result of employees bringing in their own virus ridden memory sticks. It is becoming a serious problem, with bosses enjoying the freedom of employees being able to take their work away from the office, but suffering when the usb drives being brought in infect the system.
When promotional flash drives are given to staff members, companies can ensure that the memory stick used for work has been consistent with their internal security, thereby lowering the risk of infection. This is particularly useful if employees transfer a lot of data between an office computer and a company laptop, so there’s less risk of them coming into contact with potentially harmful home PC’s.
So all things considered, promotional flash drives make for ideal business gifts, whether they’re for staff or for promotional products. The Corporate Gifts Company has a wide selection of promotional flash drives that are ideal for any business gift. Visit the usb flash drives section of the website to see our full range of state of the art business gifts.
Tags: business gift, Business Gifts, flash drives, usb drives
Posted in Business Gifts, Corporate Gift Range | No Comments »
Monday, June 21st, 2010
The World Cup is ticking along nicely over in South Africa, if you’re from one of the many South American countries who are prospering that is. While it’s all good news for the fans of Brazil, Paraguay and Chile, the European contingents are having a miserable time. England, Spain and France are among the high profile teams that are having a torrid World Cup so far, and although it’s par for the course from England’s point of view, it might well come as a bit of a shock to the other giants of the game.
But what effect does this have back at home? While I’m no economist, it can’t be denied that when England play well, people are on the whole a lot happier. Anyone in business will report the same thing, when England do well and people are happier, they are more inclined to spend money. The uniting effect on the nation of England’s World Cup aspirations is a rare event and one that is second only to Christmas in influencing people’s spending behaviour. Indeed, the World Cup has been coined “Summer Christmas” by some in the marketing industry due to the way companies devote their budgets so exclusively to one event.
This differs from the Christmas rush because it is influenced by positive results to the country involved. If England do well, you might be more inclined to go and buy that big TV to watch the final on. You might well use it as an excuse to buy something you wouldn’t normally have bought, “Well, I’m just celebrating England winning the World Cup….” The ecstasy felt on the back of sporting events cannot be underestimated, and the positive effects on buying habits could be vital in these delicate times.
So with an inevitably gloomy emergency budget looming tomorrow, a positive England result and some happy headlines in the papers could be just the morale boost the country needs. Throw in a heat wave and Andy Murray winning Wimbledon this Summer and who knows what might happen?! No pressure there then….
If you want to celebrate your own company’s success this year then Corporate Gifts are your way forward. We can personalise your corporate gifts to suit your requirements, so even if England fail dismally this Summer, don’t be afraid to celebrate your company’s success with The Corporate Gifts Company.
Tags: corporate gift, corporate gifts
Posted in About The Corporate Gifts Company | No Comments »
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